Library Instruction for Liberal Arts

Prepared by Sarah Brick Archer
Assistant Professor of Library Services
Resource Coordinator for the Department of Languages & Literature
Office:  Tahlequah campus, L308B; Ext. #3267, off-campus 918.444.3267

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General Library Information

Maps
John Vaughan Library Physical Overview CLIP Tutorial
Hours
Library of Congress Classification system.
The Research Strategies CLIP tutorial can provide an overview to getting started in researching a topic.

Finding a Work of Fiction

Library Catalog is used to find full-length novels, biographies, and collections of criticisms.  Do an author search on the author's last name. It is also a link to electronic books. 
To find short stories, poems, or plays found in anthologies, use the following indexes:
Ref. PN 1022.H39    Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry
Ref. PN2000 .P53     Play Index
Ref. PN 3373.C62   Short Story Index

Defining Terms

Ref. PE 1106.C65 1985    A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language
Ref. PN 41.H36 1992       Dictionary of Concepts in Literary  Criticism and Theory
Ref. PE 1625.O87 1991   Oxford English Dictionary.  (Gives the etymology of   words)
Ref. PN 41.H6                 A Handbook to Literature (Defines literary terms)

Overviews/Chronologies

Ref. EQ 677.R52 2000b The Annals of London
Ref. PR 56.B34            A Research Guide for Undergraduate Students: English and American Literature
Ref. PR 19.B5 1992     Bloomsbury Guide to English Literature
Ref. PR 87.R851 1968b Chronological Outlines of English Literature
Ref. PR 19.D73 1985   Oxford Companion to English  Literature

Cycle of Information

The cycle of information is an interesting one.  Research starts with an idea.  Someone becomes curious about something and wants to explore it.  Literature reviews are conducted, empirical evidence is gathered.  The researcher may wish to cross disciplinary lines and take a literary theory and apply it to another field.  The researcher writes an article.  If the article adds to the body of knowledge or presents a new concept, a journal in that discipline might be interested in publishing it. Article submissions go through a reviewing process in which multiple reviewers will read and comment on the article.  This is an example of a refereed journal article. If it passes the review process, the article is published in the journal.  Indexers read journal articles and assign subject headings to the articles and place the citation in indexes (such as MLA Bibliography).  Researchers comb indexes to find articles, and the whole cycle starts over.  This is a cycle that occurs right here at NSU.  Our faculty and students are publishing.  You can become a part of the process, too. Exciting, isn't it?

The Flow of Information (from the University System of Georgia) depicts how information about an event can be represented in different types of resources. Understanding how information is disseminated helps to know where to look and the attributes of each format.

What is authority and why is it important?

Experts in a field are individuals who might have degrees in a field, work in the discipline, and have published in the subject area.  Their opinions can be very useful in finding credible sources.  For instance, anyone can write Wikipedia articles, but only experts can contribute to Encyclopaedia Britannica. Keep the following concepts in mind when choosing and using resources for research:
1. Identify authors who are outstanding in their fields, determine the credentials of the author. Does the author have a degree in the field, is the author a professor?
2. Date of publication--is it recent? On Web pages, do the links work?
3. Does the publisher have a good reputation? Is it published by a professional association or university press? Is the journal refereed? On Web pages, check the domain (.edu is educational, .gov is government, .com is commercial, .net is network, .org is organizational)
4. How was the resource received by the critics?
5. Completeness of the material. Does the source have an index, bibliography?
6. Is the language slanted or biased?
7. Does it include well known facts or research studies? Is the information complete, accurate, objective?
8. What is the purpose of the resource?  Is it for the general public, children, scholars? Is the goal to market persuade, educate?

General Concepts

When approaching a database, look for help screens for complete information on how to search it effectively.  Check for scope notes that identify the contents of the database.  Check for advanced search screens and see different ways that the search can be limited.  For instance, what dates and types of materials are included in the database? Can it be searched by full text and subject?  Can the search be limited by date, language or full text? Each database uses controlled subject headings that can be accessed through the online Thesaurus.  For instance, in ERIC, writing centers are called writing laboratories.