GENERAL GUIDE TO LIBRARY RESOURCES
Use the Master’s College Library Web site: http://www.masters.edu/library for access to the library’s online catalog to identify all of the resources in the library or to find those available electronically through its many online databases. The library’s Web site also provides information on how to do research, services the library provides, hours, personnel, links to other libraries’ catalogs and links to other useful Internet Resources.
Dewey Decimal Classification (used by TMC)
The TMC library’s collection is arranged according to the Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC) with a few exceptions. An outline of the whole DDC can be found at Summaries: DDC.
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030 – Encyclopedias | 423 – English dictionaries |
070 – Journalism, publishing | 480 – Classical Greek |
100’s - Philosophy & psychology | 492 – Hebrew |
150 – Psychology | 500’s – Natural sciences & Mathematics |
160 – Logic | 600’s – Technology (Applied Sciences) |
170 – Ethics | 700’s – The Arts |
200’s – Religion | 780 - Music |
220 – Bible | 790 – Recreation/performing arts |
230 – Theology | 796 – Athletics & Outdoor sports |
240 – Moral & devotional theology | 800’s – Literature |
250 – Local church | 810 – American |
260 – Social & ecclesiastical theology | 820 – British |
270 – Church History | 900’s – Geography, Biography, History |
280 – Christian denominations | 910 – Geography & travel |
290 – Other religions and sects | 920 – Biography |
300’s – Social Sciences | 930 – History of the ancient world |
320 – Political science | 940 – History of |
330 – Economics | 973 – History of the |
360 – Social problems & services | |
370 – Education |
Library of Congress Classification (used by TMS)
An outline of the Library of Congress Classification is available at this Web site: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html
The library catalog is the index to the library’s collection. Search the library's online catalog to find books and journals both print and electronic, videos and DVDs, audio tapes, CDs and MP3's, reputable Web sites and a variety of other resources provided by the Robert L. Powell Library supporting all areas of study offered at The Master's College.
The TMC catalog is searchable by anyone at anytime with an Internet connection and allows for a multitude of searching options and configurations utilizing a variety of field selections, Boolean operations and limiting features. It has several search screens, Basic Search, Advanced Search, Subject and Author as well as an option to search for the materials that have been placed on Reserve. The online catalog also allows patrons to view their own account: "My Account".
TIP: The library catalog will not identify articles found in journals and magazines. To find articles in journals and magazines one must use a periodical index (see Periodicals below).
Although the library catalog does not provide access to the full-text of the books in the print collection, many of the records do contain an item's respective Table of Contents. Also, there are links to over 10,000 electronic books, many of which are reference books. These ebooks do have the full-text. Access to the library’s e-books is limited to TMC faculty, staff and students.
To access ebooks found in the library catalog select the link corresponding to the “Linked Resources” field under the "Holdings Information" portion of the record. Once you’ve made the connection to the online resource, you will be prompted for an id/password.
There are two possible means of accessing our ebooks.
1. If they are part of our NetLibrary collections you must first create your own account and password from a computer on campus and then you will be able to access these both on and off campus. To create your own account with NetLibrary, go to http://www.netlibrary.com while logged onto your computer on campus. Then select "Create a Free Account" and simply follow the instructions using whatever id/password you choose.
2. For all other electronic resources, scroll down to the "Holdings Information" portion of the record and select "Connect to Book" at the "Linked Resources" field. If you are off campus, you will get a pop-up box asking for your MasterNet id/password.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
To find appropriate LC subject headings related to any field of study: from the Library Catalog Basic Search mode type a topic and select the Subject (Left anchored) field. Scroll through the list of headings. Be sure to read any associated “See”, "See also", “Notes” or "Narrower term" as these will lead you to additional correct terminology.
TIP: The key to doing research is to “Use Sources to Find Other Sources”. A Subject search provides additional subject headings, narrow terms and related terms that can be used to further your search.
Reference and eReference Resources
Reference resources are intended to provide general information on a topic and as such the reference collection is particularly useful in the early stages of research. The resources here will provide background information on a topic, a ready made outline, expert authors in the field and contextual parameters of a topic. For a description of the various types of reference resources see the General Research Guide: Reference Tools.
To find reference resources on a particular topic f
eReference resources can also be found using the Databases/Indexes portion of the library Web site. Select the menu option Databases/Indexes and then using the Topic/Type matrix select the appropriate topical field and the type: eReference.
