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Getting Research Assistance

Library Catalog

Catalog Tips

Databases

Database Tips

Websites

 

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Just getting started?

Start by doing some background research. Take time to engage in some brainstorming exercises that will help you identify key subject terms. Encyclopedias and other reference resources can be used to help you refine your subject terms and the citations in these sources can be used to find more information on your topic.

Consider how much time you have to complete your assignment and how hard it will be to get the resources you need for your topic. If you are finding your research difficult to manage, narrow your topic or break your research down into manageable sub-topics. If you are not finding enough information on your topic, try using broader subject terms.

Other Useful Guides

 

Guide to the Library

Using Databases

Citation Guide

 

Library Catalog: Books, Videos, e-Books and more!

 

Call number areas to browse

Subject Area	Call Number Range	Subject Area	Call Number Range	Subject Area	Call Number Range
American Literature	PS1-PS3576	British Literature	PR1-PR9680	Classical Literature: Greek	PA3520-PA4499
Modern English Language	PE1001-PE3729	Drama	PN1600-PN1650	Poetry	PN1031-PN1525
German Literature (translations) Goethe	PT1891-PT2728	Norwegian Literature (translations) Ibsen	PT8851-PT8900

 

The books in the library are organized by subject. You can browse these call number areas to find related books. So, if you are searching the library catalog and find a book that looks interesting or particularly relevant to your research, you can search the shelves in the library in the same call number area to find related items.

 

Reference Sources

Title	Call Number
TCLC Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism	REF PN 771 .G27
Short Story Criticism	REF PN 3335 .S5
Poetry Criticism	REF PN 1010 .P6
Dictionary of Literary Biography	REF PN 41 .D5
Literature and Its Times	REF PN 50 .L574 1997
Find More

 

The reference collection is located at the back, right-hand side of the library. Items in this collection cannot be checked out, but a copier is conveniently located so you can make copies of the resources you find.

To search the Library Catalog for reference books about Literature, go to www.lonestar.edu/library and select "Advanced Search" on the "Catalog" tab. Enter "Literature" or a related subfield into the "Subject" field and then limit your search by selecting "Collection: Reference Books" from the Collections/Media menu.

To limit your search to items located at Montgomery Library, select "Location: LSC-Montgomery" in the Locations menu.

 

Circulating Books

Title	Call Number
The Contemporary American Short Story Cycle: The Ethnic Resonance of Genre	PS374.S5 N34 2001
Don’t Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England	PS648.F4 D66 1989
Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage	PS153.H56 R43 2006

 

 

 

To search the Library Catalog for books about Literature, go to www.lonestar.edu/library and select "Advanced Search" on the "Catalog" tab. Enter "Literature" or a related subfield into the "Subject" field and then limit your search to items you can check-out by selecting "Collection: Circulating Books" from the Collections/Media menu.

To limit your search to items located at Montgomery Library, select "Location: LSC-Montgomery" in the Locations menu.

 

E-Books

Title	E-Book Type
American Literature from 1850 to 1945	eBook
American Literature from 1945 to Today	eBook
Companion to Old and Middle English Literature	eBook
Romanticism, Sincerity and Authenticity	eBook

 

 

 

To search the Library Catalog for e-books about Literature or a related subfield, go to www.lonestar.edu/library and select "Advanced Search" on the "Catalog" tab. Enter "Literature" or a related subfield into the "Subject" field and then limit your search to items you can check-out by selecting "Collection: Electronic Books" from the Collections/Media menu.

To limit your search to items available to Montgomery Library patrons only, select "Location: LSC-Montgomery" in the Locations menu.

 

Audio/Visual Materials

Title	Call Number
Understanding Shakespeare	PR3093 .U53 2007
Shakespeare Behind Bars	PR2829 .S535 2006
Charles Dickens: A Tale of Ambition and Genius	PR4581 .B56 2002
Jane Austen Novelist	PR4036.J3 J364 2005

 

 

 

To search the Library Catalog for books about Literature, go to www.lonestar.edu/library and select "Advanced Search" on the "Catalog" tab. Enter "Literature" or a related subfield into the "Subject" field and then limit your search to items you can check-out by selecting "Media: Videos, DVDs, films, slides, etc." from the Collections/Media menu.

