OC Catalog




OC Site Links

OC Library: Library Instruction for Chemistry

Researching Topics for Chemistry

Finding Books Finding Internet Resources
Finding Articles Interlibrary Loan



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 all databases containing articles:
    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., Chemistry or Academic Search)
     
  • Databases are categorized by type (full text, general, etc.) and subject (Literature, Business, etc.)


  • Databases that contain materials related to Chemistry:

    1. ACS Journals (under Chemistry)

      2. Full text of journals published by the American Chemical Society.

       

    2. Academic Search

      Online database that covers all disciplines including Chemistry. Entries are full text, abstracts, or citations.

       

    3. ArticleFirst

      4. Online database that covers all disciplines including Chemistry. Entries are citations.

       

    4. BioOne (under Biology)

      5. Full text of journals focused on biology, ecology, and the environment.

       

    5. Medline (under Medicine)

      6. Citations and abstracts for articles from biomedical journals.

       

    6. Health Source: Academic (under Medicine)

      7. Citations and abstracts for articles in medicine as well as the full text for many (but not all!) of the articles.


  • Searching Tips
    1. Boolean operators
      1. 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.
      2. 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
      1. 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.  Use% in BioOne. Automatic truncation in ACS.
      2. Be careful when using truncation; "cat*" will find cat, cats, catastrophe, catalog, catapult, etc.
      3. The ACS Journals database has automatic truncation.
      4. BioOne uses a percentage (%) instead of an asterisk.
    3. Scope of databases
      1. What are the date limitations? Example: ACS Journals includes journal articles back to 1879.
      2. What are the subject limitations? Example: Medline covers primarily journals in the field of medicine.
    4. Limitors
      1. Using dates to limit your search - do you want only the most recent material?
      2. Using journals to limit your search - do you want to restrict your search to certain journals?
      3. Using language to limit your search - do you want to restrict your search to articles in English?

  • How to get articles
    1. Email
    2. printing

Finding the Article in the Library
  • After finding a citation to an article, use the OC Catalog to determine:
    1. Is the journal in the OC Library? (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.





Please send comments or suggestions to library@oc.edu