Part Two
Books, Periodicals, and
Periodical Indexes
Books and the OPAC
SMC Library uses a web-based Online Public Access Catalog, or
OPAC, to inform users about the books and other materials in the
Library's collections, and to tell where these materials are
located.
The Library provides computer workstations that allow users to
search online for materials such as books and periodical titles
through the catalog, periodical articles through the databases,
and Internet documents through the World Wide Web. Users need to
access the Library Home Page,
which displays gateway access points for performing these
searches.
Starting from the Library Home Page, follow basic instructions
for using the Library Catalog as well as others onscreen to
find out which books, periodical and media titles that the SMC
Library owns, as well as to locate reserve materials set
aside by instructors for their classes.
Analyzing OPAC Records
To search for and retrieve materials
efficiently, Library users should be able to identify and understand
component parts of records found through the SMC Library OPAC.
A typical SMC Library OPAC record is
illustrated below, with identification/explanation of its components
following. Use the identifications and explanations provided below
the record as a guide to answer the questions in Quiz 2.
QR41.2 .T67 2001
Microbiology : an introduction
Tortora, Gerard J.
| Personal Author: |
Tortora, Gerard
J. |
| Title: |
Microbiology :
an introduction / Gerard J. Tortora, Berdell R. Funke,
Christine L. Case. |
| Edition: |
7th ed. |
| Publication info: |
San Francisco : Benjamin Cummings, c2001. |
| Physical descrip: |
xxiv, 887 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 29
cm. |
| General Note: |
Includes index. |
| Held by: |
MAIN |
| Subject term: |
Microbiology. |
| Added author: |
Funke, Berdell
R. |
| Added author: |
Case, Christine
L., 1948- |
|
|
Copy |
Holds |
Location |
| Call Numbers for: MAIN |
| 1) |
QR41.2 .T67 2001 |
1 |
NONE |
RESERVES |
|
desk:RESERVES /
circ rule:RESRV_2HR |
|
|
2 |
NONE |
RESERVES |
|
desk:RESERVES /
circ rule:RESRV_2HR |
Call Number of the Book:
QR41.2.T67 2001
Indicates the LC subject/identification
code for the book
Personal Author(s): Gerard J.
Tortora, Berdell R. Funke, Christine L. Case
Gives the names of the person(s) who
wrote the book.
Title: Microbiology: An
Introduction
The name of the book.
Edition of the book: 7th ed.
Indicates how many times the original
text of this specific book was revised or updated, up to and
including this specific edition; and which revision or update
this particular book represents.
Publication Info: San Francisco,
Benjamin Cummings, c2001
Tells the city where the book was
published; the name of the publisher of the book; and the copyright
date of the book
Physical Description of the book:
xxiv, 887p.: ill. (chiefly col); 29cm
Describes the number of preliminary
pages (xxiv); of text pages (887); illustrations (chiefly
illustrations in color); and height of the book (29
centimeters)
Held by: MAIN
Indicates the building where the book is
kept: i.e., the SMC Library building
Subject term: Microbiology
Gives the subject of the book and the
subject heading under which this book can be found in the OPAC
Added Author: Funke, Berdell R.,
and Case, Christine L.
Gives the names of other persons who
co-wrote the book
Copy: 1 and 2
Indicates how many copies of the book
the Library owns and locating information for each copy
Holds: NONE
Tells whether there has been a formal
request by a Library user to hold a checked-out book for that user
when it is returned; and also tells how many hold requests have been
made. "NONE" means that no requests for holds have been
made for the book, so it should be available.
Location: RESERVES
Tells whether the book is in the Stacks,
Reference, or Reserves sections of the MAIN library
building. If the book was checked out, the due date would be
given instead of a location
desk:RESERVES
Indicates that the book must be asked
for at the reserves/circulation desk, not looked for in reference or
stacks areas.
circ rule: RESRV_2HR
Indicates the SMC Library circulation
rule for regular reserves items: they may only be checked out for
two hours use in the Library
Examine the OPAC record above to analyze,
recognize, and define some common components of an OPAC
record. Use the analysis of the OPAC record above as a guide
to help you answer questions about another OPAC record in the
following quiz:
Click
Here for Quiz 2: Analyzing OPAC Records
Finding a Book on
the Shelf
As discussed before, books in the SMC Library are classified (i.e.
described and arranged by subject and identification number)
according to the Library of Congress Classification System (LC).
