Some easier ways to access resources

College is hard enough without the tedious job of creating citations. After Googling, “What is a citation!?” at 2:00 AM the morning of the due date, it can seem like a daunting task. But do not fret! To help you finish off the semester strong, we created this short list of tips and tricks to help you access and use sources, so the last thing in your paper is the last worry in your mind.

1) How to find reputable resources
The internet is full of information…and misinformation. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between a worthwhile source and misinformation. How do you make the distinction?

The research guides on our website, which contain quick, how-to instructions on various topics, are a great start. We have a specific research guide dedicated to evaluating sources. This guide will help you distinguish between a credible source, and one to avoid. Many of these techniques will work both for your coursework and help you spot misinformation on social media.

2) How do I create a citation
I kept a dog eared MLA citations pamphlet from high school. This booklet was clearly a copy of a copy and was probably 15 years old when I received it in 1999. Citations had to be typed out “by hand.” Nowadays it is much easier to create a citation and all you have to do is copy and paste. Please cite your sources to give credit to other scholars’ work and avoid plagiarism.

(This is real btw.)

Method 1: Use our citation guide

This research guide is for creating citations. There are two main types of citation styles you’ll use during your time at PSC. The first is MLA, which stands for Modern Language Association, and is typically used in humanities courses. The other is APA, which stands for American Psychological Association, and is more common in the social sciences, business, and education. Our guide shows you how to cite in both formats.

Method 2: Generate a citation using OneSearch’s tools

When you search for something in our collection you can create a citation from the Detail Record page. The Detail Record page gives more descriptive information about the book, article, video or whatever it is.

Below is the detail record page for an ebook copy of our next book club pick, The Fifth Season by N. K Jemisin.
On the right hand side of the page you’ll see a list of tools. These tools allow you to save the detail record page a number of ways (but not the actual book). Click cite and you’ll generate a citation in the style your professor would like.

Then simply copy and paste the citation that you would like to use into your Google or Word doc.

Method 3: Use a citation creation tool like the one from Excelsior University OWL

Excelsior University in upstate New York has an Online Writing Lab (OWL get it!?) that has multiple great tools to help you with citations. They walk you through the writing process, talk about why we cite, and help generate citations. Take a look at this video to learn their tools.

Try some of these methods and see if one works better for you. Remember that we are always here to help with any questions on citations, whether that be their formatting, when to do so, or something else!

3) Citation mining

Maybe you’ve found one or two good articles for a research project, but your professor wants you to have more. How frustrating! There is a trick called citation mining to find more sources. Citation mining means taking the citations used in your two “good” articles and seeing if those articles will work for you.

Scholarly articles will have a massive list of citations at the end. It might be called a works cited, or references page and will look like this:

Jona R. Frohlich, et al. “Examining Co-Patterns of Depression and Alcohol Misuse in Emerging Adults Following University Graduation.” Addictive Behaviors Reports, vol. 8, no. 40–45, Dec. 2018, pp. 40–45. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2018.06.002.

The references in your perfect article are a goldmine. Copy and paste interesting titles into OneSearch to see if we have access to them. Here I’ve copy and pasted the second title from the above references into OneSearch:

If we have access to it, then start reading. If not, you can request the article through interlibrary loan, or ILL for short.

Select “article” on the ILL page and copy and paste the information from the citation directly into the Google form. The article will be emailed to you.

Librarians love nothing more than sharing tips and tricks to help you better navigate the research process. The time is quickly approaching when you’ll have big projects, so please reach out at Ask a Librarian with any and all questions. As my dad used to say, “The only dumb question is the one not asked.”

Library HELP!: a monthly blog to help you student

How to begin your research

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The semester is flying by. Can you believe it is the middle of November? Where did the time go? Speaking of time- you probably have some looming deadlines. Some students do their work right at the end, staying up into the wee hours of the morning. This can’t always be helped and life happens. However, if you have the ability to gradually work ahead, you’ll be better rested overall, and probably get a better grade.

If your paper is due on December 13th, (or any other date), how do you know when to start working? How do you know when you should be researching? Revising? I can help you with that. There are online calculators that can help you to break down the research and writing process based on both today’s date and your due date.

I created a list of a few different types of calculators that do just this. Each is slightly different, so take a look and see which calculator works best for you.

This first calculator comes from the University of British Columbia. It can help you set up a schedule for a research paper:
https://assignmentcalculators.library.ubc.ca/research-paper/

This second calculator comes from the University of Minnesota and can help you set up a schedule for a research paper, a lab report, or a speech. This one will allow you to add the different steps directly to your Google Calendar:
https://www.lib.umn.edu/services/ac

Finally, the University of Arkansas has this research paper wizard:
https://libraries.uark.edu/research-instruction/wizard/

All of these calculators essentially do the same thing- they help you to break down a big daunting task, like writing a research paper, into multiple steps that can be accomplished gradually over time. I wanted to give you different choices; your mileage may vary. Just like any other task, the more times you do this, the easier it will get. You’ve got this!

If you need help with writing, the PSC Writing Center can be of assistance. We are always happy to help with the research process; all you have to do is Ask a Librarian. 

Transform into a library expert–win prizes!

