Name
I. SHORT ANSWER (Questions
1- 4)
1)
Name the 3 organizational tools used by libraries to accomplish
the complex job of organizing the collection. (3 points)
2)
Why do subject headings often include subdivisions?
3)
Name the classification system used at Skyline Library.
4)
The PLS system includes the 3 community colleges (Skyline,
CSM, and Canada) and who else?
II. ONLINE CATALOG EXERCISE
(Questions 5-20)
For this part of the exercise, you will be using
the Peninsula Library System online catalog.
• CLICK
HERE
• You will be brought to what's known as the "Basic
Search" mode. This is the starting point for searching
the catalog.
• Complete the exercises below. Follow the directions
carefully!!
AUTHOR SEARCH
The word "Search" appears followed by 2 boxes.
The first box allows you to choice your search method.
Notice that the default search method is "Any Word(s)"
(also known as a keyword search). Click
on the down arrow inside this box and a menu of choices
will appear. Point to author ,
and click once .
Move the cursor into the blank text entry box and type:
sagan, carl. or click on "Go ."
The result of your search is an alphabetical list of
authors' last names. The first name on the list should
be:SAGAN, CARL, 1934 - (the year refers to
Sagan's year of birth).
5)
How many titles are listed for Carl Sagan?
Click on Sagan, Carl, 1934 -
and you will be brought to the first 10 records for Carl
Sagan.
One useful feature of this catalog is that it allows
you to limit your search results by certain criteria.
For example, let's assume that you're only interested
in seeing a list of books by Carl Sagan that are at Skyline
Library. In order to make this happen, you must use the
"Limit by" option found immediately
above and to the right of the 1st book that's listed.
Click on the down arrow inside the
"Limit by" box and a menu of
choices will appear. Scroll down until
you see "Skyline College Library."
Point to "Skyline College
Library," and click once .
Now click on "Go."
6)
After clicking on "Go," the catalog will limit
your previous search on Carl Sagan to only those titles at
Skyline. How many hits are now displayed?
Another useful option is sorting your search results
by certain criteria. For example, let's assume that you'd
like to read the most recently published book by Carl
Sagan at Skyline Library. Your search result list is already
limited to Skyline books by Carl Sagan, but now you want
to sort that list by date so you can easily find his most
recent one.
To sort your results list by date, click
on the down arrow inside the "Sort by"
box (found just above the "Limit by" box.)
Point to "Pulication date,
Title, Author" and click
once. Then click on "Go." Your list of Skyline books by Sagan should now be arranged
in reverse chronological order, i.e. the publication dates
of the books get older as you go down the list.
Display the full bibliographic record for the most
recent book by clicking
on the title of the book. You will be brought to a screen
that gives you a detailed description of the book. Use
that screen to provide the following information:
7)
8)
Type in the box below the name of one of your favorite
authors (fiction or non-fiction):
Do an author search for the person you've chosen. Begin
by clicking on "Basic" in the
upper left margin. You will be brought back to the starting
point for doing a new search. Remember to select "author"
from the pull-down menu.last name first ,
followed by a comma, then the first name.
Provide the following information for the most recently
published book by your author listed in the PLS Online Catalog:
TITLE SEARCH
9)
Begin by clicking on "Basic"
in the upper left margin. You will be brought back to
the starting point for doing a new search.
Select "title" from the pull-down
menu.IMPORTANT: DO
not choose "Title Key Word(s)". In the text entry box, type: A Journey into
the Deaf World (upper case letters not required).
Press <enter> or click
on "Go ."
Display the full record
for this book and answer the following:
What is the Skyline Library call number?
Do any other libraries in the PLS own this book?