To limit your search to items located at Montgomery Library, select "Location: LSC-Montgomery" in the Locations menu.

 

Periodicals

Poetry	Periodicals Collection
The New York Times	Periodicals Collection
The New Yorker	Periodicals Collection
Shakespeare Quarterly	Periodicals Collection

 

The periodical section is located in front of the circulating collection, next to the outdoor patio area. The periodical collection is organized by title. These items cannot be checked out, but there is a copy machine available adjacent to the periodical section.

Tips!

 

Requesting items not available at Montgomery Library:

If there is an item listed in the catalog, but it is not located at Montgomery Library, just select the “Request First Available Copy of this Item” button from the catalog record to have the item sent to Montgomery Library for pick-up. To complete your request, you need your library barcode and PIN number. Generally, your PIN number is the last 4 digits of the phone number you used to register for classes. If you have problems requesting an item, contact the Circulation Desk in person, at 936.273.7387 or email mclr@lonestar.edu

 

 

If the item is not available in the catalog:

Just select the “Requests” tab located in the upper, right-hand side of the screen. Complete and submit the Inter-Library Loan Request Form – LSCS. Contact a librarian if you need help!

 

Research Databases: Find journal, magazine, and newspaper articles

 

Recommended Databases

Bloom’s Literary Reference On Demand	Essays and criticism examining the lives of great authors and their works throughout history.
Literature Resource Center	Full-text journal articles, critical essays, work overviews & summaries, and author biographies from authoritative sources.
JSTOR	Complete historical full text of all issues of journals in a wide range of humanities and social science fields.
Academic Search Complete	Multi-disciplinary database; full text of articles from over 5,300 journals, magazines and newspapers, plus image collections.

 

Tips!

Finding the right database:

If you’d like to explore a subject area: Access the Research Databases: www.lonestar.edu/library -> Find Articles Tab -> Select a category that is relevant to your topic.

If you know the title of the journal you’re looking for, use the A to Z Electronic Journal Search to find out which database provides access to that journal: www.lonestar.edu/library -> Find Articles Tab -> A to Z Electronic Journal Search -> Select “Search” tab

If you know the database title: www.lonestar.edu/library -> Find Articles Tab -> Find Database by Title

If the full-text/PDF version of an article is not available, select the “Check LinkSource for more information” link to see if another database offers full-text access.

 

Accessing Databases from Home:

You can access these databases from home using your library barcode number. If you have problems accessing the databases, contact the Circulation Desk in person, at 936.273.7387 or email mclr@lonestar.edu

 

 

Interlibrary Loan (ILL):

If you are not able to find a resource that you need in the databases or in the library catalog, you can request the item via the Interlibrary Loan Form: http://www.lonestar.edu/library/interlibrary-request.htm

 

 

Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed Sources

Scholarly articles are written by an authority on the subject and are meant to share primary research with others in the field. Unlike popular sources, scholarly sources generally have a narrow audience and include a clear author or sponsoring association. These documents are very structured and usually include a literature review, methodology, and extensive citations. Many scholarly sources are also peer-reviewed which means others in the field reviewed the work before it was published. Many databases will allow you to limit your search to scholarly and/or peer-reviewed sources – look for this option.

 

Websites

Occasionally the librarians at LSC - Montgomery library will find a website they consider exceptional or particularly useful for academic research.

 

Suggested Websites:

American Litarture Sites	public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/sites.htm
Victorian Literature	http://www.d.umn.edu/~csigler/Victorian.html
20th Century Literature	guides.lib.washington.edu/content.php?pid=195616&sid=1638574
Mr. William Shakespeare	http://www.watson.org/~leigh/shakespeare.html
Sixteenth Century Renaissance English Literature (1485-1603)	luminarium.org/renlit