Libraries Transform.

Celebrate National Library Week with your Prairie State Librarians.

Libraries are more than just a place for books. At the Prairie State College Library, we are about the ability for the library to transform and empower our students. We do not seek to be a safeguard to knowledge but a guide on your academic and personal journey. Your PSC Librarians want you to become the experts, curators, and protectors of their own cultural, academic, and social knowledge. Whether you want to get involved in your community, find a job, start a business, or build your digital literacy skills, the PSC library is the key to your transformation.

From now until April 17, the library is running a contest in celebration of National Library Week. In this contest, we invite students to actively engage with the multitude of services our library provides.

When you complete an activity listed on the Library Expert Card (see below), you will get the box checked off by a library staff. Once you complete a row/column, you will receive an entry ticket that will put you into a drawing to win one of six prizes: 2 students will receive a $25 gift cards to the PSC Bookstore. 4 students will receive a study room for a day during finals week.

Some of the activities require using our online resources. Click some squares on the Library Expert Card to get direct access to these resources.

Ask A Librarian: Call, Text, and Chat Your Question

The Library has added Chat Reference to make it easier for you to get a hold of us and have your questions answered.

You can find our chat reference options at the bottom of every page on the Library’s website as well as the Library’s Ask A Librarian page and OneSearch. Here are some of the new options that are available to you.

 

 

 

Chat: Use the Chat Box to easily ask a question from anywhere in the world. Just simply click on the box and start typing your questions and a PSC Librarian will answer you during business hours.

Library FAQs: Search through all of our commonly asked questions or use the built in email form to ask us a question when the Library is closed.

Mobile Friendly: On your mobile you can now easily call, text and email a Librarian any question you have about the Library.

We can help you avoid plagiarism as you finish those final papers!

The end of the semester is nearly here, and along with dreams of sunny days and sleeping in is the reality of final papers. Writing a research paper is HARD, and we want to make sure you get all the help you need. Because of that, one of our librarians — Matthew Root — created a subject guide to help you through the ins and outs of plagiarism.

We know that you know what plagiarism is generally: passing off someone else’s work as your own. But did you know it’s also:

• paraphrasing without citing?
• using a paper you wrote in another class?

Matthew created this guide to answer questions you have about making sure you’re acknowledging someone else’s work in your own. And when you’re done writing your paper, check out our citation subject guide for the details of MLA and APA style.

Last: did you know the database helps you in creating a citation? When you’re in a record, click on the “Cite” link on the right side.

Scroll through to find the appropriate style for your class (e.g. APA or MLA), copy the citation, and paste it into your Work Cited list.

*IMPORTANT* You still need to make sure the citation matches the style you need, and all of the important stuff is included, but it cuts down on a lot of the work.

Good luck! You’re almost done!

Find Magazines, Newspapers, and Journals by title or subject with Publication Finder

As great as OneSearch is for keyword searches, it’s not necessarily straightforward how you can search for a specific magazine, newspaper, or journal title. If you just throw the title into the main OneSearch search box, the results usually don’t work out the way you would expect.

I can already hear you asking, “Why would I be searching for a specific publication title anyway?” Well, for one thing, the library offers online access to some of the most popular magazines, like National Geographic, Consumer Reports, and Newsweek, which you can read by issue, and many of them in PDF form with the original photos and layout. 

The same is true for newspapers. In particular, the Chicago Tribune is available, as are the Washington Post and New York Times. Anyone who has spent much time on the websites of those newspapers is probably familiar with the paywalls constantly asking you to log in or subscribe.

Luckily, you don’t have to! All of these publications are available through the library’s database subscriptions.

To search for a specific publication, all you need to do is use Publication Finder. You can get to Publication Finder in several ways. First, you can just click on the link on the library website that says “A-Z Journal List.”

Alternately, you can click on “Find” in the menu bar, then click on “A-Z Journal List. ”

Finally, if you are in OneSearch already, you can get to Publication Finder by clicking on “Publications” at the top of the screen.

Once your’re in Publication Finder, just put the publication name into the search box and click the “Search” button. You’ll be taken to a page that lists all the access options available for the titles matching your search request. For example, a search for Chicago Tribune has 8 results, each covering a different span of time and different historical titles used by the Tribune. Click on the result link listing the time frame you are interested in. For example, if you are interested in reading today’s issue, click on the first link which says “Chicago Tribune (ProQuest) 12/04/1996 – present.”

This will take you to a different page, where you can select today’s issue, or a different issue available for that publication.

Another great thing about Publication Finder, which can be really useful if you are doing research on a topic, is to search for publication titles by subject, or even just use the “Browse By Discipline” links to see a list of everything that is available in a particular subject area.

If you have any questions about using Publication Finder, or if you can’t find a particular publication, contact the PSC library and we’ll be happy to help!

Sign Up For Your PSC Library Account: It’s Library Card Sign-up Month

National Library Card Sign-up Month

September is Library Card Sign-up Month – a time when the American Library Association and libraries across the country remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all.

The observance was launched in 1987 to meet the challenge of then Secretary of Education William J. Bennett who said: “Let’s have a national campaign…every child should obtain a library card – and use it.”  Since then, thousands of public and school libraries join each fall in a national effort to ensure every child does just that.