Who are the 3 authors of this book? (3 points)
What are the 3 subject headings given for this book? (3
points)
Let's assume that you found A Journey
into the Deaf World especially fascinating and
you'd like to know if the PLS system has any more books
like it. Thanks to the subject headings assigned to this
book, there's a very simple way of finding out:
Click on the first subject heading
for this book: "Deaf - Social Conditions." You
will be brought to a screen that gives you "Browsing
results." This screen allows you to browse through
the catalog's list of subject headings, starting with
the one you just clicked: "Deaf - Social Conditions."
Notice that the other headings all begin with the same
main heading ("Deaf") and are followed by various
subdivisions that describe different aspects of the subject.
You can scroll both up and down this alphabetical list
of subject headings by clicking on "Prev 10 subject"
or "Next 10 subject."
10)
How many titles are listed under "Deaf - Social
Conditions"?
Click on the browser BACK button
and you'll be brought back to the full record.
Click on "Deaf - United States - Social
Conditions."
11)
How many titles are listed under "Deaf - United
States -- Social Conditions"?
Display the list of books under this
heading by clicking on the heading .
From this list of books, how many are at Skyline Library?From
your list of Skyline books, give the complete title of one
other book under the subject "Deaf -- United States
-- Social Conditions." A Journey
into the Deaf World . Our purpose here is to find other
books similiar to Mr. Lane's book by seeing what else is
cataloged under the subject headings assinged to this book.
Click on the BACK
button until you return to the full record for A
Journey into the Deaf World.
12)
How many titles are listed under "Deaf - Means of Communication
- United States"?
SUBJECT SEARCH #1
Click on "Basic" to begin
a new search.Select "Subject Headings (exact)"
from the pull-down menu.Do not choose
"Subject Key Word(s)."]
In the text entry box type: assisted suicide or click
on "Go ."
13)
How many titles are in the PLS system for this exact subject?How many of these
are at Skyline Library?
From those at Skyline, what is the complete title of the
book that was published in the year 2000 ?
List the 2 other subject headings assigned to this book:
(exclude the heading "Assisted Suicide")
. (2 points)
Click on the first subject
heading assigned to this book to find other books
that have been categorized under that exact subject.
How many titles are in the PLS system for this subject?
From this list of titles, how many are at Skyline Library?
From the list of Skyline books, what is the title of the
book in our collection on this subject that was published
in 1974 ?
SUBJECT SEARCH #2
Click on "Basic" to begin
a new search.Select "Subject Headings (exact)"
from the pull-down menu.Do not choose
"Subject Key Word(s)."]
In the text entry box type: endangered species
-- california (NOTE: It's not necessary to type the dash.)Press <enter> or click
on "Go ."
Notice that there are 5 subject headings that begin
with the main heading "Endangered species"
and that also have the subdivision "California."
14)
How many books are under the subject heading "Endangered
Species -- California"?How many of
these books are at Skyline?
What is the complete title and call number of the most
recent book at Skyline on endangered species of California?
Skyline Library Call Number:
KEYWORD SEARCH
Keyword searching allows you to think of your
own "keywords" to describe your topic. The results
can be somewhat "messy" since the computer will
look for your search term(s) in any field of the record. But
it offers you the advantage of not having to know the correct
subject heading. Therefore, it is often a good strategy to
start with a keyword search rather than a subject search when
you are looking for books on a specific subject or topic.
Given below is a strategy often used by experienced researchers:
This strategy helps eliminate false hits. Let's see how
it works in practice:
Click on "Basic"
to begin a new search. DO NOT CHANGE the search
index from its default setting: "Any Word(s) - Title,
Auth, Subj". This is the setting for a keyword search.
Assume you're doing research on the American Civil
War and you're in the early states of the research process.
You decide to find a book that offers a general overview
of the war.
Type: American Civil War in the entry
box. Press <enter > or click on
"Go ."
You will be shown the first 10 hits (records) in a
list of over 600 hits. Make certain that your results
are sorted by date (use the "Sort by" feature).
