Using Linfield Libraries' Resources                      

(See also     Bite Size Tutorials: Quick Visual How-Tos)  

Find Books | Find Articles | Interlibrary Loan | Evaluate Websites | Citing Sources | Research Assistance

Library Class Pages

• Find course specific research help with resources tailored to your class assignments.These pages usually accompany a Library Instruction session with your professor and a librarian. But if you find a class that meets your general subject needs, you may be able to use it to get started with your research as well.
• Find Library Class Pages list on the left sidebar of the Libraries main page. Select the right course name and professor combination.

Linfield WorldCat: Search Linfield Libraries, Summit and Beyond

• Linfield WorldCat is a new search engine for finding books and articles at Linfield College or at libraries regionally (Summit) and libraries worldwide (WorldCat Libraries). You can search for everything at once (books and articles) or choose to find just books or just articles or just DVD's. Linfield resources show up first, making it easy to tell if you can find it at Linfield, either  in Nicholson Library (McMinnville) or at the Portland Campus library.   Items from other Summit regional libraries appear next and when requested, will arrive arrive in 3-5 days. Materials requested from WorldCat Libraries generally take a little longer. Dropdown links allow you to search just Linfield (or Summit or Libraries Worldwide).

  Searching is a little different than our older WildCat interface and may require an adjustment. But if you have searched new Summit, it will be quite familiar. Both interfaces also allow you to find some journal articles. Notice that you can search for all formats at once, or opt to search just for books, just for articles, or even DVD's from the tabs. More...

• Links to WildCat Classic and Summit will continue to be available for those who prefer them.

Note: DCE Students:  More information on borrowing items

Find a book, dvd, cd, or other materials

• Limit your search in Linfeld WorldCat on the tabs: Books, DVDs, CDs.  Or choose Advanced Search for more options.
• You may also limit by collection: Linfield Libraries or Summit libraries.  The default is set at Libraries Worldwide.
• Linfield books, dvds, etc. are on the shelves according to Library of Congress classification.  Use the call number (such as QL737.C4 E25) from the catalog record to find the material on the shelf.
• There are many reasons it is hard to find things on the library shelves.  Please ask staff for advice if you spend too much time trying to find stuff.

Find an article

• Search for articles via Linfield WorldCat noted above. You may find links to full articles that way.  But there are lots more academic articles in our:
• Research databases
  • EBSCOhost includes many full text articles - multidisciplinary and subject specific periodical databases.
  • Lexis-Nexis is best for full text major newspapers for news, also business, legal, medical, and reference information
  • Use the drop down menu on the left sidebar of the Libraries main page to see the whole range of Research databases listed alphabetically or by subject, containing articles from specialized academic journals.
  • Periodicals@Linfield -lists all newspapers, magazines, and journals accessible at Linfield College either in the library or via online periodical database or publishers web site.
  • You can also search Google Scholar and access many articles that we have there for free.  But if you do not find the article free, check Periodicals@Linfield or request via Interlibrary Loan. You never have to pay for articles!

Note: If you are trying to access article databases from off campus, you will need to login with your CATNET ID and password.

Especially for DCE Students: Now How Do I get the item!

Interlibrary Loan

For books, check Linfield WorldCat limiting to the books tab. Anything not available at Linfield can be requested via Summit (Regional libraries) or Libraries Worldwide for books worldwide, although delivery times vary (see above under Books).

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries: Find Quick information and data

The web page drop down menu Quick Facts accesses dozens of Reference sources - online encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks and other resources. Do a quick search across hundreds of subjects in the most popular general references:

• Credo Reference
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
• Oxford Reference Online

Or find individual favorites like:

• Oxford English Dictionary
• Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life
• Access Science

by consulting the Alphabetical or Subject Listing for yours.

Search the Internet

• Google and Google Scholar are a great starting point for many searches. Note: These resources may lead to pages asking you to pay $$$ for articles. Don't pay. Find books via Linfield WorldCat. Find articles from us via Periodicals@Linfield or Interlibrary Loan.

• Searching the Internet provides another path for finding useful websites
• Wikiality - A Colbert Report classic to get you thinking about where we get information.

Evaluate Web and Print resources

• Ulrich's International Periodical Directory is great for figuring out if a journal is scholarly or not. Search by Title & look at Document Type to see whether a journal is popular or scholarly
• Web Evaluation Criteria: What Questions to Ask?
• Cornell University Research Minute - Is the article or journal Popular or Scholarly?

Cite

• Citing Electronic Resources
• Bedford Bibliographer - create a bibliography on the fly
• Linfield WorldCat and many Article Databases such as EbscoHost include citing tools - look for links with a specific book or article entry.
• How to avoid Plagiarism?

Questions of any kind? Contact Barbara Valentine (x2573;bvalen) or another Reference Librarian

DCE students: contact the DCE librarian: Carol McCulley  (x2595; mccull)