It was started by the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and
is used by many other libraries. (Many libraries, especially
public libraries, use the second major classification system, the
Dewey Decimal Classification System (DDC), which uses numbers to
indicate the subjects.)
LC uses the letters of the alphabet to indicate the broad subjects
of books. For example, "B" stands for subjects in
philosophy and religion. Most science books fall under
"Q". Letters, combined with other subject numbers and
author codes, make up the call numbers for books. The call number
identifies and describes the book, and indicates where it is
shelved. You can search for books by using the OPAC and following
the directions onscreen, and on previous pages.
When you find a book you want, write down its call number. If it
is available and located in the stacks, go to the book area called
the Stacks that begin just after the Reference works
near the reference desk and continue, in call number order, to the
area opposite the circulation desk. Go to the area where the first
letter of the call number that you want appears; then follow the
call number letter by letter, number by number, etc., until you
have found the book with exactly that number on its spine.
Periodicals
When writing research papers and other course assignments, you may
need to find periodical articles as well as (or instead of) books
for relevant information. Periodicals contain more recent and
up-to-date information than books, although the information may
not always be 100% accurate.
Periodicals are magazines, journals, and newspapers. They are
called "periodicals" because they are published at
regular periods -- such as every day, every week, or every month
-- instead of just once, like most books. Some periodicals,
especially journals, can be published every three or four months
or even just once or twice a year.
Magazines are general-interest or special-interest publications
meant for the average reader. They are usually glossy and contain
articles, stories, poems, illustrations, advertisements, etc.
Magazines are sometimes dedicated to one subject only, such as
fashion or automobiles. Some examples of magazines are: Time,
Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, Vogue, Discover,
Omni, and Car and Driver.
Journals are periodicals containing articles on specific subjects
usually written for (and by) scholars and professionals in fields
such as medicine, literature, law, music, etc. The word
"journal" may or may not appear in the title of the
publication. Articles in journals generally contain the results or
description of research or critical analysis. Some examples of
journals are: JAMA (Journal of the American Medical
Association), College English, and American Journal
of Botany.
Newspapers usually are published every
day or week and contain the news of the day or time period covered;
commentary; feature articles; and advertising. Some examples are the
Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Sentinel, and the
New York Times.
Periodical Indexes
and SMC Library Periodical Resources
To use periodicals in library research, you need several reference
tools. The first such helper is an index. This specific
type of index tells researchers exactly which periodical issues
contain articles on chosen subjects. The General Science Index
(GSI), a book/print index found in many libraries, is this
type of resource. GSI only contains article listings on
science topics. Since it only deals with one subject area, it is
called a subject index. Other indexes, such as The
Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, contain citations
covering articles on many subjects, not on one subject alone.
These types of indexes are called general indexes.
Listed under each subject heading in a print index, or in a result
list from an electronic one, will be all of the articles
entered on the subject searched, which came out during the time
period covered by the index. The articles could come from any of
the periodicals included by the index publishers.
Most of SMC Library's print indexes are kept behind the
circulation desk Each of them usually lets the user know which
magazines, newspapers, or journals it includes by placing a list
of the periodicals in the front pages of each volume. An important
exception, however, is Biological Abstracts, published by
BIOSIS, which prints its list of indexed periodicals in a separate
book entitled Serial Sources for the BIOSIS Previews Database.
Electronic indexes usually print their list in a separate file or
hardcopy list; some are accessible to searchers and some are not.
Ebscohost does allow users to browse their list of included
periodicals.
The second reference helper that might be needed to locate
periodical articles in SMC Library is the Santa Monica College
Library Periodical Holdings List. This list is found in the
OPAC, and also in red 3-ring binders near the reference computer
workstations and the circulation desk areas. Look up a needed
periodical alphabetically by its title and the list will indicate
whether the SMC Library subscribes to the periodical. It also
specifies which dates of the periodical the Library owns.
Additionally, it indicates which issues are stored in the bound or
unbound periodicals area behind the circulation desk, and which
issues are stored on microfilm or microfiche in cabinets near the
reference area. You will need proof of current enrollment, such as
your student identification card, to ask for periodicals from the
bound or unbound periodicals area, but you can go directly to the
microform periodical issues (which must be read on special
machines nearby).
