LOCATING
CONTENT:
1. Objectives
2. Citations
3. Reading citations
4. Locating your source
5. Not in the library?
6. Library organization
7. Library classification
1. OBJECTIVES
Understand the purpose and parts of a citation
Understand how the citation helps you locate a source online or in a library
Understand library collections and services
Understand how to locate sources using library classification systems such as Dewey
Decimal and Library of Congress
2. CITATIONS
A citation is a reference to an individual work or set of works that are quoted,
paraphrased or characterized in a piece of scholarly writing, usually in abbreviated form "in text"
as for example, (Jones 2004: 27-32) or a footnote or endnote with this reference.
A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from
another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again,
including:
information about the author
the title of the work
the name and location of the company that published your copy of the source
the date your copy was published
the page numbers of the material you are borrowing
Why should we cite sources?
Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's
work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:
Citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your ideas
and where they came from.
Not all sources are good or right -- your own ideas may often be more accurate or
interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap
for someone else's bad ideas.
Citing sources shows the amount of research you've done
Citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas
Doesn't citing make our work seem less original?
Not at all. On the contrary, citing sources actually helps us reader distinguish our ideas
from those of your sources. This will actually emphasize the originality of your own work.
When do I need to cite?
Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following
situations almost always require citation:
whenever you use quotes
whenever you paraphrase
whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed
whenever you make specific reference to the work of another
whenever someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas.
3. READING CITATIONS
Citations represent more than just books and magazines. They represent any written,
spoken, or broadcast source, including Web sites, a single chapter from a book, the text of a law
or treaty, an interview, or a documentary video. Accurate citations allow you to track down the
most difficult-to-find sources, wherever they may be located.
Clues to Reading a Citation:
Clues that the citation above is from a book:
Italics are used to set off the title. Sometimes the title is underlined instead.
There is a place of publication and a publisher.
There is no volume or issue number.
There are no page numbers.
Clues that the citation above is from a book chapter:
Italics are used to set off the title (like a citation for a book).
The word "In" followed by editors (authors), title, and page numbers.
There are two titles.
There is a place of publication and a publisher (like for a book).
There is no volume or issue number.
Clues that the citation above is from a journal article:
There are two titles.
The second title is the journal title. It is in italics. Sometimes this title will
be underlined instead.
There is a voume number. In this case there is also an issue number (which may or may
not be given).
There are page numbers.
There is a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). This piece of information was introduced
relatively recently, so it may not always be given.
Clues that the above citation is from a newspaper article:
In addition to the year, the date includes the month and day.
There are two titles, and the title of the newspaper is in italics. Sometimes it may
be underlined.
A newspaper title often includes terms like "Times," "Post," "Tribune," or "Observer."
Clues that the citation above is from a webpage:
There are no volume, issue, or page numbers.
There is the phrase "Retrieved from" followed by a URL.
4. LOCATING YOUR SOURCE
When you don't find a needed source on the Internet or in a disciplinary database, a
citation can be used to find the source somewhere else, typically in a library. The source for
discovering what a library owns and where they keep it is a catalog.
The library catalog is a database of everything a library owns; but its records don't
include article titles, and rarely include chapter titles. So, don't search for article or chapter titles.
Search for book, journal, magazine, or newspaper titles.
DO'S AND DON'TS SAMPLE
Sample periodical Croley, Steven P. & Jackson, John H. (1996)
citation "WTO dispute procedures, standard of review,
and deference to national
governments." American Journal of
International Law , v90 n2 193-213
Don't search the library "WTO dispute procedures ... " the article title.
catalog for ... With what you have already learned about
citations, you know where the article is
published; it's in theAmerican Journal of
International Law, so ...
Search the library American Journal of International Law. This
catalog for ... will tell you whether the library can provide
access to the journal and where it's shelved.
When you get there, you will be looking for
volume 90, number 2, 1996.
Find credible sources using tools that are designed to find the types of sources you need:
EBSCO
JSTOR
Google Scholar
Microsoft Academic Search
Google Books
Google
PubMed
GoPubMed
Medline Plus
JURN
NBER, etc.
5. NOT IN THE LIBRARY?
What if the library you are in does not own the book or journal you want to locate?
Interlibrary Loan is a service that can find it for you and try to borrow it from another
library. Journal, magazine and newspaper articles are often sent in electronic format via email;
you may receive these within a couple of days of requesting them.
6. LIBRARY ORGANIZATION
Each library is organized for the best use of its primary customers.
TYPES:
Public libraries - support the recreation, business, and citizenship needs of their
communities.
Special libraries - support the information needs of their employers (law firms, corporate
research & development, hospitals, etc.)
School library and media centers - support the classroom activities of elementary and
secondary school students.
Academic libraries (undergraduate libraries and the libraries of small colleges and
universities and community colleges) - support the course work of their students.
Research libraries - are maintained at large research universities and support both
student course work and faculty research. These are typically the world's largest libraries.
SECTIONS:
To make finding sources easier, librarians categorize materials using various characteristics, such
as format (video, book, Web site), source type (reference, fiction), and subject (engineering,
social work, sports). These collections may be arranged by room, floor, Web page, or building.
7. LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION
Library classification is a system of arrangement adopted by a library to enable patrons
to find its materials quickly and easily.
It is a system of coding and organizing library materials (books, serials, audiovisual
materials, computer files, maps, manuscripts, realia) according to their subject and allocating a
call number to that information resource
There are 2 main subject classification systems that translate a work's subject and author or
title into a code (call number) that determines where it will be shelved:
Library of Congress Classification (LCC) is a system of library classification
developed by the Library of Congress. It is used by most research and academic libraries
in the U.S. and several other countries.
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC, also called the Dewey Decimal System) is a
proprietary system of library classification developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876, and has
since then been greatly modified and expanded through 22 major revisions, the most
recent in 2004.
References:
What Is Citation? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-citation
Research Guides: Citing Sources of Information: How to read a citation. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://libguides.library.cityu.edu.hk/citing/citation
Research Guides: Research/Writing/Citing Sources: How to Read a Citation. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://libguides.gatech.edu/c.php?g=53980&p=348445
Britannica, T. E. (2018, February 22). Library classification. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/science/library-classification
Library classification. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Library_classification
(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/info_literacy/modules/module4/4_6.htm
