The Firm:A Library Resource Guide

Dr. Jun WangLibrarian & Coordinator of Bibliographic

Instruction and Information Literacy

“Grisham has an ear for dialogue and is a skillful craftsman. Like a composer, he brings all his themes together at the crucial moment for a gripping, and logical, finale.”

-----Frank J. Prial (Contemporary Literary Criticism)

A Tour of the Library Resources

* Reference Collection;

* Online Catalog;

* Periodical Indexes;

* Internet Sources.

Reference Collection• Contemporary Literary Criticism:

– Cumulative Title Index (located at the end of the set)

• > The Firm (Grisham) 84:190-97, 199.

– Cumulative Author Index(located in the last volume)

• > Grisham, John 1955- . CLC 84 DAM POP See also AAYA 14, CA 138, CANR 47, 69

Abbreviations (List to be found at the beginning of Author Index) :

– CLC: Contemporary Literary Criticism

– CA: Contemporary Authors

– CANR: Contemporary Authors-New Revision Series

Reference Collection

• Contemporary Authors:– Provides the following information: personal, home

& business addresses, writings, adaptations, work in progress, sidelights, and biographical/critical sources.

– Cumulative Index (blue, softbound index located at the end of the set):

• Grisham, John 1955- . CANR 47 Volume 47

Contemporary Authors New Revision Series

Do you know....• Grisham was “born February 8, 1955, in Jonesboro, AR,

son of a construction worker and a homemaker...”

• “Each time the family took up residence in a new town, Grisham would immediately go to the public library to get a library card.”

• “Grisham enjoyed greater success in high school athletics than he did in English composition--a subject in which he earned a D grade.”

• He was a ‘lawyer in private practice in Southaven, MS, 1981-90. Served in Mississippi House of Representatives, 1984-90.”

• Contemporary Authors (47:151-54)

Online Catalog Sample Searches

Subject: Grisham, John Capital Punishment

Title: Firm

Author: Grisham, John

Keyword: Grisham criticism

Online Catalog Search TipsAuthor Search:

Last name, first name;

Title Search:May omit leading articles or type the first few words in the title;

Subject Search:Avoid using a long phrase/sentence;

Keyword Search:Used when the subject is too narrow;Use important words;

Online Catalog: Commands“B”-- Back to previous

page;

“R”--Restart;

“Page down” (Next Screen) -- Go to the next page;

“Page up” (Prev. Screen) --Go back to the previous screen.

Limit Search Search by subject or title or author; When the preliminary search result is

displayed, press Return or Enter key and select LIMIT from the menu;

You may type any underlined letter from the limit search options to limit your search;

The options include Date (limit by year), Type of Materials, Language, and Location.

Limit to Audiovisual Material Select Limit Search from the pull-down menu under

Find; Select Type of Materials by typing T which is underlined; Make a selection of the type of audiovisual material you

want from the list; Press Return or Enter key to okay the selection; Items displayed afterwards are audiovisual materials.

Search Items from a Specific Location

Select Limit Search from the pull-down menu under Find;

Select Locations by typing L which is underlined; Make a selection from the location list; Press Return or Enter key to okay the selection; Items displayed afterwards are items from that location.

Search for Reserved Items Select Reserve Room from the Find menu; Search by either a course number or the

instructor’s name; Enter course name and number or, best

yet, instructor’s last name and first name

and press Return or Enter; Select an appropriate item by pressing

the line number to find the call number and bibliographic information.

Databases Available @ Goleman

• InfoTrac Searchbank Databases:– Expanded Academic ASAP (1980-);– Health Reference Center--Academic

(1995-);– Business Index ASAP (1996- );– SIRS Researcher(R) (1988- );– Gen’l Reference Ctr (Magazine

Index).

• NewsBank NewsFile.

General Trend• Web-based;

• Increasingly popular:– Frequent updates;– Full-text articles;– E-mail delivery;– Down-load capability;– Cross references/links;– Accessible from a remote, networked computer.

Research Strategies!

* Develop your research question;

* Identify important keywords;

* List keywords and their synonyms;

* Use Boolean search operators to nest the search terms together.

Online Searching Strategy Form

Thesis Statement:____________________________________

___________________________________________________

List Main concepts from the thesis statement:Concept A Concept B Concept C____________ ______________ ____________

Identify synonyms for each concept:

____________ ______________ ____________ or or or ____________ and ______________ and ____________ or or or____________ ______________ ____________

Expanded Academic Index• Indexes more than 2,000 scholarly, trade, and

general-interest publications;• Has more than 3,676,630 articles, including over

1,000 full-text titles;• Integrates core titles in every major academic

discipline;• Includes publications with national news coverage

and commentary;• Coverage: past 3 years (backfiles for certain

publications extends as far back as 1980;• Updated daily.

Search Tips• Subject Search:

– Type a brief subject search term;

– Select a subdivision term by clicking on Narrow;

– Click on View text to read the full-text article on screen;

– Asterisk at the end of a citation indicates that Delta has a hard copy of the periodical;

• Keyword Search:– Use important words;

– May use * as a truncation key;

– May use “and” to combine search terms to narrow the search and “or” between words to broaden your search.

Using the Internet As a Research Tool

Web Site Addresses (URL) & Tell-Tale Suffix

• To get to a particular Web site, you will need a Web site address or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) which begins with “http://”;

• Tell-tale suffixes:– edu (educational institution)

– gov (governmental agencies)

– com (commercial companies)

– org (organizations)

– mil (military)

– us (United States) -uk (United Kingdom)

Connect to a Library Catalog

• Many college and university libraries have made their library online catalogs available for the public to use;

• Use your common sense to go directly to an academic Web site;

• Use keywords to find the Web site of a college/university.

World Wide Web Search

• Directly connect to a site (When you know

the URL or Web address):http://www.bdd.com/bin/show_story.cgi?story_id=477

http://the-tech.mit.edu/v113/n64/pelican.64a.html

• Subject search:– Conduct a subject search using the subject

directory in Yahoo or LookSmart

• Keyword search:– Grisham, John

– Grisham and Pelican Brief (look for reviews or summary, please).

Your Turn to Search & ExploreYour Turn to Search & Explore

Good Luck!