LEARNING OBJECTIVES

* To understand the continuing importance of books in research.

* To understand the basic organizational features of books.

* To understand the purpose and structure of online catalogs.

* To be able to conduct basic and advanced searches of the Peninsula Library System (PLS) online catalog, including author, title, subject, and keyword searches.

* To be able to search the online catalog by keyword, find a relevant record, and find related books by using that record’s subject headings.

* To be able to search larger OPACs.

* To be able to find online books (e-books).

LESSON TWO TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. The Importance of Books in Research
2. Basic Organizational Features of Books
3. The Online Catalog (OPACs): Key to the Library’s Collection
4. The Building Blocks of Online Catalogs: The Bibliographic Record
5. The Peninsula Library System (PLS) Online Catalog
6. Online Books (e-books)
7. Key Points to Remember

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF BOOKS IN RESEARCH

Ever since the invention of the printing press in 1450, books have been crucial sources of information, knowledge, and entertainment. They continue to be important in research because:

* Books cover nearly every conceivable topic. In fact, more than 1,000 books are published worldwide everyday and they continue to be an important method for distributing information and ideas.

* Books often offer in-depth discussions and explanations rather than brief overviews or cursory discussions often common to magazine articles and websites.

* Some books are primary sources (e.g., a memoir such as Up from Slavery: An Autobiography, by Booker T. Washington) or contain primary sources (e.g., the complete text of letters written by President John Adams is found in Joseph Ellis’s Founding Brothers).

2. BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES OF BOOKS

Books are highly organized and have some or all of the following parts.

BOOK COVER: contains title, author(s) or editor(s), and cover art
click on picture to enlarge

TITLE PAGE: contains the complete title, author(s) or editor(s), and publisher
click on picture to enlarge

BACK OF TITLE PAGE: contains publication information, including the copyright date
click on picture to enlarge

TABLE OF CONTENTS: lists the sections and/or chapters and
corresponding page numbers
click on picture to enlarge

INTRODUCTION OR PREFACE: explains the purpose and/or focus of the book and usually gives an overview of the book’s content.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: a list of books and/or articles either used by the author in the writing of the book or suggested as further reading. It is usually placed at the end of each chapter or at the end of the book.

INDEX: an alphabetical list of topics covered in the book and the page(s) where that topic can be found. Broad topics are divided into subtopics in the index. It is very important to know how to use an index so that you can go directly to the specific sections or pages that you’re interested in.

APPENDIX: additional information such as statistical tables, worksheets, questionnaires, primary source documents, etc.
3. THE ONLINE CATALOG (OPAC):
KEY TO THE LIBRARY’S COLLECTION
To find a book at the library, you use the library’s online catalog, also known as the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog). The online catalog is a database that lists every item in a library's (or group of libraries’) collection. It displays details about every item owned by a library -- primarily books but also audio-visual materials.

It is important to understand that OPACs do not give you magazine articles. Instead, you use periodical indexes such as InfoTrac Academic ASAP to search for articles. (You will have more practice with periodical indexes in Lesson 3.) You can use the OPAC, however, to find out if your library subscribes to a specific periodical.
When you search an OPAC, it is usually best to use a single word or a 2-3 word phrase that describes your topic in a general way. Aim broadly and avoid using search terms that are too narrow. For example:

OPAC KEYWORD SEARCH – 3 EXAMPLES
RESEARCH QUESTION: What role – if any – does the burning of fossil fuels play in global warming?
OPAC KEYWORD SEARCH: global warming

RESEARCH QUESTION: What effect does economic globalization have on third world countries?
OPAC KEYWORD SEARCH: economic globalization

RESEARCH QUESTION: What can be done to maintain the long-term viability of forests as a renewable resource?
OPAC KEYWORD SEARCH: forests

If your results are extremely large (over 100 books), you might want to try a combination of 2 single words or phrases that summarize 2 main ideas from your research question. Connect them with AND. But again, keep your terms broad. For example:
origins AND universe
censorship AND internet
genetic engineering AND food
forests AND ecology
Once you find a book on a general subject that covers your research topic, you can use the table of contents and index to find the specific sections of the book that deal with your topic.

4. THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ONLINE CATALOGS: THE BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
Although OPACs often have a different look from library to library in terms of menus, record displays, etc., they all have the same basic structure and operational features. Every online catalog allows you to search and display results from its database of bibliographic records.
The bibliographic record (sometimes called a citation, reference, entry, or simply a record) gives you a detailed description of a book or other item owned by the library. Every book in a library's collection has an individual record, and all the records together comprise the database of a library's holdings.
Every bibliographic record is composed of categories of descriptive information called fields. Fields are the individual parts of a record. For example, most records have an author field, a title field, a subject field, and so forth. Taken together, these fields make up the complete record.
Listed below are the fields most often included in an OPAC bibliographic record:
AUTHOR (the author’s birth and death dates are also often given)
TITLE (will sometimes include a subtitle after a colon)
EDITION (1st, 2nd, 3rd, revised, etc.)
PUBLISHER (city where published, name of publishing company, and copyright date)
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION (number of pages, number of illustrations, height of the book)
NOTES (chapter titles or brief summary of the book. Not always available.)
SUBJECT (specific headings that describe the book’s subject matter)
By paying careful attention to the information contained in the fields of a record, skillful researchers learn a great deal about a book and its relevance to their research even before looking for it on the shelves.

Let’s look at an example of a typical bibliographic record from an online catalog. Here is the front cover of a history book written by Henry Mayer:

The bibliographic record describing this book would look something like this:
(NOTE: The appearance of records varies among library catalogs, but the basic information would be the same for all.)
FIELD
AUTHOR Mayer, Henry, 1941-
TITLE All on Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the abolition of slavery / Henry Mayer.
EDITION 1st ed.
PUBLISHER New York : St. Martin’s Press, 1998.
DESCRIPTION xxi, 707 p., [32] p. of plates : ill, maps, music ; 25 cm.
SUBJECTS 1) Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879.
2) Abolitionists – United States – Biography.
3) Antislavery movements – United States – History – 19th century.

Notice that this record happens to be made up of 6 fields (named on the left) that fully describes Mr. Mayer’s book in terms of physical detail (number of pages, etc.) and bibliographic detail (author, title, subject focus of the book, etc.).

5. THE PENINSULA LIBRARY SYSTEM (PLS) ONLINE CATALOG

Cañada Library belongs to a consortium, or "family," of libraries known as the Peninsula Library System (PLS). The PLS system includes the three community colleges of this district (Skyline, College of San Mateo, and Cañada), and all the public libraries in San Mateo County, for a total of 34 member libraries. The PLS Online Catalog lists and describes the holdings (i.e. books and other materials) of all the libraries that belong to the PLS family. Therefore, when you use the PLS Catalog, you are searching a database that describes much more than the 50,000 books in Cañada Library. In fact, you are searching a database that lists the nearly 2 million items owned by the libraries of the PLS system.

6. ONLINE BOOKS (E-BOOKS)

For some research projects – or simply for your own reading enjoyment – you may want to consider online books. Also known as digital books or e-books, online books are computerized versions of print books that can be read on a variety of devices such as PCs, laptops, and PDAs. Downloadable audio books for listening are also available. Online books offer convenience, access, and the unique capabilities of digitized text.

Online books are meant to be used online; you would not normally print an entire e-book. The advantage of the e-book lies in the options that are not available with print books, such as searching the entire book for a specific word or phrase.

Over the last decade, universities, libraries, and others have been making more and more books available online. Although e-books comprise only a fraction of the books available in print, there is a significant body of online books in subjects ranging from the scholarly to the popular.
To find an online book, go to the website of a digital book service. Keep in mind that libraries and universities offer e-books for free, while commercial providers charge a fee for downloading the book.

