Research & Computing Help
For Research Help: |
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- Visit the Reference Desk in the Library, just
inside the main doors to your right. (Librarians are available
Mon.-Thurs. 8am-9pm, Fri. 8am-4:30pm, Sat. 12:30-4:30pm, Sun.
1pm-9pm).
- Setup a Personal Consultation Session with
a Reference Librarian (at the Reference Desk).
- Call the Reference Desk at x6618 [Off Campus
(651) 696-6618].
- Submit a Request for Assistance using the Library's
AskUs
Form.
- Contact your Instruction Session Librarian.
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Aaron Albertson
Reference & Instruction Librarian
albertson @macalester.edu
(651) 696-6530 |
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For Computing Help: |
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- Visit the Computing Help Desk Office in the
Humanities Building, Room 310. (Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8am-10pm,
Fri. 8am-4pm, Sun. 4pm-10pm)
- Call the CIT (Computing & Information Technology)
Computing Help Desk at x6525 [Off Campus (651) 696-6525]
and speak directly to a consultant or leave a message.
- Email the
Computing Help Desk to report a problem or ask a
question.
- Submit a Request for Assistance using the CIT
- Problem Submission Form.
- Use CIT
Documentation, instructional handouts explaining
systems and software, for help with computer, application, program,
and network questions.
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Reference Resources
| When starting a research project, it is often a
good idea to check the Reference Collection to find background information
on your topic area. Resources typically found in the Reference Collection
include dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and statistical materials.
The Reference Collection is located on the First Level of the DeWitt
Wallace Library near the Reference Desk. Books are shelved under
LC Call Numbers based on their subject matter. Find Reference materials
by browsing the shelves or by using the CLICnet catalog. We also
have a collection of Online
Reference Resources. The materials listed below represent
a sample of Reference resources that relate to your class. Check
the Reference Collection for additional resources that may relate
more directly to your specific project. |
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| Contemporary
Literary Criticism: Criticism of the Works of Today's Novelists, Poets,
Playwrights, Short Story Writers, Scriptwriters, and Other Creative
Writers. (REF PN 771 .C59) Janet Witalec, project
editor. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2003. |
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| Drama
Criticism: Criticism of the Most Significant and Widely Studies Dramatic
Works from All the World's Literatures. (PN 1707
.D73) Janet Witalec, project editor. Detroit, MI: Gale,
2003 |
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| Oxford
Reference Online
(Current) Resource of reference materials including about 100 dictionary,
language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford
University Press. Provides database-wide searching, subject searching
across sources, and individual title searching. Oxford University
Press. |
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Finding Books : Catalogs
| Use online catalogs to locate books in local libraries.
Here at Macalester, our online catalog is called CLICnet. It is
often helpful to start with a "Superkeyword" search in
the CLICnet catalog where you combine topics that relate to your
research project. For example:
- african americans and history
- genetics and ethics
- aristotle and rhetoric
- medieval women and literature
- cognition and memory and children
Be sure to check the Subject headings listed in the records you
retrieve so that you will find other useful and more specific terms
and phrases to search. CLICnet uses the Subject Headings found in
the Library of Congress Subject Headings books kept near the Reference
Desk in the Library.
- CLICnet
(Macalester's Library Catalog)
- MNCAT
(the University of Minnesota's Library Catalog)
For More Information:
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Books at Macalester
| In the DeWitt Wallace Library, as in other libraries,
books are grouped together on the shelves by subject area. The Library
uses the Library of Congress (or LC) Classification System to assign
call numbers, using both letters and numbers, to books based on
their subject matter. Use the CLICnet Library Catalog to find books
in DeWitt Wallace Library. Keep in mind, it is often useful to browse
the books on the shelf in a particular subject area to find additional
materials that might relate to your research. Listed below are the
collection locations for books here in the Library.
