Library Services
Research Skills
©LEICESTER COLLEGE SEPTEMBER 2017
Introduction
This guide has been designed to help you get the most from the college Library and its many different printed and online resources to help with your studies.
Finding Resources
This section is to help you to decide which resources may be useful to you and where these resources can be found. It also explains how different parts of a book can help you find the information you need or lead you to different sources or locations for information.
Online Library Catalogue
The Online Library Catalogue is the Library’s database of resources: – books, e-books etc. and is available to use in all of the college Libraries. It can also be accessed in the following ways:
via the College Website at: www.leicestercollege.ac.uk click College Life Libraries Heritage Library Catlaogue Log in using your college network username and password Or via Moodle at: moodle.lec.ac.uk click Online Learning Resources Log in using your college network username and password Library Catalogue Search
To search, you can enter an author, a title, a keyword
We decide where each item in the Library should be by giving each a number which is usually on the spine of the item. This number is called the Shelfmark and can be anything from ‘000’ to ‘999’. This helps us to group together resources on the same or similar subjects. For example, all resources about painters have the shelfmark ‘759’ but, for example, more specific resources about ‘American Painters’ would be slightly different at shelfmark ‘759.3’.
Once you have found the resource you want and the shelfmark, how do you find it on the Library shelves?
After the shelfmark, you will find three letters. These are the first three letters of the author’s last name. So, the resources are arranged in numerical order followed by alphabetical order.
For example, if you want a book called ‘The story of Art’ by E.H. Gombrich 709 for History of Art GOM for Gombrich You would find this book on the shelf at ‘709 GOM’ The shelves are arranged in numerical order, starting with ‘000’ and working up to ‘999’. To help you, you will find guides on the end of each bay of shelves.
Finding
information in books Title page When presenting your assignment, you may be asked to list your sources of information e.g. books, journals etc. You will usually find the necessary details, author, title, publisher, place of publication, date of publication and edition on the title page or reverse of the title page. Contents Found at the beginning of a book, the contents page tells you the titles of the chapters in the order they are presented in the book and also the number of the page on which each chapter starts. The contents page tells you a little of what is in the book to help you decide if it contains the information you need.
Index / Indices This is a list in alphabetical order usually found at the back of the book. It is a list of all the subjects that the book contains. Beside each subject listed is a page number to help you precisely locate the information . Bibliography This is a reading list or a list of books usually found towards the back of a book. It shows which books or resources the author used to gather information for their own book and is a useful source for further reading or research. Apendix / Appendices These give full details of documents the author may have referred to in the text. They may also be used to tell the detailed story of an event only mentioned in the text. Notes Found at the bottom or side of the page, they will be linked to the appropriate places in the text on that page by symbols or numbers.
Glossary This is similar to a mini-dictionary that defines technical terms used in the text. REMEMBER – You may not be able to find a whole book on the subject you are interested in but many books may contain chapters or even paragraphs on the topic you wish to research. The contents page and the index will help you here. This is relevant when using both print and electronic resources.
Journals / Magazines / Periodicals These are published at regular intervals e.g. weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. Journals contain many different articles by different authors, provide current / updated information and can also be useful for job vacancies. The Library has a wide range of these, selected by your lecturer, to help with your studies and many of them are available electronically via the e-Library. DVDs These can be found in the Library catalogue by entering an author / artist / keyword / subject. All subject specific DVDs can usually be found on the general shelves inter-filed with books. Films are stored and displayed on separate shelves. Music CDs can be found in the same way but are only available in Abbey Park Campus Library. Newspapers There are daily local / tabloid / national newspapers in the library. These are the best sources for current national or international news, specific articles, reviews, job vacancies, etc. REMEMBER – information in newspapers can be biased.
Dictionaries / Thesauruses Dictionaries tell you how to spell a word and give you the meaning of that word. A thesaurus contains lists of words which have the same, similar or a related meaning. There are also dictionaries for different subjects which can be used to find the meaning of words of a particular topic. The Libraries also have a wide range of dual language dictionaries.
Directories Generally these are for the telephone numbers and addresses of people and businesses. There are also dedicated or professional directories which are for specific associations, industries or art work. Year books Often includes a lot of current information which is updated annually. For example, the Performing Arts Yearbook is the industry’s reference tool with listings to help with everything from finding performers for an event, getting an agent or sourcing a venue for a show, to finding theatre groups and performing arts courses. Atlases / Maps These feature physical locations and geographical information.
The e-Library The e-Library can be accessed via moodle at: moodle.lec.ac.uk click Online Learning Resources
Log in using your college network username and password The e-Library is available 24 hours a day. It is a collection of electronic resources including databases, e-books, e-journals and subject specific websites. Search – gives access to the Online Library Catalogue
Renew your Library loans
Browse by Subject – groups resources according to subject area
Library Resources Online Links to Library-subscribed web databases, e-books, e-journals and preselected websites.
Help With Your Studies
Internet Search engines are a useful source of information but make sure the information is relevant, check its validity, quality and accuracy. There are alternatives to Google. For example, try Google Scholar as this only searches academic sites for more reliable information.
Other places to find resources for your research • Local / public libraries • University libraries e.g. DMU or Leicester University – please ask staff for access details • Other college libraries – please ask library staff for access details
library
Library services to support your research • PCs • Inter-Library Loan Service – please ask library staff • Colour and black & white printers, photocopiers • • • • •
Scanners Binding machines Laminators Light box Guillotine
Some Tips for Research
Assignment brief Think about the brief and decide what information you need and where to get it. Discussion Discuss the brief with relevant lecturers. Seek advice, experience and expertise from someone who knows more about the subject. Time Find out the deadline for the assignment or project and plan your research accordingly. Word count Make sure you know this. Anything over may be discarded.
Money Organise your finances as you will need money for photocopying, laminating, binding, printing and buying relevant materials, etc. Data Collection and Selection Make sure that you only collect the information you need. Also, check the accuracy and validity of the collected data. Schedule the work.
Plan your research by deciding:
When to do it How much time is needed List the tasks List the activities Monitor your progress
Summary Read the assignment brief / project thoroughly. Determine the length, quality, quantity. Include graphs / images / photographs / illustrations. If possible, look at someone else’s previous work to compare. Collect data: lecture or class notes, your previous work, visits to other libraries and other places for information etc. Prepare the bibliography and reference lists as you collect your data. Be organised – keep a record of where you have found your information as you go along.
Library contacts:
Abbey Park Campus Library
2244098
Freemen’s Park Campus Library
2242045
St Margaret’s Campus Library
2242163
Email: libraries@lec.ac.uk
@LibrariesLC