Joanna Cooksey, Subject Librarian

Todays session The aim is to introduce you to a range of French resources available from the Library and help you access them. Further help: Guide French Studies: a guide to finding information Subject Help pages for French Studies:

What well cover Key places in the Library where French material is kept. Finding French books and films by searching the Library Catalogue. Finding useful online sources via the Library website. An online dictionary/language resource. Finding French articles via a database.

Looking for French books in the Library Books are arranged by subject e.g. history, cinema, rather than by language, so French books could be anywhere in the Library. 2 things can help you locate French books in the Library…

Looking for books on a topic 1. Search the Catalogue 2. Check our guide Use the Library Catalogue to find books. The Catalogue has a single search box where you can type in author/title/keyword details, eg: Lang French grammar French theatreLibrary Catalogue Note down the shelfmarks and use these as a starting point for finding other books. The Library guide French Studies: a guide to finding information has an a-z list of subjects with their shelfmarks.French Studies: a guide to finding information

Reading French texts French novels at 843 (Second Floor). Modern fiction at and contemporary fiction at African Francophone literature in Africa Publishing Collection (First Floor) at 843. What do you like to read?

Looking for French DVDs Use the Library Catalogue to search for films. You can search by title and/or director, eg: Jeunet AmélieLibrary Catalogue DVDs are kept on the top floor around or in the Short Loan Collection (First Floor). Browse a list of our films in our Guide to French films in the Headington Library Guide to French films in the Headington Library

Viewing films Borrow from main shelves (1 week) or Short Loan (24 hrs or weekends) Watch in the Library on DVD players or PCs Watch as a group in Group Study Rooms. Don't forget the Phoenix Picture House in Oxford shows a regular programme of French films in conjunction with the Maison Francaise Oxford.Phoenix Picture House

Language resources French language resources are kept at 440 on the Second Floor (North Gallery): French dictionaries are at 443. French grammar books are at 445. Books/CDs on learning French are at 448

Language resources Use the Library Catalogue to search for language books eg: Lang French grammarLibrary Catalogue We also have an electronic database Oxford language dictionaries online available on and off campus.

To access Library e-resources On a Brookes PC: log-on with your Brookes username and password, then go to the Library Home page. From home: go to the Library Home page at To access Library electronic resources from home you need to use a password. Most use the Athens password system. Always LOG INTO ATHENS FIRST on the Library home page. For useful resources, see the Subject Help pages for French Studies.

Oxford language dictionaries online This includes a fully searchable bilingual dictionary in French, plus a wide range of language learning resources and study materials. Access it via the Databases link on the Library home page at Dont forget to log into Athens first if you are off campus.

French newspapers, magazines and journals In the Library: youll find the daily French newspaper Le Monde and weekly magazines Le nouvel observateur and Le Point kept in the Newspaper Room on the Top Floor of the Library. We also have various journals in French such as: Les cahiers français J C Nouvel économiste J N Pouvoirs J P Problèmes politiques et sociaux J P Revue française de science politique J 320 R

French newspapers, magazines and journals Online: through the international news database Factiva you can get free access to many French language newspapers and journals, including L´Entreprise, L'Expansion, L´Express, L'Humanité, L'Indépendant, Liberation, Le Point, Le Temps, La Tribune and many others. The database is available on and off campus via the Library Web site.Library Web site

Freely available online resources See the Subject Help pages for French StudiesSubject Help pages for French Studies Check the French Online Resource WikiFrench Online Resource Wiki Can you trust information you find on the Web? Check our guide to Evaluating Web resources at Ask yourself: What…is being said? Who…is saying it? Where…are they from? Why…are they saying it? When…does this information date from?

To sum up Weve looked at: Key places in the Library where French material is kept. Finding French books and films by searching the Library Catalogue. Library Catalogue Finding useful online sources via the Library website.Library website An online dictionary/language resource. Finding French articles via a database.

Useful Links Library Web site: Connect to Library Catalogue, Oxford language dictionaries online and Factiva databases. Subject Help pages for French Studies: Connect to the guides: Key Resources for French Studies; French Studies: a guide to finding information; Guide to French films in the Headington Library French Online Resource Wiki available at: Contact your Subject Librarian, Joanna Cooksey