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       Shirley Knight                                                       Virginia Kaiser, Professor

       sknight@ramapo.edu                                             SWRK 420

       x7315

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

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

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 II. Choosing a Bill

• Use the following Subject Resources  under Government,  and Statistics to locate bills and supplemental information on your topics .

       Bills:

III.   Other Web Sites: ( Bills, Advocacy, Policy etc.)

• Council of State Governments http://www.csg.org identifies social, economic trends etc. common among all U.S. state governments and territories.
• Influencing State Policy http://www.statepolicy.org - aids students and others in learnkng to influence the formation, implementation and evaluation of state policy and legislation.
• National Conferences of State Legislatures http://www.ncsl.org
• Stateline.org http://stateline.org -Founded to help policy makers and engaged citizens become better informed about innovative public policies.
• Moving Ideas Network (formerly Electronic Policy Network) http://www.movingideas.org - A network of over 250 nonprofit organizations at the forefront of progressive policy and advocacy work, links nonprofits with the public as a resource for education and direct action. Searchable by categories.
• Handsnet http://handsnet.org - Empowers organizations to effectively integrate new online strategies, strengthening their program and policy to work on behalf of people in need.
• Public Agenda Online http://publicagenda.org - A nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organziation based in New York City. Its mission is to help leaders understand the public's point of view on major policy issues  and more.
• The Urban Institute http://www.urban.org -A nonprofit policy research organziation established in Washington, D.C.. Focuses on society's problems and efforts to solve them, improvement on government decisions, and increase citizens's awareness about public choices etc.

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IV.  Electronic Resources

• Selected Databases for your projects:

Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by that journal).

Tips

1. Always switch to the Advance Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
2. Always use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT when running a search. For Example: "child abuse" and "foster care"

1. Always check your Spelling if the database results are Zero.

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

V. 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 "welfare reform" or "human behavior" to locate a broad range of material and look for resources for your topics.
• OR

                                                         

• Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature ONLY if you know the Library of Congress Subject Headings

• 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.

 VI.. Reference Material

• The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).

   Tips

1. Use reference books to gain an overview of your topic.
2. Use the Bibliographies at the end of encyclopedia entries to find more information on your topic.

VII. Bibliographies

• Use Evaluating websites to determine if the site is authoritative enough to use in your paper.

• Use the Citing Websites and Print Sources for APA citation style guidance.

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

Use QandA NJ a 24/7 virtual chat with a reference librarian.