1. Martin J. Crabtree MCCC Library October 2006
Using the Library CSS101
Martin J. Crabtree
MCCC Library
October 2006

2. Agenda Why is finding & using information important The MCCC Library
The helpful folks at the MCCC library
Some kinds of library materials
So what do I look for – Picking a topic
Finding books in a college library & using the catalog
Some library paperwork

3. Why is finding and using information important?
The ability to find and use information is something that you’ll need both in college and as part you the rest or your life!
You will need these skills to do thing in college like researching & writing a term paper
You will also need it for things like:
Finding a job
Deciding which car to own
Anytime where you need to “find something out”

4. What is information literacy?
Information literacy is the ability to:
Realize that you need information to find something out/answer a question
Know where to go to get the information you need
Ask the right questions to get the information you need
Put all the information you found together to answer your question

5. For example, say you want to go on a date.
What kind of information might you need?

6. Going on a date Who do you want to go with? What do you want to do?
That’s your choice
What do you want to do?
Movie?
Dinner out?
Amusement park?
Concert?

7. Say you pick a concert, now you need some information
Are there any good concert coming up?
When is the concert?
How much are tickets?
How do I get there if I’m driving to the concert?
How much does it cost to park my car?
Can I take a bus or train to the concert?

8. So what does this have to do with college?
In college, just like going on a date, you must be able to find out what you need to know.

9. This isn’t just being able to use a computer and the internet
You will need to have some computer skills
To use computer programs
Access the internet
Print, , save files, etc.
But it is equally important to have the ability to find information you need and know what to do with the “stuff” you found.

10. The MCCC Library can help
The library has a lot of useful information for both your college work and personal needs.
The library staff can help you find what you need and help
you to improve your
information finding
skills.

11. The MCCC Libraries There are three (3) libraries at MCCC
West Windsor Campus (in the Library Building)
James Kerney Campus (on the 3rd floor)
Dempster Fire Training Center

12. The reference desk is first thing you see you when you enter the library
The people who are at this desk are there to help you find what you need.
Ask them for the information you need. They will help you find the best materials for you.

13. The people at the circulation desk can help too
You check out book here.
You get videos & newspapers here.
You can get materials (books, journal articles, etc.) that your professor has set aside here (can’t leave
the library)
The people here can
help answer your
questions too.

14. So what all is in the library?

15. What’s in the library Beside helpful library staff there are:
A quiet place to study
Books
Magazines & Journals
Open computer lab
Videos
CDs
Copiers
Expect to use many types of library materials to do a good job for your college assignments

16. Reference books There are many types of books
Some are called reference books
They contain factual information, non fiction
Cover many subject areas
You’ll likely not read an entire reference book, but will use the info form a few pages.

17. Reference books include
Encyclopedias – intro to a topic
Almanacs – find facts here
Atlases – maps of all types
Dictionaries – look up words
Many more
Biographical sources – info about people
Quotations – what people have said about a topic
Statistics – Number facts

18. Selecting a research topic
Figuring out what you want to find out about

19. Selecting a topic Make sure you understand your assignment completely.
Look at general resources like an encyclopedia to find out more about the broad topic, looking for things that may interest you.
Think of a topic that both will fulfill your assignment and be interesting to you personally.
Use the library catalog to find books on your topic.
Use library databases and indexes to find periodical (magazine, journal, newspaper) articles.

20. Finding Books Books are put on the shelves grouped by subject.
You may be familiar with the Dewey Decimal System which is used by many school and public libraries.
MCCC like most colleges uses a different system called the Library of Congress (LC) system.
The LC system used both letters and number

21. Library of Congress System
Organizes knowledge into 21 broad categories.
The 21 categories (labeled A to Z, but missing I, O, W, X and Y) are further subdivided by adding one or two additional letters and a set of numbers.
The first letter of a Library of Congress (LC) call number indicates the general subject area.
The second letter indicates the specific subject section within the general category.

22. Library of Congress vs. the Dewey Decimal Systems
Ancient Olympic Games: PER
Fiction books are all in the same place:
F DIC
Biography books are also in the same place: B EDI
Library of Congress
Ancient Olympic Games: GV23.S9 1999
Fiction books are part of the system: PZ3.D55 T3
Biographies are mixed into the collection: TK140.E3 J75

23. Dewey starts with numbers
The bottom line Library of Congress (LC) starts with letters (and has some number too)
Dewey starts with numbers

24. Using The MCCC Card Catalog to find books and more
The catalog is available online. Used to find books, videos and other material both in the MCCC collection and the Mercer County Public (MCL) libraries.
You can have materials from MCL brought to the college. Deliveries arrive Tuesday and Friday afternoons. (DVD’s not available from MCL)
You will need to have your student ID card to borrow books or use the library’s computer lab

25. The link to the catalog is on the library’s web pages.

26. Periodicals Periodicals include: scholarly journals newspapers
Magazines
Periodicals represent the bulk of
published scholarly information.
They contain more up-to-date information than books
The library has a number of periodicals available in print, on microfilm, and especially via electronic databases.
The library staff can help determine if a specific periodical is available from the library.

27. Next time Using computers to find information Your turn to:
Search the MCCC library’s catalog
Use the electronic databases
Evaluating web information
Now for a bit of a quick quiz.