Since you did a keyword search, you know that not all
of these books will be about the American Civil War. In
fact, if you look at the full records for certain titles
in this list, you'll find books that turn out to be false
hits. For example, The Terrorist Attack on America
is about civil rights during war. Spanish Recognitions:
The Road from the Past , is a memoir that includes
recollections about the Spanish Civil War. Fidel
is about Cuban participation in the Angolan civil war.
One book from screen 7, however, looks more promising:
The Civil War, 1850 - 1895, published by Greenhaven
Press in 2003. Find that book on your results list by
going to screen 7. (To go to screen 7, scroll to the bottom
of the screen you are at, and click on the number 7.)
To know for certain if this book is about the American
Civil War -- not some other Civil War -- you must display
the full record and examine it closely.
15)
Judging from the six subject headings, summary, and the
contents field, is this book about the American
Civil War?
16)
The 6 subject headings assigned to this book are listed
below. Which one directly describes the subject
American Civil War? (Type the letter for your answer in the
box below.)A. United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865 - Juvenile
Literature.
You have now identified the formal LC subject heading
for the American Civil War. Clearly, this is a heading
you probably would not have thought of on your own, but
were able to find by first doing a keyword search, choosing
one relevant book, and examining the subject headings.
Now that you know the formal heading for books on the
American Civil War, it's simple to find more books categorized
under that subject. Click on the subject
heading you chose in #16 and you'll be brought to the
"Browsing results" screen. Now you can click
on that heading and be shown a list of every book under
that subject and no longer have to deal with the false
hits in your original list of over 600 books.
17)
How many titles are in the PLS system for the heading
you clicked on?
III. RESEARCHING YOUR TOPIC
– BOOKS
Find a book related to the research topic you specified
at the end of Lesson 2 by conducting a keyword search using
the PLS Online Catalog. Begin by typing in the box below
the complete and exact wording for your research question.
Next, think of a single word or a two-word phrase that
describes your topic. Since books tend to cover broad topics
and subject headings used by OPACs are often broadly worded,
try to use a broad word or phrase. For example:
OPAC KEYWORD SEARCH – 3 EXAMPLES RESEARCH
QUESTION: What role – if any –
does the burning of fossil fuels play in global warming?
OPAC KEYWORD SEARCH: global warming
What effect does economic
globalization have on third world countries? economic globalization
What can be done to maintain
the long-term viability of forests as a renewable
resource? forests
OPTIONAL : If your results are extremely
large (over 100 books), you might want to try a combination
of 2 single words or phrases that summarize 2 main ideas
from your research question. Connect them with AND. But
again, keep your terms broad. For example:
origins AND universe
Student Research Worksheet, item
#3, for the instructor's keyword suggestion(s) given during
Meeting #1.
Enter your search terms and run the search. Remember
that the PLS catalog calls a keyword search an ANY WORD(s)
search.
18)
After running your search, you will be given a list of
hits. (If you get no results, or only false hits, try synonymous
or broader search terms, or ask instructor for help.) Choose
one book that seems especially relevant to your topic.
Since most good research relies on
current information, try to find a recently published book.
(Remember you can sort your results by date. )
Display the full record for the book you've chosen and
provide the following information:
NOTE: The book you choose can be
at any PLS library.
Author(s) or editor(s):
Title (including subtitle if there is one):
Publisher:
Year of publication:
19)
Remaining at the full display for the book you chose in
question #18, examine the subject headings carefully. In many
cases you will discover subject headings relevant to your
research topic that you probably wouldn't have thought of
on your own. Type in the box below all the subject
headings that seem relevant to your topic:
20)
Remaining at the full display for the book you chose in
question #18, click on those subject headings that seem relevant
to your research topic and type below the titles of
any additional books on your topic discovered under
a formal Library of Congress heading(s). See if you can find
2-5 additional book titles.
IV. LC EASY EXERCISE
(25 points)
The
last part of this assignment must
be completed and submitted separately from Parts I - III.
LC Easy
exercise has been completed and the certificate verifying
completion of the exercise has been turned in to the reference
desk.
Thank you!
