First Year Seminar: The Individual and the Community

INTD 101-26: Prof. K. Buchta

Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library


October 31, 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.

  • Course Reserve  Need either Ramapo ID (R#) or barcode (provided by the library)
  • Q&A New Jersey:  Reference assistance online 24/7

II.  Avoiding Plagiarism

  •       Preparing bibliographies:
    • Use Citing Sources for examples of "In-Text Citations" and "Works Cited"

    (Style handbooks are located at the circulation desk)

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III. 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.
  • Search the catalog using Keywords to find material
    • For example: search for poverty or homelessness to locate a broad range of material and look for ideas for your project
    • Use quotation marks around a multi-word phrase to narrow your results, i.e., "street children"
    • 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
    •  

               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
 

OR

    • Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature if you know the relevant Library of Congress (LC) subject heading, for example:
      • Social values--United States
      • Homelessness
      • Homeless persons--United States

IV. Suggested Reference Material

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

        

 V.  Finding Articles (Databases)

  • For off-campus use, enter your Ramapo email username and password on the logon screen.
  • Some useful Databases for finding articles:
Academic Search Premier

A multi-disciplinary database containing both full-text articles and citations.

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.

Ethnic NewsWatch

A full-text interdisciplinary database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press
  • Choose database you would like to search

OR

  • Journal Finder : find out if a journal, newspaper, or magazine is available in print, in microform, or in full text through a database
     

VI.  Web Searching

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

 
| George T. Potter Library |
| 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah NJ 07430 | (201) 684-7575 |

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