Audio – Video Resources
To retrieve records reflecting the library’s holdings in a specific format such as video, DVD, CD or audio cassette from the Library Catalog search using the Advanced Search screen then from the Location option select the desired format. Search for a broad topic or specific keyword as appropriate for the research need.
The TMC library also contains copies of all Chapel messages from 1985 to the present (1985-1994 on cassette; 1995+ on CD). All chapel mesages that are on cassette are also available on MP3. MP3's may be accessed through any of the search modes of the library catalog by simply selecting the "MP3 Sermons" tab.
For all periodical titles available in and through the TMC library go to library Web site and select Periodical Holdings from the menu on the left. From this page you can find periodicals by title or by subject.
For information on periodicals in general use Ulrich's Periodicals Directory online. Ulrich's is the authoritative source of bibliographic and publisher information on periodicals of all types including Open Access publications, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and more from around the world. It is especially helpful for identifying peer reviewed and scholarly journals from magazines or trade journals.
Periodical Holdings/CHECK FOR FULL TEXT
The Periodical Holdings List and CHECK FOR FULL TEXT are especially useful when attempting to determine whether or not the library has a particular journal either in print or electronic formats.
The Periodical Holdings menu option on the library Web site identifies all the magazines, journals and newspapers held by the library whether harcopy or softcopy. This is the place to go when you have a citation to an article and you want to find out if the library carries the journal containing the article. If it is softcopy, a link to the index providing the full-text will be provided. If it is hardcopy, a link to the "The Master's College" catalog will be provided. Scrolling down to the "Holdings Information" will reveal the exact volumes held by the library.
CHECK FOR FULL TEXT is a very valuable research aid in the course of searching an online index. If the index being searched does not provide the full text, by selecting CHECK FOR FULL TEXT the system will search for the article in all of the other online indexes. If it is available, the article will be retrieved. If it is hardcopy in the library, a link to the library catalog will be retrieved. Select "journal" to retrieve the library's holdings for that journal. In the event the TMC library does not have the journal in question, CHECK FOR FULL TEXT also provides a link to our interlibrary loan service.
Periodical Indexes are tools used to identify the location of articles contained in magazines, journals and newspapers. These indexes provide citations to the articles (author, title of the article, journal title, volume, issue, date, and page numbers). Some indexes also provide abstracts (includes a summary of the article) and many online indexes provide the full-text (FT) of the article (e.g. the complete text of the article).
For indexes available to the TMC community go to library Web site and select Library Databases/Indexes. Use the various search options to identify all print and electronic indexes by either title or subject and type. See "Databases and Indexes" below for more details.
The Databases/Indexes page includes all periodical indexes (see above) as well as other subscription based electronic research tools. To access all of these online research tools select Databases/Indexes from the library main menu. If known, type the name or acronym of the database or index in the free-text box. If a specific database is not known, use the A-Z list to scan all that are available or use the Topic/Type Matrix to identify appropriate databases and indexes to meet the specific research need.
Of particular use on any subject are: Academic Search (EBSCO), Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (OVRC), Oxford English Dictionary Online (OED), Periodical Abstracts (FirstSearch), Proquest Research Library, SIRS Researcher (FirstSearch), WilsonSelectPlus (FirstSearch), WorldCat (FirstSearch). In addition are these specialized tools:
for Bible: ATLA (FirstSearch), A to Z Maps, Christian Periodical Index (EBSCO), Early English Books Online
for Biography: American National Biography (US, CA), Biography Resource Center, Dictionary of National Biography (UK)
for Business: ABI/Inform (FirstSearch), Business Source (EBSCO), Global Road Warrior, Lexis/Nexis
for Communications: Academic Search (EBSCO), Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Periodical Abstracts (FirstSearch), ProQuest Research Library, SIRS Researcher (FirstSearch)
for Computer Science: Academic Search (EBSCO), ProQuest Research Library, WilsonSelectPlus (FirstSearch)
for Education: Contemporary Criticism Online, ERIC (EBSCO)
for Fine Arts: Arts & Humanities Citation Index (FirstSearch), Naxos Music Library
for History/Political Studies: A to Z Maps, America History & Life (EBSCO), Annals of America, Global Road Warrior, Historical Abstracts (EBSCO), Historic Documents, CQ Researcher, CQ Weekly, World Data Analyst
for Home Economics, FCS: AGRICOLA (FirstSearch), Business Source (EBSCO), Contemporary Women’s Issues (FirstSearch), ERIC (EBSCO), Health Source (EBSCO)
for Humanities: Academic Search (EBSCO), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (FirstSearch), Periodical Abstracts (FirstSearch), ProQuest Research Library, Wilson Select Plus (FirstSearch)
for Literature: Arts & Humanities Citation Index (FirstSearch), Contemporary Criticism Online, Early English Books Online, Literature Resource Center, Literature Online
for Math & Science: Academic Search (EBSCO), AGRICOLA (FirstSearch), Biology Digest (FirstSearch), Electronic Collections Online (FirstSearch), ProQuest Research Library
for Social Sciences: Academic Search (EBSCO), Global Road Warrior, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, ProQuest Research Library, SIRS Researcher (FirstSearch), WilsonSelectPlus (FirstSearch)
Web Links
Go to the library Web site and from the menu on the left select Web Resources. Select the appropriate subject related to the field of interest. All Web sites posted have been evaluated and recommended by subject specialists.
