Course Research Guide
COMP 100: Composition

Professor Crouse-Powers, Summer 2008

Finding Books in Milne Library | Finding Information by Time Period | Finding Periodical Articles |
 Finding a Copy of a Periodical Article


Finding Books in Milne Library

On the library web site, enter search terms in the box under Find Books & Media in the Library (Search the Catalog). Truncate or shorten terms using the *, if you are uncertain of the spelling, or if searching for variations of a word. For example, child* will find child, childish, children, children.

To search for encyclopedias on a particular topic use the Advanced Search for the catalog. Set "Limit By Collection" to Reference, then do a "Search For" using a keyword, but limit the search to Title. Reference books cannot be checked out of the library.

In any list of results, the number of items owned by the library will be followed by the number of items in circulation. A zero indicates that the item is not in circulation and should be on the shelf. A number following the slash indicates the number of items in circulation.

 
For example: 2/0 (two items available and on shelf)
1/1 (one item available and in circulation)
 

Note the call number for the item and consult Library Floor Plans to determine the location of the item.


Finding Information by Time Period Using Reputable Reference Books

Timelines - Good for News Across Topics in a Specific Year
World Almanac REF AY 64 .W89
Historic Documents of... (by year) REF D 5.5 .H5
Chronicle of the 20th Century REF D 422 .C53 1987
Keesing's Record of World Events (by year) Ref D 410 .K4
What They Said In... (by year) Ref D 410 .W46
Facts on File (by year) REF D 430 .F3
Day by Day: The Eighties REF D 848 .M45
Subject Specific Reference Books - Good for News in a Particular Topic Area by Year
Olympic Games REF GV 721.5 .C474
Baseball Timeline REF GV 863 .A1 S693
Billboard Book of Number One Hits REF ML 156.4 .P6 B76
Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits REF ML 156.4 .P6 W44
New York Times Theater Reviews (by year) REF PN 1581 .N4
Television Network Prime-Time REF PN 1992.3 .U5 S54 1989
Variety Television Reviews (by year) REF PN 1992.3 .U5 V36
70 Years of the OSCAR REF PN 1993.92 .O82 1999
Variety Film Reviews (by year) REF PN 1995 .V34
 
Gale Virtual Reference Library
A collection of full-text electronic reference books covering many subject areas.
 

Finding Periodical Articles

Periodicals are publications that come out on a regular, or periodic, basis. Examples include newspapers, magazines, and journals. Scholarly, or peer-reviewed, periodicals are appropriate for more serious research, while magazines, or popular, periodicals are intended for entertainment or information for general audiences. See this Scholarly Journals v. Popular Magazine Articles handout to understand all the differences.

 
CENTRAL SEARCH

Central Search lets you search for articles in more than one database at a time. By doing this you can discover which databases are the best for your particular topic. Central Search doesn't let you use the more advanced and sophisticated features that each individual database offers, but it can be a good starting place. You can select which specific databases you'd like to search by going to Central Search using this link.

 

Advanced Central Search
Note: Find articles from many databases in a single search. For more complete results find a specific database by Name or by Subject.


All of the following databases are linked from the library home page under "Find Databases & Articles | Databases by Name (A-Z)." For best results use the Advanced Search features of any database.
 

GENERAL

Academic Search Premier
Provides full text for selected scholarly journals and popular magazines across the disciplines.
LEXIS-NEXIS
Includes full text from state, national, and international news sources, but generally without illustrations. Also provides full text from selected legal, medical, and business sources.
Nation, The (Digital Archive)
Full text/full image version of The Nation magazine, "a dissenting, independent, trouble-making, idea-launching journal of critical opinion", from 1865 to the present. Searchable by author, keyword, title, date range. Includes articles, book reviews, film reviews, poems, cartoons, and illustrations.
New York Times Archive, 1851-2003
Includes full-text of this major national newspaper.
Project Muse
Provides full text of journal articles in the social sciences and humanities.
Reader's Guide Retrospective 1890-1982
Index to popular periodicals, many of which are in Milne Library's collection.
 

REGIONAL & LOCAL

Daily Star (Oneonta)
Microfilm in the Periodicals Room on Level P of the library. Filed alphabetically by title. You can print or save articles from microfilm using the first computer and reader to the right as you enter the microform room.
Newsbank
Regional news from New York newspapers. Only the Buffalo News and the Syracuse Post-Standard go back to the 1980s.
State Times
SUNY Oneonta weekly newspaper from 1945 to the present. Microfilm in the Periodicals Room on Level P of the library. You can print or save articles from microfilm using the first computer and reader to the right as you enter the microform room.

Finding a Copy of a Periodical Article

Locating the full text of the article in electronic form:
If there is no full text with the citation for an article, click on Find It! If a full text of the article is available in another database, there will be a link connecting you to that database, where you can locate the article in the appropriate volume, or search for the article by title or author.
You can also determine whether a periodical is available electronically by entering the periodical title in the search box on the library home page under Find Journals Available Electronically (Serials Solutions) and pressing Enter or Go. If the title is available in electronic form, check the coverage, and click on the database link(s) and search for the item(s) needed.
 
Locating the article in print or microfilm, if unavailable in electronic form:
Click on Search the SUNY Oneonta Catalog under "Additional Options for Finding Full Text." Type the title of the periodical in the search box above the phrase "Exact Title." Press "Go." If the title is listed, click on "Availability" and check to see if the volume needed is included in the "Summary Holdings." Note the location of the periodical title. Most periodicals will be in B2.
 
Requesting an article on Interlibrary Loan:
If you find an article from a periodical that is not available at Milne Library in any form, you can request the article through ILLiad - Interlibrary Loan through a link on the record for the article needed (see computer screen that comes up after you click on Find It!). Click on ILLiad Interlibrary Loan Request Form. You need to be registered to submit ILL requests. See a librarian for help.

Kay Benjamin (benjamkd@oneonta.edu), Milne Library, SUNY College at Oneonta
http://www.oneonta.edu/library/courseguides/summer2008/comp100-crouse.asp
Last revised June 2008