Library FAQ

I have a paper for my English 1002 class - what do I do?

There are three types of sources that most professors allow: reference books, "circulating" books, and journal articles. ("Circulating" means they "circulate," or may be checked out. Reference books, by contrast, remain in the library.) Reference books are a great place to get started, since they will give you background information: where is your author from, what else have they written, what style is your story or poem written in, and much more. Books tend to be longer and more in depth about the author's life or works. Journal articles tend to be focused on specific characters, themes, or other aspect of one story or poem. Start with reference books and books, and then look for journal articles.

If you're just getting started, why not try a reference book? Reference books are designed to help you get the background information you need. Most also have bibliographies which may be used to find books and journal articles. If you know very little about your topic, use a general encyclopedia or one specific to the subject. The librarian can help you find one.

If you want to start online, check out "Credo Reference" on the Electronic Reference Book Page page. This collection of over 580 reference books is sure to have something on almost any topic, and can give you ideas for other words or phrases to use to help you find even more information.

Journals are a type of magazine that are written and edited by experts in that subject or field. They are often called Journal of...: JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, is one of them. Not all journals, however, will have the "journal" in the title; Explicator is a journal that analyzes short stories and poems. Often your professor will require "peer-reviewed" or "scholarly" articles, which both mean the same thing - that those articles have been examined by experts in that field before being published.

To find journal articles, you will need to use tools called indexes and databases. Scroll down the "Online Access" page to find them.

Always check your assignment to see what is required.

You can find books in the library catalog. The best way to search for journal articles in nursing or allied health is to use "CINAHL Plus with Full Text," a database from EBSCO (listed on the Online Access page). For websites, your professor may give you a list of suggestions; there are good choices under both the Federal Materials and Helpful Websites .

Also check out the Searching Basics page for step-by-step guides to many library tools and the Citation Station for help with the APA style.

When you're on-campus, you won't need to log-in to any of the library resources. (Unless you want to use personalized features like a bookshelf, saved articles, or take a test.)

If you are off-campus, you will need to log-in in order to have access to articles or e-books. There are two different lists of subscription resources on this website: one for students, faculty, and staff; and the other for community or "special" borrowers.

• Students will use their LSU Eunice student ID number and their myLSUE password.
• Faculty and staff will use their LSU Eunice ID (lowercase letters, NOT the full address with "@lsue.edu") and password.
• Special borrowers will use their User Name from their Special Borrower's Card. The library PIN is CURRENTLY changeme (all lower-case). For School choose "LSUE."

STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF SHOULD ONLY SEE 2 BOXES ON THE SCREEN. IF YOU SEE 3 BOXES YOU ARE USING THE WRONG PAGE AND YOUR PASSWORD WILL NOT WORK.

Most PowerPoint slideshows are set up to print one slide per page. This can be changed to save paper.

• Tell the file to print. Click on "File" and then "Print".
• The second box under "Settings" defaults to "Full Page Slides" which is 1 per page.
• Click on that box and a drop-down menu will appear.
• You can choose:
• Slides, Notes, or Outlines.
• (Leave this on slides unless you know you want another type.)
• Slides Per Page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9.
• Three (3) is very popular because it will give you 3 slides on the left-hand side with lines to the right to take notes.
• Then click on the picture of a printer and if you're in the lab, type in a name in the little gray box to send your file to the lab printer.

(Linked PDF with step-by-step pictures: For 2003/XP Version or For 2007 Version . 2010 Version will be created if requested.)

Double-check the name of the source, the search screen, and your typing.

Databases and indexes are commercial bundles whose contents are often changed by the publisher.

Like a chapter in a book, an article is only part of one issue of a journal or magazine. For example, the magazine Newsweek may include an article which is entitled "School Lunch Reform." In that example, "School Lunch Reform" is the title of the article and Newsweek is the title of the magazine. Not that article titles are put in quotation marks, while the title of the journal (like that of a book) is in italics.

What do I list for database when using MLA citation for an article? Why isn't "EBSCO" or MLA International Bibliography correct?

EBSCO is not a database; it is a company that sells databases. MLA International Bibliography is an index, not a database; it finds the information, but then gives you a link to read the full-text (if we have access). Although the results page may list MLA Interational Bibliography as the database, you need to use the database listed as "full-text database" because that is where the full text of the actual article is coming from.

For a picture of a search results page with the "Full-Text Database" field circled, click Image/JPEG or PDF .

I need to find and use a book, but I'm off-campus.

The Library has two collections of electronic books, or e-books, that students, faculty and staff can use both on and off-campus.

Ebrary is the larger collection, at about 40,000 books and growing.
The eBook Collection - formerly NetLibrary - is about 4,000 and also growing.
While you can find both print and electronic books in our catalog, if you know you need to have an e-book, it's better to search them directly (use the Online Access page).

Note: free book collections online tend to be: older (Project Gutenburg, some Google Books), partial (other Google Books), or worse. The LeDoux Library collections contain quality material chosen specifically for college students.

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UPDATED: January 22, 2013