Finding Books in the Library Catalog

CARSON-NEWMAN COLLEGE

What About Books?

Books are usually published 1-2 years after anevent happens. It takes time to collect theinformation, verify it, write, and go through theediting process because books are morecomprehensive in coverage than other types ofresources.

• You need comprehensive coverage of a topic.• You need historical background on a topic.• You need factual or background information that you

might find in a reference book.

Use Books When:

How do you find books on a topic?

The Library Catalog is a database (rememberthat term from Unit 3?) of the Library’scollection of books, e-books, audiovisualmaterials, periodicals, and other resources.

The Library Catalog is located under “Library Resources”on the Library homepage.

Library Catalog Main Page:

First, get familiar with the Library Catalog homepage:Enter your

search termsChoose your search type

View your patron record

Conducting a Keyword Search:

1. Select the “Keyword”

option…

2. Enter your term, “genetics”… 4. Click “Go”

to search.

3. Make sure this box always says

“Carson-Newman College”…

Imagine you would like to search for a book about genetics. This is how you would do a Keyword Search in the Library Catalog for the books you need.

Remember: As you learned in Unit 3, you can combine terms in a Keyword Search using Boolean Operators.

For example, you could add animals to your search by entering genetics AND animals.

Results of your Keyword Search:

The search found 449 items with the word

“genetics” somewhere in their record

This icon means the item is an e-

book that you will access online

This icon means the item is a book in print

that you will find in the Library

Click the First Result…Click the first result (the e-book) to see its record.

Your term “genetics” is highlighted in red EACH time the word occurs in the record – remember, Keyword searches can

find your term anywhere it occurs.

To access an e-book, you will click the link underneath the

information box.

Viewing an e-book:

Look here to find the publication information you will need to cite this e-book.

Click “View this eBook” to open the book viewer

Looking back at your search results:Now let’s look at record #2 from your search results (the print book)

The number listed under “Call #” is the number you need to find the book on the shelves .

The “Status” section will tell you if the book is Available, or the date the book is due back if

it’s checked out.

How a Keyword Search can lead you to a Subject Search:

When you look at the search results from your Keyword Searches, you can find links in the Subject area of the record (these tell you what subjects are found in the item). Clicking these links will begin a Subject Search for the term you clicked.

Look at the terms in the Subject. Clicking any of these terms will begin a Subject Search for you, so always make sure to check here for relevant

topics.

What you see after you click a Subject link (called Subject Headings):

The link you clicked will be highlighted in white

The number under “Entries” shows you how many items

the Library has with a subject of Population Genetics

You will also notice other links on this page called “Nearby Subjects” – this is essentially an alphabetical list of

other subjects, some of which may be relevant. Always take a look to see.

You may also see your term listed with Related Subjects.

If so, click to take a look at other relevant subjects.

Once you click the subject term you have chosen, you will see the results of your Subject Search.

Other searches available in the Library Catalog:

You can also conduct•An Author Search (if you would like to find books by a certain author)•A Title Search (if you already know the title of a book you need)

Click the drop-down menu and select the type of search you

would like to conduct, then enter your terms in

the search box.

Results from an

Author Search

Results from a Title Search

You found a book that looks relevant…now what?

• Table of contents: Shows the name and page

number of each chapter (the chapter’s title will often hold clues about the topic)

• Index (usually at the end of the book): Shows all the key terms and subjects in the book and lets you know on which page numbers they can be found.

You don’t have to read an entire book to find out whether or not it will work for you. Just take a look at the Table of Contents and/or the Index.

Can you use the information you find in books or other resources as your own?

NO!If you do , it is considered plagiarism.

Plagiarism can be defined as:using another person’s ideas, words, phrases or other creative work without giving the other person credit by acknowledging their work as the source of the information.

Plagiarism is listed as an offense in the Carson-Newman College “Academic Dishonesty” statement.

If you use any ideas, words or phrases from the articles that you find, you have to cite them to avoid plagiarism!

Cite:• Direct quotations or paraphrases of another person’s

written or spoken words or phrases• Borrowed ideas, opinions, or theories• Statistics, drawings, graphs, or facts that are not common

knowledge• Any creative work whether written, musical, artistic,

computer generated, or web-based, etc.• Any author – whether a famous writer or another student

To avoid plagiarism, you must cite any and all resources that you have used in your paper.

To cite books collect the following information :Book:• Author(s) or editor(s) • Title of book• Volume, if multivolume set• Edition, if given• Place of publication, publisher, & date of publication• Page numbers

An essay or chapter in a book:• Book information above• Author (if given), title, and page numbers of essay or chapter

E-Book:• Book information above• Date that you accessed the site• Name of database, complete URL (web address) of the site

How do you find the information on citation styles that you need to cite a book?

1.Check your assignment or ask your professor what citation style you need to use.

2. Helpful resources for citing:• Writing at C-N, 5th ed., pp. 66-68, a list of preferences of

documentation styles by C-N Academic Departments.• Library Homepage Under Library Resources,

How do I? Cite Materials…- Writing at C-N , 5th ed. ( Under Citation Styles

and Samples, Documentation Overview)- “Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism: Documentation Guidelines” (Duke University)

Select the documentation style you need from either of these sites.

Now You Know…

After completing this unit, you should have learned:• General information about books• Uses for books in research• How to search the library catalog to find books on a topic• How to locate books in the library• How to find the information you need in a book• What plagiarism is and how to avoid it• What information to collect to cite a book• Where to find information on citation styles

Coming Up:

You are now ready to learn where and how to searchfor the different types of resources used in collegeresearch. You will do this in the following units.

Coming Up:Unit 5: Finding Articles in a C-N DatabaseUnit 6: Using and Evaluating Web PagesUnit 7: Cumulative Quiz

Need help?Ask a Librarian!

The C-N Reference Librarians are here and happy to help with any questions you may have.

Call, Click, or Visit!

Ms. Kelli Williams 471-3338kwilliams@cn.eduMrs. Lew Conerly 471-3340econerly@cn.edu

Our offices are on the main floor of the Library.

http://library.cn.edu

And Don’t Forget…