Welcome to

Navigating The Libraryfor MLCS

By Denis LacroixFrench/Spanish Librarian

Rutherford Library

Session Outline

• Objectives

• Library Website overview

• Steps in writing a research paper

• Searching for books

• Locating books

• Searching for journal articles

• Interlibrary loans, reserve materials

• Reference services

Objectives

• At the end of this session you will be able to – Formulate an effective search strategy– Find books, periodicals and other resources in the

library catalogue– Locate articles on your topic using databases– Know where to find help

Writing a Research Paper1. Determine a topic to research, and get a

broad overview (book, encyclopaedia)

2. Define your specific topic

3. Analyze the topic into key concepts

4. Develop a thesis statement.

5. Find books

6. Find articles

7. Organize and write the research paperWriting a Research Paper Link

Finding information is a reiterative process throughout

the writing assignment

Library website: www.library.ualberta.ca

Starting the Search

• Research idea: e.g Popular Culture in Latin America

• Specific concepts: Mass Media and Latin America

• Search for subject guides for basic information on your research concepts– Click on Subject in the menu bar– Choose your area and subject of interest– Click on QuickStart guides

Finding Books

Has anyone ever found a book in the library

catalogue that is not at U of A Libraries ?

• U of A Library catalogue = NEOS Library Consortium Catalogue

• NEOS = a consortium of libraries sharing the same online catalogue, including all the U of A’s libraries, a number of government libraries such as Alberta Research Council, colleges such as Concordia, and many hospital libraries.

Searching for Books (steps 1 and 5)

• Click on Other Search Options

• Use “Containing” when you have inexact or incomplete information or wish to combine ideas or phrases, i.e. mass media and latin america

• Use “Starting with” when you know the author’s name or first words in a title or a correct subject heading. You will see an alphabetical listing by the first word you searched, e.g. Mass Media.

• [Any Field] mass media AND Latin America

Combines both terms!

Other Search Options Search

Locating a Book

Understanding the Book Description or Record

Use the Request/Hold link to obtain document from BARD

Use the Request/Hold link to obtain document from other library

Beyond Any Fields• Various search features:

– Any Fields : searches for the terms within the full item description (i.e. title, author, subject, publication note, physical description etc.)

– Title : searches for the terms only in the title field– Author : searches for the terms only in the author field– Subject : searches for terms that describe what the work

is about. Subject terms are assigned by library.– Periodical Title : searches for terms in all periodical

titles

Brief Exercise

• Find at least one book in the NEOS catalogue that is about French colonialism or postcolonialism.

• Which subject headings, as listed in the catalogue records, best describe this topic in the books you found?

Searching for Journal Articles

• Step 6 in the research process

• Journal articles are not listed in the Library Catalogue; only the journals that contain them are.

• Journals or periodicals are of all kinds: scholarly (e.g. Studies in Latin American Popular Culture) and popular (e.g. Maclean’s)– Scholarly vs. popular

• Use Databases to find articles.

Electronic Databases General Humanities: MLA, Humanities Full Text*, Web of

Science*, IBZ*, Humanities International Complete*, Periodicals Index Online*, Historical Abs., Sociological Abs.*, BHI, Literature Resource Center.

Films: Film & Television Literature Index, Film Indexes Online, Communication & Mass Media Complete*, Art Abstracts*, International Index to Performing Arts*

Newspapers: Paper of Record, Factiva*, NewspaperDirect Women’s Studies: Contemporary Women’s Issues, Gender Studies

World-wide or Rare Resources (books & articles): Centre for Research Libraries (CRL), OCLC WorldCat.

Theses: Proquest Dissertations and Theses Full Text, Index to Theses.

* Limitable by Review

Subject Specific Databases•French: Francis, Repère, Érudit, Choix, DAVID, Termium

•Spanish & Latin American Studies: HAPI, HLAS, Caribbean Abstracts, Latin Americanist Research Resources Project, Clase, Bibliografía de literatura española desde 1980.

