College English

AENG 180-04: Prof. A. Romano


Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library
 

November 16 , 2006

Susan B. Kurzmann

skurzman@ramapo.edu

 

I. Library Homepage: http://library.ramapo.edu

  • Provides access to the catalog (OPAC), databases, interlibrary loan forms, etc.

II. Finding Books at the Potter Library

  • Catalog: use this to find books, periodical titles (NOT articles ), government documents, reserve items, music,and movies owned by the Library. You may limit a search by language, year(s) of publication, type of material, etc. This may take a few seconds to load.
  • Use the Basic Search to find material using Keywords
    • For example: search for advertising and children or gender and inequality to locate a broad range of materials the library has on these keywords
    • Use quotation marks around a multi-word phrase so that the catalog system will treat it as a single word, for example "eating disorder" or "stomach cancer"
    • When you find an appropriate title, click on the Related Records tab located at the top of a catalog record to see which Library of Congress subject headings are discussed in that particular book/DVD/periodical to get to more titles that deal with that subject

    OR

  • Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature if you know the relevant Library of Congress subject heading, for example:
    • Accounting
    • Art--History
    • Basketball
    • Cloning
    • Computers--History
    • Evolution--Religious aspects OR Bible and evolution
    • Health behavior
    • Hinduism  [see subheadings]
    • Hockey
    • Marine animals
    • Music and technology
    • Stalingrad, Battle of, Volgograd, Russia, 1942-1943
    • Stomach--Cancer
    • Surgery, plastic
 

Tips

    1. Start with broad searches. It is much easier to discard too much rather than start with too little.
    2. If you don't know the Subject Heading, use the Related Records tab located on the top of a catalog record to get to the headings. This will help you focus in on more relevant material.
    3. Can "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record.

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III. Reference Material

  • The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).
  • Some useful materials for your projects:
    Reference works for various subject areas:  
    Handbook of Eating Disorders and Obesity: A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment Ref FC564.15 .H357 2004
    Encyclopedia of Women and Gender

    Ref HQ 1115.E43 2001

    Praeger Guide to the Psychology of Gender Ref BF692.2.P73 2004
    Sports Leagues and Teams: An Encyclopedia, 1871 through 1996 Ref GV583 .P65 1998
    Encyclopedia of World Sport: From Ancient Times to the Present Ref GV567 .E56 1996
    Handbook of Marketing and Society Ref HF5414 .H36 2001
    History of Art Ref N5300.J3 2001

    St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture

    (online access)

    Print edition:

    Ref E169.1.S764

    History of Accounting: An International Encyclopedia Ref HF 5605.H573 1996
    How Healthy Are We? A National Study of Well-Being at Midlife Ref BF724.6 .H69 2004

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IV. Finding Articles (Database Searching)

General databases:  

Academic Search Premier

and

Expanded Academic ASAP

Multi-disciplinary databases containing both full-text articles and citations. May limit search to refreed/scholarly journals.

NOTE: When only a citation is included, click on the Check availability (at Ramapo) link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection in print or through another database.
Subject-specific databases:  

For gender issues:

GenderWatch

A full-text database of unique and diverse publications that focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas

For accounting and advertising:

General Business File

Provides business and industry content via periodical articles, news articles, and press releases. Includes industry overviews.

For art:

Art Full Text

Includes: Advertising Art, Antiques, Archaeology, Architecture and Architectural History, Art History, Computers in Art, Crafts, Decorative Arts, Fashion Design, Folk Art, Graphic Arts, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Motion Pictures, Museology, Non-Western Art, Painting, Photography, Pottery, Sculpture, Television, Textiles, Video.

For health and medicine:

Health Management Journals

and

MEDLINE (via EBSCO)

Health Management Journals:

Largely full-text.

NOTE: When only a citation is included, click on the Find a copy link and then on Check for full text via 1Cate to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection.

MEDLINE:

Index from the National Library of Medicine

NOTE: When only a citation is included, click on the Check availability at Ramapo link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection.

For history:

JSTOR

 Full-text articles from scholarly journals

 

Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by that journal. Many of the databases allow you to limit your search to these articles.

  

Tips

  1. Switch to the Advanced Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
  2. Use Boolean Operators--AND, OR, NOT and Quotation Marks when running a search. For Example: "glass ceiling" and (men or women)
  3. Always check your Spelling if the database results are zero.
  4. Use the Subject Terms or Thesaurus link, if available, to find the best terms to use in a database.

                                                                                                               

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V. Journal Finder and Interlibrary Loan

  • Journal Finder:

    Find out immediately if a particular periodical is available in the George T. Potter Library. If it is available, see in which format we have it: in print or microform, or as individual articles available through a full text database. This feature also appears in most of our databases.

  • Interlibrary Loan: allows studens to borrow a book or article that the George T. Potter library does not own. There is a link from the Journal Finder page.

Both of these links can be found under QUICK LINKS on the library's homepage.

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VI. Web Searching

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VII. Preparing Bibliographies

Need more help? Visit or call the Reference Desk: 201.684.7574

Use QandA NJ: a 24/7 virtual chat with a reference librarian.
 
| George T. Potter Library |
| 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah NJ 07430 | (201) 684-7575 |

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