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OC Library: Library Instruction for Bible & Classical Literature

Researching Topics for The Bible & Classical Literature

Finding Books Interlibrary Loan
Finding Articles Evaluating Sources
Finding Internet Sources  


Finding Books

OC Library Catalog (books in the OC Library)

  1. Go to library's Web site (www.oc.edu/library)
  2. Select: OC Catalog

NetLibrary (electronic books available online)
  1. Go to the library's Web site (www.oc.edu/library)
  2. Select: NetLibrary
WorldCat (books in libraries around the world)
  1. Go to the library's Web site (www.oc.edu/library)
  2. Select: WorldCat

NOTE: If you find a book in WorldCat that is not in the OC Library, you can request it on interlibrary loan by clicking on the "ILL" button.

Other Library Catalogs (through the OK-Share program, OC students and faculty can check out books from over 40 libraries in Oklahoma)
  1. Go to the library's Web site (www.oc.edu/library)
  2. Select: Other Library Catalogs
  3. Select the desired library


Finding Articles

Online Databases

To access the online databases:

  1. Go to the library's Web site (www.oc.edu/library)
  2. Select: Find Articles
  3. Select: Subject area OR database title (e.g., Religion or Academic Search)

Databases that contain religious and literary materials:

  1. ArticleFirst
    2. Online database that covers all disciplines including religion and literature. Entries are citations.


  2. ATLA Religion Database (click on Religion)
    3. Indexes book reviews, essays in books, and articles from scholarly journals. Some of the entries have full text but most are just citations.


  3. Academic Search
    4. Online database that covers all disciplines including religion. Entries are full text.


  4. Gale Literary Index
    5. An index to essays published in various series of literary criticism, including Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, which is in the OC Library.


  5. MLA Bibliography (click on Literature)
    6. Indexes books, essay collections, dissertations, and articles from scholarly journals in the areas of literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Entries are citations.

Searching Tips

  1. Boolean operators
    • AND - will retrieve articles that have both terms. Example: If you search on "cat AND dog," you'll get articles about both cats and dogs.
    • OR - will retrieve articles that have either term. (Be sure to put parentheses around words connected by OR.) Example: If you search on "cat OR dog," you'll get articles about cats, about dogs, and about cats and dogs.
  2. Truncation
    • Truncation allows you to search for different versions of the same word. Basically, you substitute an asterisk (*) for one or more letters. This is a quick and easy way to include plurals, tense variations and alternate spellings. Example: "religio*" will find religious, religion, religions, etc.
    • Be careful when using truncation; "cat*" will find cat, cats, catastrophe, catalog, catapult, etc.
  3. Scope of databases
    • What are the date limitations? Example: Expanded Academic automatically searches the past 3-4 years.
    • What are the subject limitations? Example: ATLA covers primarily journals in the field of religion.
  4. Limitors
    • Using dates to limit your search - do you want only the most recent material?
    • Using journals to limit your search - do you want to restrict your search to certain journals?
    • Using language to limit your search - do you want to restrict your search to articles in English?
How to get articles
  • Email
  • printing

CD-ROM Databases

CD-ROMs that contain religious and literary materials:

  • World Authors (information about the lives and works of various authors, including Aristotle and Plutarch, among others)

To access CD-ROM databases:
  1. Check out the CD from the front desk.
  2. Put the CD in the CD-ROM drive in the computer lab in the library.
  3. Select: Start
  4. Select: Programs
  5. Select: CD-ROMs
  6. Select: Database of choice

Finding the Article in the Library
  • Use the OC Catalog to determine:

    1. Is the journal held by OC? (If not, consider requesting it through interlibrary loan; articles requested through interlibrary loan usually arrive within two weeks.)

    2. Is the journal on paper, fiche, or film?

    3. Does the OC Library have the right year?

  • To see if journal or magazine is available online, check the E-Journals List, which is linked from the library's home page ( www.oc.edu/library).


Finding Web Sites

  • Consult the appropriate subject listing (Chemistry, Psychology, History, etc.) listed in the Find Web Sites section of the Library's Web site.


