Library Session:

Locating Information Resources

ENG 110
Mortola Library
Fall 2010
Session Objectives
 Use reference sources to locate background
information
 Locate books pertaining to your topic using
the Pace Library Catalog.
 Find articles on your topic in library
databases.
 Cite resources correctly using MLA
documentation style.
Reference Sources…
Reference sources are an excellent place to
start your research:
 Learn: Can familiarize you with a subject
area or discipline.
 Connect: Can lead you to other useful
books and articles.
 Focus: Can help you refine your topic.
Finding Relevant Reference Sources
1. Gale Virtual Reference Library
2. Search the Pace Library Catalog…
 …by keyword for “[subject area] and
encyclopedias”
 …by keyword for “[subject area]” with location
limited to “Mortola Reference”
3. If you are unsure of the subject area that your
topic falls under, try a general source like
Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Search Tip: Boolean Logic
 Most electronic search tools (library catalogs and
databases, Web search engines) allow you to
combine concepts using the Boolean operators AND
and OR.
 Use AND to combine concepts (authors and titles)
 (robert frost AND birches)
 Use OR to search for a single concept using
synonyms or related terms.
 (fairy OR folk) AND tales
Subject vs. Keyword Searching
 Keyword searches target entire records in the
library catalog.
 “history of education”
 Subject searches target only the Library of
Congress subject headings that have been
assigned to materials. Search terms must
match subject headings exactly.
 education, history
 curriculum change
Pace Library Catalog

 Use the library catalog to find out what we

have and where to find it.
 To find materials on a given topic, perform a
keyword search.
 To find books about a person, perform a
subject search for “last name, first name.”
 i.e., Morrison, Toni
Finding Articles Using Pace
Library Databases
 Databases provide access to articles (citations,
abstracts and/or full text) published in
periodicals.
 Use a database that is appropriate to the
subject area you are researching.
 Databases are subscription products available
on campus or from home with your MyPace
Portal username and password.
Suggested Databases to Start

 Academic Search Premier

 Broad coverage of many academic disciplines
 Research Library
 Watch out for book and theater reviews!
 JSTOR
 Full-text content available from scholarly journals.
 New York Times Archive
 News coverage from 1851-2006
Citing Your Sources
 When you build upon the ideas of others,
you always need to give appropriate
credit for those ideas.
 Failure to do give credit may be
considered plagiarism
 Always use a conventional
documentation style so that your reader
can locate the sources you used.
MLA Citation Style
 The MLA (Modern Language Association) style is generally
used in the humanities.

 See the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers at the

Mortola Library Reference Desk (Ref LB 2369 .G53 2009)

 Visit the guide to MLA citation style on the Library website.

 On the Library home page, under Library Services, click on
How Do I …
 Then click on the link to Cite Resources
Questions?
Mortola Library Reference Desk:
(914) 773-3505

Library Home Page:

http://library.pace.edu

Douglas Heimbigner:
dheimbigner@pace.edu
http://LibraryPace.blogspot.com