6. Finding other resources

Transcription

1 6. Finding other resources In this chapter Reference sources Other libraries Interlibrary loan and intrasystem loan World Wide Web In this chapter you will learn to locate additional facts and figures in reference sources, learn about other libraries, and learn when to use interlibrary loan and the World Wide Web. Reference sources New Term Reference sources can provide general background information, assistance in focusing your topic, quick access to important factual and statistical information, and references to other sources of information. Types of reference sources Reference sources can be classified as either general or specialized. General reference sources are broad in scope and cover more than one subject area. Specialized or subject reference sources are narrower in scope and are limited to providing information on one subject area such as art, education, music, or religion. Examples of reference sources are provided in the Bibliography. Below is a list of some of the types of reference sources found in a library and their uses: Reference source type Almanacs Bibliographies Information given Recent dates, important yearly dates, trends, yearly statistics. Also includes lists of facts, tables & charts, glossary, summary of annual events & awards Lists of works by a specific author or on a given subject, such as works of art, music, literature, or lists of newspapers. Also includes title and author of a book, article, film, software.

2 FINDING OTHER RESOURCES BASIC LIBRARY RESEARCH HANDBOOK Biographical sources Dictionaries Directories Encyclopedias Geographical sources atlas and gazetteers Information about a person's life. May include information about an individual's education and employment history, as well as, creative accomplishments, awards, and publications. Information about words such as definitions, pronunciation, usage, and derivations of words. May include spelling, grammar synonyms, antonyms, etymology, and pictures. Addresses of people, companies, organizations, or institutions. May include other contact information such as telephone and fax numbers, addresses, and short biographies. Overview and background information, historical facts, bibliographies, dates, geographic facts. Also includes charts, diagrams, pictures, photographs, biographies, long and short articles on various topics and places. Atlases are collections of maps covering a given area which may range from the entire world to a small geographic area. Specialized atlases may contain maps of such things as a historical period or product distribution. Includes place/city, state region, country, historical and geographic facts, statistics, and dates. Gazetteers are geographic dictionaries which give data on geographic places, including rivers, mountains, national parks, etc. Research guides Handbooks and manuals Indexes/abstracts Statistical sources Yearbooks How to do research in a specific field, research methods and library sources tailored to a particular subject area. Technical information about a subject. Includes basic "how-to" information in a concise format. Often includes academic, technical, and disciplinary knowledge, rules, guidelines, bylaws, categories of information, and instructions. For example, a style manual includes writing form, bibliographic style, footnote style, capitalization rules, punctuation rules, abbreviation forms, grammatical rules, reference formats, instructions for writing a paper. Citations (title of work, author name, and publication title, place, and date) to periodical articles, book reviews, plays, short stories, essays, movies, etc. May also include subject/keywords and abstracts. Numerical data from a variety of sources. Often published annually. Significant events or progress of a particular year. Also includes lists of facts, tables, charts, and statistics 6-2 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LIBRARY

3 BASIC LIBRARY RESEARCH HANDBOOK FINDING OTHER RESOURCES How to locate reference sources There are several ways to find out what reference sources are available in the library for your topic. 1. Do a subject search in the library catalog using a broad subject (Column A) plus one of the following format terms (Column B) indicating publication type. Column A Column B Subject term rock music musicians English language fashion religion civil engineering drama civil engineering China population education Format term bibliography biography dictionaries directories encyclopedias handbooks indexes manuals maps (use for atlases) statistics yearbooks 2. Consult a guide to reference books, such as: - A Guide to Reference Books, by Robert Balay Location: UH Manoa: Hamilton Main Reference Call number: Z G89 3. Ask for suggestions at the Reference Desk Other libraries If your research requires resources beyond UH Manoa Libraries, you might consider other libraries on campus and in the UH system, other libraries in the State of Hawaii, and other large library catalogs throughout the country. WorldCat (OCLC union catalog of academic libraries) URL: Hawaii State Public Library catalog URL: Consult the Bibliography in this handbook for suggestions of other library catalogs. UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LIBRARY 6-3

