Transcript Online Periodical Databases

The Firm:
A Library Resource Guide
Dr. Jun Wang
Librarian & Coordinator of Bibliographic
Instruction and Information Literacy
“Grisham has an ear for dialogue and
is a skillful craftsman. Like a
composer, he brings all his themes
together at the crucial moment for a
gripping, and logical, finale.”
-----Frank J. Prial
(Contemporary Literary Criticism)
A Tour of the Library Resources
* Reference Collection;
* Online Catalog;
* Periodical Indexes;
* Internet Sources.
Reference Collection
• Contemporary Literary Criticism:
– Cumulative Title Index (located at the end of the set)
• > The Firm (Grisham) 84:190-97, 199.
– Cumulative Author Index(located in the last volume)
• > Grisham, John 1955- . CLC 84 DAM POP
See also AAYA 14, CA 138, CANR 47, 69
Abbreviations (List to be found at the beginning of
Author Index) :
– CLC: Contemporary Literary Criticism
– CA: Contemporary Authors
– CANR: Contemporary Authors-New Revision Series
Reference Collection
• Contemporary Authors:
– Provides the following information: personal,
home & business addresses, writings,
adaptations, work in progress, sidelights, and
biographical/critical sources.
– Cumulative Index (blue, softbound index
located at the end of the set):
• Grisham, John 1955- . CANR 47
Volume 47
Contemporary Authors New Revision Series
Do you know....
• Grisham was “born February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, AR,
son of a construction worker and a homemaker...”
• “Each time the family took up residence in a new town,
Grisham would immediately go to the public library to get
a library card.”
• “Grisham enjoyed greater success in high school athletics
than he did in English composition--a subject in which he
earned a D grade.”
• He was a ‘lawyer in private practice in Southaven, MS,
1981-90. Served in Mississippi House of Representatives,
1984-90.”
• Contemporary Authors (47:151-54)
Online Catalog Sample Searches
 Subject:
Grisham,
John
Capital Punishment
 Title:
 Firm
 Author:

Grisham, John
 Keyword:
Grisham
criticism
Online Catalog Search Tips
Author
Last
Title
Search:
name, first name;
Search:
May
omit leading articles or
type the first few words in the title;
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using a long phrase/sentence;
Keyword
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when the subject is too narrow;
Use important words;
Online Catalog: Commands
“B”-- Back to previous
page;
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“Page down” (Next
Screen) -- Go to the next
page;
“Page up” (Prev. Screen) -Go back to the previous
screen.
Limit Search
Search by subject or title or author;
 When the preliminary search result is
displayed, press Return or Enter key
and select LIMIT from the menu;
 You may type any underlined letter
from the limit search options to limit
your search;
 The options include Date (limit by
year), Type of Materials, Language,
and Location.
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Limit to Audiovisual Material
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Select Limit Search from the pull-down menu under
Find;
Select Type of Materials by typing T which is underlined;
Make a selection of the type of audiovisual material you
want from the list;
Press Return or Enter key to okay the selection;
Items displayed afterwards are audiovisual materials.
Search Items from a Specific Location
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Select Limit Search from the pull-down menu under
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Press Return or Enter key to okay the selection;
Items displayed afterwards are items from that location.
Search for Reserved Items
 Select Reserve Room from
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instructor’s name;
 Enter course name and number or, best
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 Select an appropriate item by pressing
the line number to find the call number
and bibliographic information.
Databases Available @ Goleman
• InfoTrac Searchbank Databases:
– Expanded Academic ASAP (1980-);
– Health Reference Center--Academic
(1995-);
– Business Index ASAP (1996- );
– SIRS Researcher(R) (1988- );
– Gen’l Reference Ctr (Magazine
Index).
• NewsBank NewsFile.
General Trend
• Web-based;
• Increasingly popular:
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Frequent updates;
Full-text articles;
E-mail delivery;
Down-load capability;
Cross references/links;
Accessible from a remote, networked computer.
Research Strategies!
* Develop your
* List keywords and
research question;
their synonyms;
* Identify important
* Use Boolean
keywords;
search operators to
nest the search
terms together.
Online Searching Strategy Form
Thesis Statement:____________________________________
___________________________________________________
List Main concepts from the thesis statement:
Concept A
____________
Concept B
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Concept C
____________
Identify synonyms for each concept:
____________
______________
____________
or
or
or
____________ and ______________ and ____________
or
or
or
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Expanded Academic Index
• Indexes more than 2,000 scholarly, trade, and
general-interest publications;
• Has more than 3,676,630 articles, including over
1,000 full-text titles;
• Integrates core titles in every major academic
discipline;
• Includes publications with national news coverage
and commentary;
• Coverage: past 3 years (backfiles for certain
publications extends as far back as 1980;
• Updated daily.
Search Tips
• Subject Search:
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Type a brief subject search term;
Select a subdivision term by clicking on Narrow;
Click on View text to read the full-text article on screen;
Asterisk at the end of a citation indicates that Delta has a
hard copy of the periodical;
• Keyword Search:
– Use important words;
– May use * as a truncation key;
– May use “and” to combine search terms to narrow the
search and “or” between words to broaden your search.
Using the Internet As
a Research Tool
Web Site Addresses (URL)
& Tell-Tale Suffix
• To get to a particular Web site, you will need a
Web site address or Uniform Resource Locator
(URL) which begins with “http://”;
• Tell-tale suffixes:
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edu (educational institution)
gov (governmental agencies)
com (commercial companies)
org (organizations)
mil (military)
us (United States)
-uk (United Kingdom)
Connect to a Library Catalog
• Many college and university
libraries have made their library
online catalogs available for the
public to use;
• Use your common sense to go
directly to an academic Web site;
• Use keywords to find the Web
site of a college/university.
World Wide Web Search
• Directly connect to a site (When you know
the URL or Web address):
http://www.bdd.com/bin/show_story.cgi?story_id=477
http://the-tech.mit.edu/v113/n64/pelican.64a.html
• Subject search:
– Conduct a subject search using the subject
directory in Yahoo or LookSmart
• Keyword search:
– Grisham, John
– Grisham and Pelican Brief (look for reviews or
summary, please).
Your Turn to Search & Explore
Good Luck!