Many of the library's databases also provide links to scholarly Web sites. Using these will save you from the need to evaluate for yourself their reputability. For example:
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
from "Choose a content source:" select "Web Sites"
WorldCat (FirstSearch)
from "Limit type to:" select "Internet Resources"
There are a number of Subject Directories and Portals that have links to Web sites searchable by subject. These Web sites have been selected, evaluated and abstracted by librarians, scholars and subject specialist. It is strongly recommended that you use these to locate focused scholarly Web sites instead of just broadly searching the public Internet. You will find these on the library’s Web Resources page as well.
INFOMINE http://infomine.ucr.edu/ Scholarly Internet Resource Collections - University-level virtual library of Internet resources built by librarians and relevant to faculty, students, and research staff.
The Digital Librarian http://www.digital-librarian.com/
An annotated Internet directory providing hand selected links maintained by a librarian.
The Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org/
An annotated collection of high quality Internet resources, selected by IPL staff for their usefulness in providing accurate, factual information on a particular topic.
BUBL Link http://bubl.ac.uk/
Selected Internet resources covering all academic subject areas. All items are selected, evaluated, described and catalogued in the Dewey Decimal Classification System.
Librarians’ Internet Index http://www.lii.org/
Reliable, librarian-selected Internet sources. LII is a searchable, annotated subject directory of Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users of public libraries.
Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com) is more of a search engine than a subject directory yet it provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources for peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles. Scholarly resources are culled from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
The Scout Report at http://scout.wisc.edu/
For a more exhaustive listing of Web sites reviewed and annotated by scholars and specialists in the field.
Research Guides & Tutorials
Find guides to help with basic research skills, general information about the research process, overview of resources available in the TMC library by major topic and information on copyright law particularly as it relates to the educational community. From the library Web site’s main menu select Research Guides & Tutorials. Here you will find links to
General Research Guides for help with basic research skills and general information about the research process;
Topical Research Guides for an overview of the resources available in the TMC library along with suggestions for getting started with your research in selected fields;
Tutorials: For PowerPoint slide shows of various lesson in basic research skills and some course specific presentations and
Copyright Information particularly as it relates to higher education.
Of particular interest are these:
· Basic Steps in Library Research – six simple steps explaining the research process
· From Cite to Hand - Books – how to actually obtain books and other materials whether or not the library owns them
· From Cite to Hand - Articles – how to actually obtain magazine and journal articles whether or not the library owns them
· Finding Articles in Two, sometime Three, OK maybe Four Easy Steps
· Identifying Scholarly Books – clues for distinguishing scholarly books
· Identifying Scholarly Periodicals- clues for distinguishing between magazines, journals and peer reviewed journals
· Evaluating Resources – easy way to help evaluate the usefulness of research resources both paper and electronic
· Research Worksheet – designed to make research simpler by working step by step through the research process
· Copyright for Higher Education– help in understanding the copyright law as it pertains to faculty and students
© Janet Tillman/The Master’s College, 2004, permission is granted for non-profit educational use; any reproduction or modification should include this statement.
Last updated January, 2009.