Introduction to the LACC Library
855 N. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Circulation (323) 953-4000 ext: 2395
Reference (323) 953-4000 ext: 2406
Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 7:45pm
Friday 8:00 - 1:00pm
Saturday 9:00am - 2:00pm
Closed Sundays and School Holidays
Where to Find Library Resources
1. Go to the Library Homepage:
http://www.lacitycollege.edu/resource/library/index.html
2. Choose Print Books, eBooks, or Databases
How to Search for eBooks
1. Search for a book
2. Find one you like
3. Download it or read it online
I Need Journal Articles!
What Database should I
use?
For most topics,
start with a
large,
interdisciplinary
database
Academic Search Premier
Lexis-Nexis Academic
Academic OneFile
Jstor
Ebsco Databases
Gale Databases
Others listed under
“Subject Databases”
If you don’t find
what you’re
looking for, try a
database for
your topic area
How to Search Databases
If you use the default
option, the database will
search by keyword
Add a second search
term using AND to get
fewer results or OR to
get more
Once you find a relevant
article, search for similar
articles with the same
subject terms
MLA Citations: Books
Part of
Citation
Print Books
E-Books
Author or
editor (if
editor, put
“ed.” after
the name)
Lastname, Firstname. (for 1 author)
OR
Lastname1, Firstname1, Firstname2
Lastname2, and Firstname3 Lastname3.
OR
Lastname1, Firstname1 et. al. (for >3 authors)
Same as for Print Books.
Book Title
Title of Book in Italics.
Same as for Print Books.
Information
about the
book
2nd ed. Vol. 6. City: Publisher, 2000.
Same as for Print Books.
Database
Title
--
Database Title in Italics.
Format
Print.
Web.
Access Date
--
20 Nov. 2014.
MLA Citations: Articles
Part of
Citation
Print Articles
Online Articles
Author
Same as for Print Books
Same as for Print Books
Article Title
“Title of Article in Quotation
Marks.”
Same as for Print Articles
Periodical
Title
Title of Periodical in Italics
without a Period
Same as for Print Articles
Information
about the
Periodical
140.2. (2004): (volume 140, issue 2.)
OR
10 Oct. 2003, late ed.: (for a
140.2 Oct. 2003:
OR
10 Oct. 2003, late ed.: (for a newspaper)
newspaper)
Page
numbers
1-15.
Same as for Print Articles
Database
Title
--
Database Title in Italics.
Format
Print.
Web.
Access Date
--
20 Nov. 2014.
How to Search for Print Books
You’ll usually use the basic search
But if you’re getting a lot of results, you can
use the power search for more options
Keyword versus Browse
Use Keyword to get a list of books.
Use Browse to get a list of Subjects or Authors
Using Subjects
Once you find a book, you can use the
Catalog Record to find out more about it.
Try clicking on the Subject Terms to find
other books on the same subject
How to Read a Call Number
You can find Additional information, such as (in this case)
the first letter of the title, at the end of the call number
The LACC Library uses the Dewey Decimal call
number system. Numbers range from 000 to
999 and are assigned by subject, so books on
similar subjects are shelved together.
Where to find books at LACC:
<500: Second Floor
≥500: Third Floor
The Cutter Number is
based on the author’s last
name (or, for unauthored
books, on the publisher)
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Tips and Tricks
For Ebooks:
– Only one person can use an eBook at a time, so if you can’t get in, try again later
– Full-book downloads expire after 2 days, but page downloads are permanent
For Databases:
– Logging into databases from home:
• Most databases: same log-in as library computers
• Gale databases: losangeles_cc, library
• CQ Researcher: lacc, cqel
• Encyclopedia Britannica: lacc, 2w9tui
– Vendors v. databases: Ebscohost and Gale are vendors and they sell several
databases. Databases from the same vendors look similar, so don’t get confused!
Tips for Citations
– If the item you are trying to cite is missing a piece of information, leave it out. For
example, not every article you find online has authors listed.
Tips for Print Books
– Some books are in special sections:
• Reference (R) is on the first floor behind the reference desk
• Law is behind reference
• Fiction (A-Z), short stories (C), popular fiction (POP), popular paperbacks (PB),
and children’s (X) books are on the second floor