Finding Books at Macalester:
- MAC Reference Collection (First Level)
- MAC Stacks A - HB (Fourth Level)
- MAC Stacks HC - PQ (Third Level)
- MAC Stacks PR - Z (Second Level)
- MAC 2nd Level-Oversize A-Z (Second Level, South End of
the Stacks)
- MAC SuperOversize Level 2 A-Z (Second Level, SW Study
Room, In Library Use Only)
- MAC Greats Book Coll A-Z (First Level, North Study Room)
- MAC Wood Collection-Lev 2 A-Z (Second Level, North Room)
- MAC Harmon Current Read A-Z (First Level, SW Corner,
Harmon Room)
- Archives & Rare Books (Second Level, East,
Access By Appointment Only)
- CLIC Online (netLibrary Ebook Available Online)
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Finding Articles : Indexes
| Indexes allow you to access information
about articles on your topic which have appeared in periodicals
such as journals or magazines. Some indexes also provide information
about books, newspaper articles, conference proceedings, government
documents and a variety of other publication types. Subject-specific
indexes focus on specific disciplines; interdisciplinary indexes
survey many disciplines. Many of our indexes are available in electronic
form, however print indexes are still the norm for certain disciplines.
For More Information:
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| EXPANDED
ACADEMIC ASAP,
1980- Interdisciplinary
index of articles from both scholarly and popular journals. Some articles
are available fulltext. |
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| MLA
INTERNATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY(1921-)
Print version at: INDEX COLL-LOWER LEVEL (PN1 .M62)
An international
index to articles, books, and dissertations in the fields of literature
and linguistics. The print version covers 1921-1963; the online version
covers 1963-present. |
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| PCI
(Periodical Contents Index), date varies.
This indexes articles from about 1600 journals in the fields of humanities
and social sciences. The journals are fully indexed from the first
issue of a journal through the early 1990s. Therefore, indexing is
provided for articles from nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Search
by keywords you might find in the titles of articles. |
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Journals at Macalester
| Finding Journals at Macalester:
- Ejournal
Finder - Access to full-text content in over 10,000 electronic
publications available at Macalester. Includes publications within
subscription indexes and full-content Ejournals.
- Journal
Finder - Access to print and microform journals, as well
as selected Ejournals, available at Macalester via the CLICnet
Library Catalog.
Journal Formats
- Print Journals - Paper journals shelved alphabetically
by title. Current periodicals (typically the most recent year
of volumes for each journal title) are located on the First Level
of the Library and Bound Periodicals (older years for a journal
title) are located on the Lower Level.
- Microform Journals - Journals available on microfiche
or microfilm. Microform journals are located on the Lower Level
of the Library in a room near the Periodicals and Computer Lab
Desk. Microform viewing and printing equipment is available in
this room.
- Full-Text EJournals - Journals within online indexes
that provide full-text articles from these journals online. May
not include pictures, images, tables, and graphs. Check each individual
Online Index to determine if full-text articles are available.
- Full-Content Ejournals - Electronic equivalent to a print
journal, offering the full-content of the print journal online
including pictures, images, tables, and graphs. The Library purchases
access to individual Ejournal titles as well as Ejournal Collections
like JSTOR and Project
MUSE.
For More Information:
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Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan (or ILL) is a DeWitt Wallace Library service
that allows current Macalester students, staff, and faculty
the opportunity to submit requests for books, journal articles,
and other materials that are not available here in the Library.
You may submit up to 5 interlibrary loan requests per day
(not including requests you make for books within CLICnet).
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Web Research
| The Web is a extremely vast resource of information.
While it is important to use critical thinking skills when looking
at any information source, the Web can provide particular challenges.
Always be aware of things like the authority, scope, source, currency,
intended audience, etc. when visting a Web site; especially when
relying on a site as a source for a paper.
Searching the Web can be a daunting experience. Search engines
change on a regular basis. Google
is the most effective search engine. However, it is important to
note that no single search engine can claim to even come close to
searching the entire Web. For best results, you should try searches
in multiple engines.
For More Information:
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Citing Your Sources
| RefWorks
is a web-based program that allows you to download, organize, annotate,
and search citations (references) for your papers and to create
bibliographies. When you create bibliographies, choose from a variety
of style formats (MLA, APA, Turabian, etc.). With an additional
plug-in program, you can use Refworks to create references and bibliographies
automatically while writing papers in Microsoft Word. (Please note:
the Write-N-Cite plug-in is currently not available for Macintosh
computers.)
For More Information:
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