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College English

October 16, 2006

 Shirley Knight,                                                                      P. Tovey

sknight@ramapo.edu, x7315                                                 ENGL 180-05               

 I. Library Homepage

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

II. Reference Material

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

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.

• Use the Basic Search to find material using Keywords
  • For example: search for "capital punishment" or "global warming" to locate a broad range of materials the library has on these keywords. Use quotation marks when searching for a two-word or multi-word topic

OR

• Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature if you know the relevant Library of Congress subject heading .
• For example:
  • Emigration and Immigration
  • Gay Rights
  • Global Warming
  • Homelessness
  • Capital Punishment
  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.

IV. Electronic Resources

     Use  the following Databases (Online) to locate journal and newspaper articles on your topics.

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

Journal Finder: indicates the electronic, microfilm and print periodicals in the library's collection.

• 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.

Tips

• Switch to the Advanced Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
• Use quotation marks when searching for a two-word or multi-word topic, i.e., "global warming," "gay marriage".
• Always use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT and Quotation Marks when running a search. For Example: "death penalty" OR "capital punishment" and adolescence
• Always check your Spelling if the database results are zero.
• Use the Subject Terms or Thesaurus link, if available, to find the best terms to use in a database.

V.  Web Sources

• Use the following Subject Resources to find supplemental information on your topics
• Academic Info http://www.academicinfo.net
• Wildlife Invasive Species Program http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu
• Use Evaluating Websites to determine if the site is authoritative enough to use in your paper.

VI.  Bibliographies

• Use the Citing Websites and Print Sources to locate"Works Cited" MLA citation style guidance

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

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