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First Year Seminar

(EOF)

  July 15, 16,  and 17, 2008

 I.      Library Homepage   Provides access to the catalog (OPAC), databases, interlibrary loan

         forms, etc.

• First Year Seminar Page - Information on library research for all FYS classes

• Library Research Tutorials - A series of self paced instructional components to introduce you to important research concepts and use of the George T. Potter Library

• Course Reserve - Need either Ramapo ID (R#) or barcode (provided by the library)

• Q&A New Jersey - Reference assistance when there is no reference librarian available

• Research Strategies Worksheet - Use to track your research and refer back to when compiling your work cited list.

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 at risk students to locate a broad range of material and look for ideas for your topics.
• Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature if you know the Library of Congress subject headings, for example,

                 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 Subjects etc. 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

III. Reference Material

• The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).
• Some suggested materials for your projects:

A History of American Higher Education	Ref  LA 226 .T45 2004
Higher education in the United States : an encyclopedia	Ref LA225 .H54 2002
Trends in Higher Education	Ref  LA 227.4 T745 2007
Encyclopedia of Education and Human Development	Ref  LB 15 .E473 2005

Tips

1. Use reference books to browse for project ideas and to get started on your research.
2. Use the Bibliographies at the end of encyclopedia entries to find more information on your topic.

IV.  Finding Articles at the Potter Library

• Alphabetic list

• Some useful databases (Electronic Resources) for your projects
• Use these databases to locate journal articles
• These databases are available Only to Ramapo students
• Off campus use requires your Ramapo email and password

    Scholarly/peer reviewed/refered articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in

    the discipline covered by the journal.

• Journal Finder : determine if a journal is available full-text online, in print in the library, or available on microfilm

         TIPS

    1. Always switch to the Advanced 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:

        hispanics AND college OR universities NOT community colleges and degree

    3. Always check your spelling if the database results are Zero.

V.   Finding Websites at the Potter Library

• Use the following link under Education and Subject Resources to locate supplemental information on higher education.

         The Educator's Reference Desk: Search for citations to education related journal articles

         and other documents.

• Evaluating Websites: to determine if the site is authoritative enough to use in your paper.

VII. Requesting Interlibrary Loan

• 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.

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• Use Citing Sources for examples of "In-Text Citations" and "Works Cited"
• Use the MLA Citation Style and examples
• Use the Citing Websites and Print Sources to get call numbers for paper copies of  style manuals
• See Also, "The Open Handbook"

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Need more help?

Contact:

 Shirley Knight through email: sknight@ramapo.edu or (201) 684-7315

 OR

Visit or call the Reference Desk: 201.684.7574