The Santa Monica
College Library Periodical Holdings List
The computer catalog, or OPAC, tells us which books the library
owns. It also tells us which periodicals and other materials the
library owns. To search the OPAC to see if the Library subscribes
to a specific periodical, click the Library
Catalog on the Library Home
Page. Type the title of the periodical" (e.g. Newsweek)
in the search box, and click the " Periodical Titles"
button below the search box.
The Periodical Holdings List is
another tool that tells Library users which periodicals the Library
subscribes to; it is often handier to use than the computer catalog
listings. However, although the information contained in the print List
comes from the computer records, the OPAC offers more updated
information about the periodicals.
Copies of the List, in red 3-ring
binders, may be found at the circulation desk, near the computer
workstations and tables, and in print-index and reference areas. It
is updated at regular intervals.
All magazines, newspapers, and journals
to which the SMC Library subscribes are listed alphabetically by
title in the printed List.
The List also tells which dates
of the periodicals are owned by the Library, and where the back
issues of each periodical are kept: bound periodicals and unbound
periodicals (single, loose issues) are kept behind the
periodicals/circulation desk; and many periodical back issues are
stored on microfilm or microfiche in cabinets in the reference
area.
Using the Periodical
Holdings List
If you need to know if the Library
subscribes to a certain periodical (Newsweek magazine, for
example), you would look in the printed List alphabetically
under the title of the periodical (in the "N" section for Newsweek)
and it would indicate which dates of this magazine the Library
holds, and which issues were bound, unbound, on microfilm or on
microfiche.
If a periodical title does not appear in
the List, then the SMC Library does not subscribe to
it.
When you locate an article you want,
especially after using a print index or abstract, your next step is
to check our List to see if the Library has the periodical
containing the needed article. If the Library subscribes to the
periodical, then you must go to the correct area where it is kept to
retrieve it. Click the following connection for more details on steps
to finding periodical articles in the SMC Library.
Review the section above and prior
sections, if applicable. Then:
Click
Here for Quiz 2A: Books, Periodicals, and Periodical Indexes
Print Index
Citations: General Science Index
Although electronic databases predominate in contemporary library
research, there are times when it is preferable or mandatory to
use a print index, especially to find information older than a few
years.
The following example from The General Science Index
provides practice in analyzing a citation from a print index.
Components of the citation are explained in the list following the
citation. Try to match visually each component part of the
analyzed entry with the definitions and components of each part of
the entry, which appear below the record. Then, use the
descriptions as a model to help you answer questions about another
General Science Index entry, which appears in Quiz 2B.
Hearing
See also Auditory perception
Auditory interneurones in the metathoracic
ganglion of the grasshopper Chorthippus biguttulus [two-year
research project ]. A. Stumpner and B. Ronacher. bibl il J
Exp Biol v158 p391-410 Jl '91
Subject Heading : Hearing
What the article is about.
Cross Reference : See also Auditory
perception
Refers the researcher to a related subject
heading within the same index volume, where other related
articles can be found.
Title of the Article: Auditory
interneurones in the metathoracic ganglion of the grasshopper
Chorthippus biguttulus
The name of the article
Informational Note: [two-year research
project ]
A note of additional information about the
article that explains, summarizes, or characterizes the
article
Author(s) of the Article: A. Stumpner and
B. Ronacher
Name(s) of the person(s) that wrote the article
Informational Note: bibl
A note of additional information about the
article; in this case the abbreviation "bibl" means
that the article contains a bibliography
Informational Note: il
A note of additional information about the
article; in this case the abbreviation "il" means that
the article contains illustrations
Title of the Periodical (abbreviated): J
Exp Biol
The name of the journal/periodical in which the
article appears; in this case an abbreviation for the Journal
of Experimental Biology
(Title abbreviations are spelled out in
the front section of each volume of General Science Index)
Volume Number of the Periodical :
v158
The volume number of the periodical.
Page Number(s) of the Article: p391-410
The specific page numbers where the specific
article will be found.
Date of the Periodical: Jl '91
The date when the periodical issue was
published; in this case an abbreviation for the date July
1991.
Examine the analyzed citation above from General
Science Index. Use it as a generic model to help answer
questions about another entry which appears in Quiz 2B, accessed
below:
|
