LIBRARY RESEARCH
I hate PowerPoint, but maybe this
will help…
Enjoy the autumnal theme!
Library Website
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Start your research at the library website; as
the Penguin Handbook suggests, “most books,
films, recordings, scholarly journals, and older
copies of newspapers that you can find in a
large library are not on the Web” (267).
You can use the web to find sources to fill in
the gaps that remain after your library and
database searches.
http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/
Why start here...
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The library’s budget includes approximately
$13 million annually for acquisitions and
subscriptions. Therefore, you’ll find many
valuable sources (books and periodicals, paper
copies and electronic copies) through UK’s
library system.
InfoCat
What should you search for in
InfoCat?
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Books
Journals (by title); use databases to find
particular articles.
Newspapers (by title)
Magazines
Government Documents
Audio/Visual holdings
How should you search in InfoCat?
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By Subject: UK’s library (and most university and
large public libraries) is organized according to the
Library of Congress Subject Heading system. The
Big Red Books, available in the reference section of
the library, include all of the subject headings in use.
By Keyword: See pages 269-73 in Penguin for useful
information.
By Title: If you already know the title of one relevant
book, you can search for it; then, using related record
searching, you can find other sources categorized
under the same LCSH.
By Author
Keyword Searching
Sorting Through the Results…
Publication Info: Brief View
Publication Info: Full View
Advantages of Full View
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Often, keyword searching offers an easier way
to begin your exploration because you don’t
need to know the specific Library of Congress
Subject Headings.
However, once you find sources, you can use
full view to see the subject heading(s) under
which works are classified.
Using these hyperlinked subject headings is
called “related record searching.”
Go ahead… Click It
What should you look for…
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Availability
Library: Don’t spend hours in one library searching
for a book that’s actually housed in another library
Date of Publication: Is it recent? For your topic,
should it be recent?
Full View: Continue to pursue related record
searches; in your notebook, keep track of relevant
LCSHs so you can go back and use them later.
More Subject Headings
How do you find a book?
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Write down the book’s Call Number
InfoCat is helpful; it usually gives you a floor
number to go along with the Call Number.
If you can’t find a book, you shouldn’t hesitate
to ask a staff member for help.
What should you do when you get to
the shelves?
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Systematically browse the area around the title
that you’re looking for.
WHY? Since the books are organized
according to the Library of Congress Subject
Heading system, the books immediately to the
left and right of your book are probably
somehow related in topic to your book.
What do you mean?
Should I just grab all the books?
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Unless you brought your trusty wheelbarrow
and you have a lot of time, no…
Selectively scan the information on these
books:
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Title
Date of Publication
Table of Contents
Index
Scope
What else do I need to know?
Things to Remember…
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Squirrels can water ski.
The reference librarians (2nd floor of W.T.
Young Library) are there to help you find
search terms and sources. Ask them for help.
Make sure you have gone to the library to
activate your library card (student ID); you
can’t borrow materials or login to the
databases until you do.
What Should You Do With Your
Library Books?
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You should not write in them.
Use the Table of Contents and Index to move
to the sections of the book relevant to your
research.
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Good researchers don’t necessarily have to read
whole library books.
A quick scan of the book’s introduction and final
chapter can give you a good idea of the source’s
scope.
Any Questions…?
Let’s Review
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During Unit 2, we talked about finding articles
on library databases (specially LexisNexis
Academic and EbscoHost); do you have any
questions about either of these databases?
Another general database that you may find
useful is ProQuest.
Finding ProQuest
Off-Campus Login
Limitations of ProQuest at UK
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Many databases overlap in content; therefore,
individual libraries choose to pay for
expensive subscriptions to certain databases
and to pay for less expensive versions of other
databases.
At UK, we have a stripped down version of
ProQuest; however, the materials are available
in other databases.
Is it even worth looking at
ProQuest?
It depends, but you may find
ProQuest’s “TOPICS” section
helpful.
What should you do next?
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Start searching for sources now. Consult with
me or a reference library if you are having
trouble.
What shouldn’t you do next?
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This…