How to sign up for your PSC Library Account

Signing up for your PSC Library Account is easy. It is so easy, in fact, that you can do it in two easy steps!

1. Stop by the ENROLLMENT SERVICES (rm 1101) to get your Student ID if you have not done it yet.
2. Stop by the Circulation Desk right when you walk into the Library with your ID and Sign up for an account.

Here is what you get by signing up

You get a bunch of things by having a Library Account, that will not only help you in College, but can make college a fun time.

1. You can any check out Books, Movies and DVDs that the Library owns for up to three weeks at a time!
   • Click here for more information on the Library’s item loan policy.
2. You can use your Library account to order books, movies, and even video games from any of our partner Libraries. To do this go to the SWAN Catalog and register your account. From there you can request holds and items can be sent to the Library.
   • For more information on using the catalog check out The NEW SWAN Catalog.
3. You can access the Library’s eBook collection, called the 3M Cloud Library. From hear you can read books on your phone, tablet and computer.
   • For more information on using the ebook collection check out 5 Steps to Checking Out eBooks.
4. Access to the Library’s Study Rooms for groups of two or more.

The SWAN Catalog

A library catalog is the place you go to see what books and movies a particular library has that you can check out or place a hold on. The Prairie State College Library, along with over 70 local libraries, use what is called the SWAN Catalog, which has recently gotten a new look and interface. Continue reading to find out more on using this new catalog to see what we have or to order books and movies from our partner libraries.

Your Account

SIGN INTO YOUR SWAN ACCOUNT

Before you can sign up for a SWAN account you must make sure that you already have a library account with the Prairie State College Library. To set up your account, you will just need to bring your Student ID to the Circulation Desk.

After you set up your Library Account you can log in to SWAN by going to the Catalog (https://catalog.swanlibraries.net/client/en_US/pcs-in/?dt=list) and clicking on Log In in the top right hand corner.

To log in just type in your PSC Student ID number (located at the bottom of the card) into the Library Card Number box. You PIN number will be the last 4 digits of the phone number that you signed up for your Library Account with.

After you are logged in you can check the status of your account by clicking on My Account in the top right hand corner. This area will tell you what items you have checked out, on hold (ordered from another library) and if you have any fines.

Searching SWAN

To search SWAN, just begin by typing the name of the item you are looking for in the search box. The default search is ALL FIELDS. If you want a narrower search, click on the ALL FIELDS drop down menu. From there you can limit your search to author, title, subject, etc … .

When you have found the item you are looking for on the Results page, just click on the Title to see its status. If the item is not checked out, write down the Call Number and bring it to a Librarian at the Reference Desk who will be happy to show you where the item is located.

On this screen you can also place a hold on checked out items, add the item to a wish list, and check out summaries, reviews and excerpts of the item. In addition, the SWAN Catalog will produce further Suggestions that are similar to the book.

Placing a Hold

In addition to the books we have at Prairie State College, you can also search what items our partner libraries have and, if you want, have them sent to Prairie State College, by placing a hold. You can find the Search Box for all of the libraries by going here or by clicking on the Prairie State College drop down menu and selecting Everything.

Then you just search the catalog for your item and when you find it, click on the Place Hold button. A librarian will then call or email you when the item is in. It will usually take 2-4 business days to arrive.

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If you have any more questions about using the SWAN Catalog, stop by the Reference Desk and a Librarian will be happy to help out.

Using Research Starters

If you want to find out an overview of a topic, where do you go? Many people try Wikipedia first. It has a lot of information. Now what if you need an overview of a topic but would like one you could cite for a paper? That’s where our research starters come in. They are shorter than Wikipedia entries but can still get you started. The sources are usually from encyclopedias, as well.

For example, let’s say I go to library.prairiestate.edu and type adhd in the search box. I get 205,000+ results, but the top one before the numbered ones says Research Starter.

Now I can click where it says “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)” and read approximately five pages about ADHD. It comes from Magill’s Medical Guide, a quality source. At the bottom of the research starter it lists a bibliography that you can also use including sources from the DSM-5 and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

There are more than 62,000 research starters (1), so your topic has a great chance of having its own research starter. I’ve found them for microeconomics, wicca, the sinking of the Lusitania, zebras, the solar system, cloning, and more.

(1) Enis, Matt. “Industry: EDS Research Starters Debuts.” Library Journal 139.5 (2014): 22. Professional Development Collection. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.

How to search for items within the library only

Here at PSC we have a wealth of databases and thousands of peer-reviewed journals to browse and download that are available 24/7 (with your PSC email username and password). However we also have books and DVDs that you can check out from the library, everything from graphic novels to fiction to psychology and beyond!

To locate only items within the library (like print books or DVDs), start at the same OneSearch box on the library’s homepage.

Once you have entered your title (or any other search terms) you will need to look at the left side of the page and scroll down to Catalog Only. Click the box to limit your search it our Main Collection.

Then look for the Call No. and that will tell you where the book will be on the shelf. Feel free to ask any librarians for help or visit this previous blog post to learn more about where different sections of the library are!