Unit 4 Review
To search for and find
books on a topic, use NOVA’s Library Catalog. The Library Catalog is available from the
Library home page (www.nvcc.edu/library);
select “Books & More.”
The Library Catalog
also lists DVDs, CDs, videos, and print periodicals owned by all NOVA libraries.
The Library Catalog
provides basic information about each book, such as the title and author, and
also tells you where you can find the book.
Search Strategies
Type in only the most
essential words related to your topic.
Remember that the
Library Catalog only looks for your search terms in just a few fields, such as
the title, author and subject heading fields.
Not enough
results? Try making your search terms
more general.
Too
many results? Make your search terms more specific.
Use an asterisk (*) at
the end of some words to tell the Library Catalog to look for all words
starting with those letters: child* health
Search by author or
title if you know exactly what you’re looking for.
Use the Advanced
Search page to look for materials in a certain Format, such as “Visual
Materials,” which will only find DVDs and videotapes.
Finding Books on the Shelf
NOVA books are
arranged in call number order, using the Library of Congress call number
system. This system groups books
together by topic. Each book has a
unique call number that tells where the book is located in the library.
Here’s how call
numbers work:
Read the call number from top to bottom:
|
QL |
First line: read
it alphabetically. Example: QL comes BEFORE QP |
|
362 |
Second line: read it as whole number. Example: 362 comes BEFORE 363 |
|
.P43 |
Next line(s): read the letter alphabetically, then
read the number as a decimal. Example: .P43 comes BEFORE .P5 |
|
2005 |
Last line: usually a date or a volume number |
How to Evaluate a Book
Look at:
Content (does it cover
your subject?)
Date (is it current? Does
it need to be current?)
Authority (is the
information reliable? What are the
author’s credentials?)
Level of Difficulty
(is the vocabulary too easy or too advanced?)
Purpose (any biases?)
Book Citation Examples:
Citation for a book with more than one author:
MLA Style
Boni, William C. and Gerald L. Kovacich. I-Way Robbery: Crime on the Internet.
APA Style
Boni, W.C. and Kovacich,
G.L. (1999). I-Way
robbery: Crime on the internet.
Citation
for a book with an editor and separate author for the chapter used
MLA Style
Dick, Susan. “Literary
Realism in Mrs Dalloway, To the
Lighthouse,
APA Style
Dick, S. (2000). Literary realism in
Mrs. Dalloway, To the lighthouse,
Citation
for a book in which one chapter was used
MLA Style
Chinn, Mike. “Illustrating the Script.”
Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel: Everything You Need
to Know to Create Great Graphic Works.
APA Style
Chinn, M. (2004).
Illustrating the script. In Writing and illustrating the graphic novel:
Everything you need to know to create great graphic works (pp. 70-113).
Hauppauge, NY: Barron's
Online
Book Available Through a Library Database:
MLA Style:
Mabe, Dave. BlackBerry Hacks.
APA Style:
Mabe, D. (2005). BlackBerry hacks.
Web site: http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com
For additional details
and explanations on how to cite books with other characteristics (such as
anthologies or books that are translated), refer to the following print and
online resources:
1.
A style manual
-
For MLA: MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers (call number LB2369 .G53 2009); in the INDEX, look up
“Books,” then look for the “in works cited” section.
- For APA: Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (call number BF76.7 .P83 2001); in the
TABLE OF CONTENTS, check the “Reference List” chapter for the Books, Brochures
and Book Chapters section.
2. NOVA’s “Citing Sources” web page http://www.nvcc.edu/library/bow_citingref.htm