Listed below are some of the major free and commercial digital book services:

FREE DIGITAL BOOK SERVICES:
California Digital Library eScholarship
http://www.cdlib.org/programs/escholarship.html

Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org
University of Virginia Electronic Text Center
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu

FREE WITH THE USE OF LOCAL LIBRARY CARD:

Califa Digital Library Consortium
http://califa.lib.overdrive.com
NetLibrary
http://www.netlibrary.com

COMMERCIAL DIGITAL BOOK SERVICES:

eBooks.com
http://www.ebooks.com

COMBINATION FREE AND COMMERCIAL:
National Academy Press
http://www.nap.edu

7. KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER

* Books continue to be important sources of information and ideas because they cover nearly every topic, often offer in-depth discussions, and sometimes qualify as primary sources.

* It is very important to know how to use a book’s index to find specific sections or pages that address a topic you’re interested in.

* To find a book at the library, you use the library’s online catalog, also known as the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog).

* Every book in a library's collection has a bibliographic record and all the records together comprise the database of a library's holdings.
* Every bibliographic record is composed of categories of descriptive information called fields, such as an author field, a title field, a subject field, etc.

* Cañada Library belongs to a consortium of libraries known as the Peninsula Library System (PLS).

* Online books are computerized versions of print books. Although they are becoming more common, at present they comprise only a fraction of the total number of books available in print.

Lesson 2 Assignment

DUE:

NAME:

Each question is worth 1 point unless otherwise noted. Total points for this assignment: 20

Please answer all of the questions below and then email your completed assignment to Dave Patterson at pattersond@smccd.net .

1) True or False: A library OPAC gives lists of books as well as lists of magazine articles.

2) Give one reason that explains why books continue to be important in research.

3) What does OPAC stand for?

4) Why is it important to know how to use a book’s index?

5) Bibliographic records are composed of fields. What is a field?

6) Name any one field of an OPAC bibliographic record.

7. Preliminary research topic: Based on any feedback you received from Assignment #1, briefly describe the subject or topic of the research you plan to do for this course. Please note if this is the same topic you researched in Assignment #1 or if you have changed your topic since last week.

Book search on PLS Online Catalog: Look up at least one book related to your research topic using the PLS Online Catalog. Using the Advanced Keyword Search mode, do an “Any Field” key word search.
[Important: Remember that books are usually on broader topics than articles from periodicals, so when you search for books, you should keep your search broader. For example, if your topic was on "the effect of illegal immigration on the U.S. economy," you should start your book search with U.S. immigration but not illegal immigration and the economy because this would probably be too specific for the subject of an entire book.]
Give the following information for your search:

8. What were the exact search words you used?

9. How many titles matched this search for all of the PLS libraries?

Select one book that looks relevant to your research topic and identify the following information for this book:
10. Author(s) of the book (if no author is listed, give editor(s), if no editors, write “N/A”)

11. Title of the book (Tip: Do not include information after the / in the title field)

12. City where published

13. Name of publisher

14. Year of publication

15. Is this book available at Cañada Library? (Tip: On the full record page for the book, you will probably have to scroll down to find the Location, i.e. library or libraries, call number and status for the book.)

16. If it is available at Cañada, what is the complete call number?
If it is not available at Cañada, name one library that does have it and give the complete call number of the book at that library.

17. Remaining at the full record for the book, examine the subject(s) listed near the bottom of the record. In many cases you will discover subject headings relevant to your research topic that you probably wouldn't have thought of on your own. List the subject headings for the book you selected. (2 points)

18. Select a subject heading that seems relevant to your research topic.
Name the subject heading you chose and click on that heading.
An alphabetical list of subject headings, including the heading you chose, will be displayed.
Click on the same subject heading (or on another subject, if you see something that looks more relevant) and list the title and author(s) of one other book related to your topic that you find under that subject. (2 points)
(If you don’t find an additional book under the first subject heading you chose, go back and try another.)
Revised for Cañada College Library by Lynne Vieth and Dave Patterson, July 2006.
These materials may be used for educational purposes if you inform and credit the author, Eric Brenner, and cite the source as “LSCI 100, Introduction to Information Research.” All commercial rights are reserved. To contact the author, send comments/suggestions to Brenner@smccd.net .

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