Transcript css101 jkc-all-f07 - Mercer County Community College

Using the Library
CSS101
Martin J. Crabtree
MCCC Library
September 2007
Agenda
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Why is finding & using information important
The People & material at the MCCC Libraries
So what do I look for – Picking a topic
Finding books in a college library & using the catalog
Break time!
Electronic Searching
Databases of information from the MCCC Library
Looking for web information
Evaluating the information you find – Is it any good?
Why is finding and using information
important?
• The ability to find and use information is something
that you’ll need both in college and as part you the
rest or your life!
• You will need these skills to do thing in college like
researching & writing a term paper
• You will also need it for things like:
– Finding a job
– Deciding which car to own
• Anytime where you need to “find something out”
What is information literacy?
Information literacy is the ability to:
• Realize that you need information to find
something out/answer a question
• Know where to go to get the information you
need
• Ask the right questions to get the information
you need
• Put all the information you found together to
answer your question
For example, say you want to go
on a date.
What kind of information might you
need?
Going on a date
1.
Who do you want to go with?
– That’s your choice
2. What do you want to do?
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Movie?
Dinner out?
Amusement park?
Concert?
Say you pick a concert, now you
need some information
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Are there any good concert coming up?
When is the concert?
How much are tickets?
How do I get there if I’m driving to the
concert?
• How much does it cost to park my car?
• Can I take a bus or train to the concert?
So what does this have to do with
college?
• In college, just like going on
a date, you must be able
to find out what you need
to know.
This isn’t just being able to use a
computer and the internet
• You will need to have some computer skills
– To use computer programs
– Access the internet
– Print, email, save files, etc.
• But it is equally important to have the ability
to find information you need and know what
to do with the “stuff” you found.
The MCCC Libraries can help
• The library has a lot of useful information for both
your college work and personal needs.
• The library staff can help you find what you need
and help
you to improve your
information finding
skills.
The MCCC Libraries
• There are three (3) libraries at MCCC
– James Kerney Campus (on the 3rd floor)
– West Windsor Campus (in the Library Building)
– Dempster Fire Training Center
The reference desk is first thing you see
you when you enter the library
• The people who are at this desk are there to help
you find what you need.
• Ask them for the information you need. They will
help you find the best materials for you.
The people at the circulation desk can
help too
• You check out book here.
• You get videos & newspapers here.
• You can get materials (books, journal articles,
etc.) that your professor has set aside here (can’t
leave
the library)
• The people here can
help answer your
questions too.
So what all is in the library?
What’s in the library
Beside helpful library staff there are:
• A quiet place to study
• Books
• Magazines & Journals
• Open computer lab
• Videos
• CDs
• Copiers
• Expect to use many types of
library materials to do a good
job for your college assignments
Reference books
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There are many types of books
Some are called reference books
They contain factual information, non fiction
Cover many subject areas
You’ll likely not read an entire reference
book, but will use the info form a few pages.
Reference books include
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Encyclopedias – intro to a topic
Almanacs – find facts here
Atlases – maps of all types
Dictionaries – look up words
Many more
– Biographical sources – info about people
– Quotations – what people have said about a
topic
– Statistics – Number facts
Selecting a research topic
Figuring out what you want to find
out about
Selecting a topic
• Make sure you understand your assignment completely.
• Look at general resources like an encyclopedia to find
out more about the broad topic, looking for things that
may interest you.
• Think of a topic that both will fulfill your assignment
and be interesting to you personally.
• Use the library catalog to find books on your topic.
• Use library databases and indexes to find periodical
(magazine, journal, newspaper) articles.
Finding Books
• Books are put on the shelves grouped
by subject.
• You may be familiar with the Dewey
Decimal System which is used by
many school and public libraries.
• MCCC like most colleges uses a
different system called the Library of
Congress (LC) system.
• The LC system used both letters and
number
Library of Congress System
• Organizes knowledge into 21 broad categories.
• The 21 categories (labeled A to Z, but missing I, O,
W, X and Y) are further subdivided by adding one
or two additional letters and a set of numbers.
• The first letter of a Library of Congress (LC) call
number indicates the general subject area.
• The second letter indicates the specific subject
section within the general category.