  • Do a search in WorldCat that is limited to "Internet Resources"


  • Use the following sites to search for scholarly information on the Web
    1. Infomine
    2. Google Scholar
    3. Directory of Open Access Journals (a list of free online scientific & scholarly journals)

  • Search the Web for sites that provide information on your topic, but remember that many Web sites are not reliable and may provide false or misleading information. Some good search engines are:
    1. Google (a search engine that emphasizes academic sites)
    2. Altavista
    3. Alltheweb
    4. Yahoo!

  • More search engines are listed on the Library's Web site - click on Find Web Sites, then on Internet Search Services and Tools.

 

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

  • Interlibrary loan is a service provided to current OC students, faculty and staff to obtain materials NOT held in the OC Library within copyright limitations.

  • Interlibrary loan requests can be made in three ways:
    1. By filling out the online form on the library's Web page
    2. By filling out the paper forms available at the front desk
    3. By clicking on the ILL button available in many of the research databases

  • To fill out the online form:
    1. Go to library's Web site (www.oc.edu/library)
    2. Select: Interlibrary loan (under Request It Online)
    3. Type in the information about the book or article you'd like to request
    4. Press the Send button.

  • When the material arrives, you will be notified by email that the item is available at the front desk.



Evaluating Sources of Information

Purpose
  1. What is the purpose? Is it to inform, persuade, present opinions, report research, or sell a product?

  2. Can you tell what the purpose is? (The purpose should be clear from the title or introductory screens.)

  3. Does the source fulfill the purpose?

  4. Is it popular, scholarly, or trade?

    • If it's a popular source (like a magazine), it may:

      1. be unsigned
      2. be written by someone outside the field
      3. have no references
      4. be written for the general public
      5. contain advertisements

    • If it's a scholarly source (like a scholarly journal), it may:

      1. be signed
      2. be written by an expert
      3. provide the author's position and institution
      4. provide references
      5. be written for a small group of people with specific interests
      6. use specialized language
      7. be published by an association or scholarly press

    • If it's a trade publication, it may:

      1. be targeted to a specific field
      2. contain articles written by staff writers or experts in the field
      3. have a colorful format similar to popular magazines
      4. provide references
      5. contain numerous advertisements that appeal to people in that field
      6. include limited footnotes or references to other works

  5. Are any biases evident?

Authority
  • For all sources:

    1. What are the author's qualifications? (Many Internet sources do not give the identity or credentials of the author or producer. Sources that do not give this information have questionable reliability.)

    2. Can you contact the author?

    3. Can the information be verified elsewhere?

  • For Web sites:

    1. Is the site maintained by a well-known association or governmental agency?

    2. What is the domain? (Many Internet sources are not reviewed before being posted; however, government, educational, and organizational sites often have some sort of review process. If no review process is stated or evident, you may assume there is none.)

      • .GOV = government
      • .COM = business
      • .ORG = organization
      • .EDU = educational affiliation

    3. How permanent does the site appear? Has it existed long?

    4. How many other sites reference this site?


Timeliness
    1. When was the information published?

    2. How current is the information?

    3. Is the date of publication important to the subject matter? (In fields such as medicine, science, business, and technology, currency of information is important. In fields such as history and literature, older materials may be just as valuable as newer ones.)

Scope
    1. What is the breadth of coverage?

    2. Does the page provide more or less information than you need?

Documentation
    1. Does the author refer to other works?

    2. Does the source have a bibliography?

Audience
    1. Who is the source meant for? A layperson or a specialist in the field?

    2. Does it answer your question?

Format
    1. Does the source have a clear, easy to read format?

    2. How easy is the source to use?

    3. Are there any special features, such as a bibliography, tables or charts?



Above all, "...trust no one." (William A. Katz)

If you don't believe us, take a look at the Web site Feline Reactions to Bearded Men. Or you can go to Urban Legends and Folklore, which lists a number of online hoaxes.





Please send comments or suggestions to library@oc.edu