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College English
Prof. Van Dyke
November 07, 2006
Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library
Leigh Keller
x7316
- Library Homepage
- Find Books
- Reference Material
- Find Articles (Databases)
- Interlibrary Loan/Journal Finder
- Bibliographies
- Websites
- Provides access to the catalog (OPAC), databases, interlibrary loan forms, etc.
II. Finding Books at the Potter Library
- Catalog: use this to find books, journal 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.
- Search the catalog using Keywords to find material
- For example: search for sex role society to locate a broad range of material and look for ideas for your project
- Use the Related Records link in the record to located the subject headings and find more topic specific material
Tips
- Start with broad searches. It is much easier to discard too much rather than start with too little.
- 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.
- Can "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record.
III. Reference Material
- The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).
- Reference material includes things like: encyclopedias (general and subject specific), dictionaries, and bibliographies
Tips
- Use reference books to browse for project ideas and to get started on your research.
- Use the Bibliographies at the end of encyclopedia entries to find more information on your topic.
IV. Electronic Resources
- Some useful Databases for your projects:
| Expanded Academic | Provides multidisciplinary, easy-to-use access more than 3,500 journals (of which 2,100 are peer-reviewed) in the areas of humanities, social science and science and technology. |
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A multidisciplinary database that contains many full-text articles. May also limit to scholary (peer-reviewed) journals. |
| Jstor | Many full-text articles on a variety of subjects. |
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The database includes over 510 titles, with more than 280 available in full text. |
(Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by that journal).
Tips
- Always switch to the Advance Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
- Always use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT when running a search. For Example: abortion and morality and "united states"
- Always check your Spelling if the database results are Zero.
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V. Interlibrary Loan
Both of these links can be found under QUICK LINKS on the library's homepage.
- Interlibrary Loan: allows students to borrow a book or article that the Potter library does not own. There is a link from the Journal Finder page.
- Journal Finder: this provides information regarding if a journal is available full-text online, in print in the library, or available on microfilm.
VI. Bibliographies
- Use Citing Sources for examples of "In-Text Citations" and "Works Cited"
- Use the Citing Websites and Print Sources to get call numbers for paper copies of syle manuals.
VII. Web Sources
- Evaluating Websites: to determine if the site is authoritative enough to use in your paper.
Need more help? Visit or call the Reference Desk: 201.684.7574
Use QandA NJ a 24/7 virtual chat with a reference librarian.