1. Information Literacy CSS101 - Part 2
Martin J. Crabtree
MCCC Library
October 2004

2. Agenda Review: so just what IS information literacy?
Using the the Mercer Library’s catalog
Review: searching electronic resources
Review: databases and Web information
Your turn to use the databases & the web

3. What is information literacy?
Information literacy is the ability to:
Realize that you need information to find something out/answer a question
Know where to go to get the information you need
Ask the right questions to get the information you need
Put all the information you found together to answer your question

4. Using The MCCC Card Catalog to find books and more
The catalog is available online. Used to find books, videos and other material both in the MCCC collection and the Mercer County Public (MCL) libraries.
You can have materials from MCL brought to the college. Deliveries arrive Tuesday and Friday afternoons. (DVD’s not available from MCL)
You will need to have your student ID card to borrow books or use the library’s computer lab

5. The link to the catalog is on the library’s web pages.

6. Let’s look at the Mercer Library’s Catalog…

7. Starting An Electronic Search Keywords
Keywords are used when searching electronic databases and web search engines
First step - Generate a list of words (keywords) often nouns that describes or is commonly used when discussing your topic. For example:
Ozone
Layer
Depletion
Atmosphere
Hole

8. Starting An Electronic Search Boolean Searching/Logic
Boolean searching - Connecting keywords with the terms
and
not or
For example
eagles NOT football
(car or automobile) and exhaust
More Terms = Fewer “Hits”

9. Searching More Than Just Keywords Phrases & Truncations
To search for a phrase, use quotation marks
“weapons of mass destruction”
Truncations allow for searching related words all at once
The * is usually used. For example:
“child*” would include: child, children, childhood, childproof, etc.

10. Electronic Databases at the Mercer Library

11. Electronic Databases at MCCC In General
Over 40 databases available
Many contain periodical articles
Some are useful for searching specific subjects like business, art, or criminal justice.
Others are also useful tools like the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Oxford Dictionary

12. Electronic Databases In General
Accessible at any computer on the MCCC/JKC campus network
Most are available off campus, need to request a password.
Can print/ /download what you find

13. Let’s take a look a the databases…

14. Using the World Wide Web

15. Using the internet/world wide web
Before using the web for most college research, try using databases first:
You will have fewer hits to go through
You’ll likely find some good information quickly
The information is always high quality
The internet & web are not the same thing

16. Some things to consider when searching the web
Everything is NOT on the web and may never be
No search engine covers the entire web
The “invisible web” is huge!
Though there has yet to be consensus, estimates put the size of the invisible web between 2 and 500 times bigger than the “visible” (or surface) web.

17. Searching the World Wide Web Search Strategy
Searching the Web is much like database searching:
Put together a list of keywords describing the information you desire
Use Boolean logic (and, not, or) to better define your search, use double quotes for phrases, etc.
When searching the web, also:
Consider which search engines/sites may best suit your search needs. Different search engines yield different results.
Use the search engine’s “advanced search” to select limiting parameters (language, date, domain, etc.)

18. Some helpful invisible websites
- searchable annotated directory of Internet resources
- Direct Search, large listing of free databases
infomine.ucr.edu [NO www] - good for searching academic information
completeplanet.com [No www] blend of database, directory, & search engine information.
- search federal government sites

19. Is this stuff any good?
Evaluating Web Sites

20. Evaluating Web Sites Quality varies greatly from site to site
YOU are the sole evaluator of the quality of information a site provides

21. Five Web Info Evaluation Criteria
Accuracy - is it reliable?
Authority - is author qualified on subject?
Objectivity - is the information biased?
Currency - is the information “new” enough?
Coverage - does the info completely cover the topic?

22. Buyer Beware The Bottom Line…
The web contains a vast amount of information…but not everything
Anyone can put information on the web, hence the quality of web information varies greatly
YOU will often be the only person to decide if the quality of the info you find on the web is good
Now let’s visit a site…

23. Now it’s your turn…