4 FINDING OTHER RESOURCES BASIC LIBRARY RESEARCH HANDBOOK Interlibrary loan and intrasystem loan If the library does not own the book or materials you need, you can make an interlibrary loan (ILL) request. Making an ILL request is easy. All you have to do is fill out an online form with the bibliographic citation of the book or article you want, and submit it to the Interlibrary Loan office. The Interlibrary Loan office does the rest. They will: 1. find a library willing to lend the book, 2. notify you when the item arrives, and 3. return the item to the lending library Photocopies of journal articles take 1-2 weeks by mail (average); 2-4 days by FAX or Internet. Books received by airmail from the mainland U.S. take 2 weeks (average). Materials from foreign libraries usually take longer. Books and articles are provided at no charge. Interlibrary loan forms are available on the web at: To make an intrasystem loan (ISL) request: 1. search the Hawaii Voyager library catalog 2. make sure that the full record for the item displays 3. if the needed research materials are NOT available (not owned, checked out, lost, missing, at bindery, etc.) at the UH Manoa Libraries (Hamilton and Sinclair), click the Request button at the top of the page 4. select IntraSystem Loan Form from the drop-down menu 5. follow the instructions on the IntraSystem Loan Form Book loans and photocopies of journal articles take 5 working days (average) plus transit time. Books and articles are provided at no charge. Filled media requests are $3 each. Internet and World Wide Web New Term The Internet is a vast network of networks, with the World Wide Web as the most prominent part. It is a telecommunications system through which one can communicate and access information. The Internet is used for a variety of reasons: to access information, to communicate with individuals and groups, and for research, education, recreation, and business. When to search the web The web can be a useful tool to look for current events and news; association, organization, professional, and government information. Many news and media companies distribute their information on the web. CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC news all provide up-to-date reporting of current events. Traditional print newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, 6-4 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LIBRARY

5 BASIC LIBRARY RESEARCH HANDBOOK FINDING OTHER RESOURCES Newsweek, Honolulu Advertiser, and MidWeek also publish webbased versions of their news. The web is also useful for directory type information, such as telephone and other contact information of businesses and organizations. Many companies also provide extensive product and services information on the web. Within libraries, there are generally two types of resources available on the web: restricted and free resources. Many restricted resources, such as Academic Search Premier, are commercial databases for which libraries pay to have access. These library resources on the web are often designed to meet the information needs of university students and faculty. Free information on the web is provided for a variety of purposes and comes from a wide range of sources. Companies and organizations may put information for free on the web for public relations, advertisement and promotion; special interest groups may host electronic mail forums; individuals may post personal information; and academic and non-profit organizations may host information, documents, and services of almost any type. In addition, there are large amounts of government information available for free on the web. Almost every United States federal agency and department makes sources of its information available on the web. Internet search engines New Term Internet search engines enable researchers to locate resources indexed on millions of web sites around the world. A search engine robot (a software program) roams the Internet, creating an index of sites it visits. Most information on the web is not selected and organized for the purpose of systematic storage and retrieval. In other words, it is not necessarily organized with the intent to support your research. Some of the most popular search engines are Google,Yahoo, and Ask.com. In addition to searching, many sites, such as Yahoo, also provide classified lists and directories of web resources. Many Internet search engines have the same database search features, such as keyword searching, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and truncation. See page 4-3 to review database search techniques. Summary In this last chapter in Part II of Finding Information, you learned that there is a lot more information sources published than just books and periodicals. You were introduced to reference sources, which provide additional facts and figures on almost any topic. You also learned when to use other libraries, interlibrary loan, and the Internet. UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LIBRARY 6-5

6 FINDING OTHER RESOURCES BASIC LIBRARY RESEARCH HANDBOOK Workshop Activities 1. Locate the reference collections in the library. Choose one and browse it to get a general idea of the kinds of resources you will find there. 2. Explore the library web site and obtain an overview of reference sources, Internet resources, other library catalogs, and Interlibrary Loan resources available to you online. 3. Choose a topic and pick three types of reference sources (e.g., a bibliography, an encyclopedia, and a periodical index) that you think would provide information about it. Search Hawaii Voyager using a subject term and the appropriate format terms to determine if the library has those types of resources on your subject. (Hint: you may need to experiment with subject terms.) 4. Choose a topic and perform a search using a web search engine (e.g., Google, Yahoo, or Ask.com). Perform the same search in Academic Search Premier. Compare the types of resources (e.g., organization web pages or articles in journals) retrieved by the Internet search engine and Academic Search Premier. Questions 1. You are writing a research paper and need to know the population of Japan. What types of reference sources would you consult to find this information? 2. You need to locate an atlas of Japan. What format heading would you use to search for an atlas in the library catalog? 3. What service will the library's Interlibrary Loan provide for you? 4. What are some differences between an Internet search engine and an online periodical index accessible from the library home page? (Note, you may need to review the information in Chapter 4 on database searching and in Chapter 5 on periodical indexes.) 5. For what kinds of information may the web be especially useful? 6-6 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII LIBRARY