Library of Congress vs. the Dewey
Decimal Systems
Dewey Decimal System
Library of Congress
• Ancient Olympic Games:
796.48 PER
• Ancient Olympic Games:
GV23.S9 1999
• Fiction books are all in
the same place:
F DIC
• Fiction books are part of
the system: PZ3.D55 T3
• Biography books are also
in the same place: B EDI
• Biographies are mixed
into the collection:
TK140.E3 J75
The bottom line
Library of Congress (LC) starts with letters (and
has some number too)
Dewey starts with numbers
Let’s pause for a quiz…
don’t worry, it’s not hard!
Now for a 10 minute break…
Using the library
CSS101 - Part 2
Martin J. Crabtree
MCCC Library
Using the Library Part 2 - Agenda
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What is Information Literacy
Using the the Mercer Library’s catalog
Searching electronic resources
Databases and Web information
Your turn to use the databases & the web
Using The MCCC Card Catalog to
find books and more
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The catalog is available online.
Used to find books, videos and
other material both in the
MCCC collection and the Mercer
County Public (MCL) libraries.
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You can have materials from MCL
brought to the college. Deliveries
arrive Tuesday and Friday
afternoons. (DVD’s not available
from MCL)
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You will need to have your student
ID card to borrow books or use the
library’s computer lab
Searching Electronic Databases
And The Web Too
Starting An Electronic Search
Keywords
• Keywords are used when searching electronic databases and
web search engines
• First step - Generate a list of words (keywords) often nouns
that describes or is commonly used when discussing your
topic. For example:
– Ozone
– Layer
– Depletion
– Atmosphere
– Hole
Starting An Electronic Search
Boolean Searching/Logic
• Boolean searching - Connecting keywords with the
terms
– and
– not
– or
• For example
– eagles NOT football
– (car or automobile) and exhaust
• More Terms = Fewer “Hits”
Searching More Than Just Keywords
Phrases & Truncations
• To search for a phrase, use quotation marks
– “weapons of mass destruction”
• Truncations allow for searching related words
all at once
– The * is usually used. For example:
• “child*” would include: child, children, childhood,
childproof, etc.
Let’s take a quick look at how
Boolean searching can help
Electronic Databases at the
Mercer Library
Electronic Databases at MCCC
In General
• Over 60 databases available
• Many contain periodical articles
• Some are useful for searching specific subjects
like business, art, or criminal justice.
• Others are also useful
tools like the Encyclopedia
Britannica and the Oxford
Dictionary
Electronic Databases
In General
• Accessible at any computer on
the MCCC/JKC campus
network
• Most are available off campus,
though you do need to use a
password.
• Can print/e-mail/download
articles
Accessing Databases Remotely
• You can access most of the databases from
any computer with internet access.
• Use your student ID number (no dashes) and
your last name (include punctuation) to log
into the databases. i.e.
• If you are already using a library issued
password and ID number, it is no longer valid
Remote Login Screen
Use your student ID
number & last name
Use your issued User ID &
password (faculty & staff only)
Let’s take a look a the
databases…
Using the World Wide Web
Using the internet/world wide web
• Before using the web for most college
research, try using databases first:
– You will have fewer hits to go through
– You’ll likely find some good information quickly
– The information is always high quality
• The internet & web are not the same thing
Some things to consider when
searching the web
• Everything is NOT on the web and may never
be
• No search engine covers the entire web
• The “invisible web” is huge!
• Though there has yet to be consensus,
estimates put the size of the invisible web
between 2 and 500 times bigger than the
“visible” (or surface) web.
Searching the World Wide Web
Search Strategy
• Searching the Web is much like database searching:
– Put together a list of keywords describing the information you
desire
– Use Boolean logic (and, not, or) to better define your search,
use double quotes for phrases, etc.
• When searching the web, also:
– Consider which search engines/sites may best suit your search
needs. Different search engines yield different results.
– Use the search engine’s “advanced search” to select limiting
parameters (language, date, domain, etc.)
Let’s pause for a bit for some TV
Is this stuff
any good?
Evaluating Web Sites
Evaluating Web Sites
• Quality varies greatly from site to site
• YOU are the sole evaluator of the
quality of information a site provides
Five Web Info Evaluation Criteria
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Accuracy - is it reliable?
Authority - is author qualified on subject?
Objectivity - is the information biased?
Currency - is the information “new” enough?
Coverage - does the info completely cover the
topic?
The Bottom Line…
Buyer Beware
• The web contains a vast amount of information… but not
everything
• Anyone can put information on the web, hence the
quality of web information varies greatly
• YOU will often be the only person to decide if the quality
of the info you find on the web is good
Let’s look at some websites
Go to:
http://www.mccc.edu/~crabtrem/css101.htm