•Italian: Italinemo

•German: Bibliographie der Deutschen Sprach – und Literaturwissenschaft, IDZ, DaSinD

•Slavic Studies: ABSEES, EBSEES, Social Sciences & Humanities Journals from Russia, Ukrainian Publications, Central and Eastern European Online Library, Rubrikon, Russian National Bibliography

Linguistics and Translation

• Linguistics: LLBA, Linguistics Abstracts, Bibliography of Linguistic Literature, Bibliography of Metaphor & Metonymy, Bibliography of Pragmatics, BL Online

• Translation: Translation Studies Abstracts, Translation Studies Bibliography, Termium, Le Grand Dictionnaire terminologique, Inter Active Terminology for Europe 

• Bibliography of Translations: Index Translationum

Finding Databases and Articles• Under the Browse by Subject heading on the

left-hand side of the Library’s Webpage or the Subject tab in the menu bar, click on your research area.

• You will find a list of recommended databases on the right and, on the left, QuickStart guides to help get you started on your research project.

• E.g. Click on Arts Area Studies Latin American Studies

• Click on MLA International Bibliography

Input 1 concept / box

If necessary, select a more specific field after initially searching all of the fields.

Limit results further by choosing the following options above

Results are few because terms do not include variants

Use variant terms to increase results

Use Select a Field, unless there are too many results and you are sure of the Subject Heading

1

2

Access to full-text through MLA

Search book title in Catalogue

Get It! Icon (see following slide)

Finding a Print Journal

Electronic Access to Journals• Return to MLA records and find the following article

(#33 in list):“Latin America: Cultures in the Communication Media” By: Barbero, Jesus-Martin; Journal of Communication, 1993 Spring; 43 (2): 18-30.

• Click on and one of the links.• A new database opens up.If the article doesn’t appear, search for the journal title in the library catalogue.

Search for the thesis title

Access to Theses

Click on the pdf link to open the thesis.

Full-Text?

E-Mail or Export the document!

Brief Exercise

• Find a peer-reviewed journal article using the Francis database about postmodernism in French-speaking Africa.

• Try searching for articles on French postmodernism using the article single search servicehttp://www.library.ualberta.ca/searchcollection/advanced/index.cfm .

Practise Searching for a Citation

• Refer to the following citation :Connor, J. D. “Sartre and Cinema: The Grammar of Commitment.” Modern Language Notes. Vol. 116. 5 (2001 Dec.): 1045-68.

• Find the periodical title in Library Catalogue– [Starting with] MLN [Periodical Title]

• Find the article. Is it available online? Try finding the article using

Get It Citation Linker

2 Access Links!

Check coverage dates for access!

Print copies

E-copies

Writing the Research Paper• Online resources available

– go to the main Library Webpage– On the left-hand side, under Browse by Type,

• click on All Types and choose–Citation Guides, or –Research Guides

• Refworks is another online tool that may help you in managing your citations and building bibliographies– Click on the RefWorks link below Quick Links

on the main Library webpage

Interlibrary Loans (ILL)• Use this service if you cannot find a book,

journal, or journal issue in the NEOS Library Catalogue.

• This is a free service that locates items in libraries all around the world, and brings them here for you.

• Please check The NEOS Library Catalogue before requesting an item on Interlibrary Loan.

• http://www.library.ualberta.ca/interlibraryloan/index.cfm or link to ILL form from GetIt Citation Linker.

Reserve Materials• Your professors have placed resources on

reserve so that your whole class will have the chance to consult them. Their use is restricted.

• Reserve items are located behind the circulation desk in each UofA library

• Find the reserve item’s call number before going to the circulation desk.– Click on the Reserves link on the Library

Catalogue’s main page– Search by Instructor or Course name,

e.g. LAST205

Circulation Policies• The OneCard is used to borrow items from the library.

– OneCard barcode number and PIN: ILL and requesting or holding library materials

• Use your Campus Computing id & password for connecting to workstations or databases.

• Loan periods: undergrad students = 2 weeksgrad students and professors = 4 months

• You may request any item that is checked out, but the minimum loan period is 2 weeks.

• Fines are serious. Renew items online, in-person, or by phone before the due date.

• Check My Account for due dates, renewal, and item requests. See also My Account Beta.

Reference Services• The Reference Desk is always a good place to start

your research. Librarians are there to help you get started in the right direction.

• Reference services are listed here:

• Get to know the liaison librarians in your subject areas: Erika Banski, Denis Lacroix...

The End

• Questions? Anything to review?

• If you want to practise, I can stay in the lab for 15 minutes.

• When leaving, close PuTTy authentication, but please leave computers on

• Download presentation:http://www.library.ualberta.ca/instruction/hss/NTL_for_MLCS_2006.ppt

Thank you very much for attending