There are three main types of resource,  BOOKS,  ARTICLES (items from journals and magazines and, in some cases, essays or chapters from book) and WEB SITES, and each of these comes in a variety of types.  Some resources are physically located in the library building, some not, but the Library's catalog and the database services we offer can help you build up lists of research materials, including many that are available by arrangement with other libraries. 

The WORLDWIDE WEB is now your connecting link for information about the Library and the rest of ECSU, as well as for more remote information sources. 

You may wish to bookmark the Library Home Page or make a note of its address: 

http://www.easternct.edu/library/

This page allows you to investigate many aspects of the Library's services. One link in particular, the Online Catalog link, leads to information services provided by the Connecticut State University Libraries, including listings of all books, videos, journals and other forms of document that belong to the four State University libraries and the Connecticut State Library (which also participates in our system.) 

Database page...You can also find listings and descriptions of articles in journals via the CONSULS menu:  click on "Access to Databases & Information Resources" and choose from a menu that includes the following: 

• EBSCOhost, giving coverage of about 3,000 journals in all academic fields, and full texts of articles from 1,200 of them 
• BIOSIS and Medline, giving coverage of research literature in Medicine and Biological Sciences and CINAHL for Nursing and allied fields 
• ERIC, PsychINFO and Sociological Abstracts, covering research literature and providing extensive descriptions of articles and documents in the fields of education, psychology and sociology 
• MLA Bibliography, covering research literature in Literary and Language Studies 
• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe for information on current events, business and legal and medical information, most of it supplied in full text articles drawn from various sources, including many newspapers 
• The iCONN databases, including Expanded Academic ASAP
• Special Databases, including Books In Print, College Source and Encyclopaedia Britannica. Other databases can be found by clicking on the Databases link on the Library Home Page.

Looking for information in books . . . If you point and click at "Online Catalog" you will find a set of choices under the heading "Search the CONSULS Catalog." You may look for books and other materials by authors' names, titles and so forth. The most powerful and flexible way to look for materials on your chosen subject is to select Keywords. The screen that now appears allows you to key in a word or words that you think will be present in the titles and descriptions of most relevant sources. It also offers a number of options such that you can specify the kind of material (book or video, for instance) or a range of publication dates, or you may limit your search by location, so that only Eastern's collection or that of another library is included. 

Please note that helpful explanations of further ways to make your searches more efficient may be found by simply scrolling down from the Keywords screen to the box headed "Help and Examples for Keyword Searching." 

One important aspect of efficient Keyword searching goes by the name of " Boolean Logic."
 

Looking for information in journals . . . You may use the Databases and Information Resources link from the CONSULS page, or you may turn to the Library Home Page and select the" Databases" pulldown for a wider selection; these databases can generally be used from off-campus locations, but only by ECSU students, faculty and staff, and these individuals must first comply with the guidelines of the "Off Campus Database Access Information" page. When you start to use a database, remember that there are differences in the ways that database search systems operate, and you will need to be observant and flexible in learning to use them.  Remember, too, that, while the Library does receive some 2100 journals, any database you select will cover many journals that we do not own; look for commands that will help you to check the library's holdings, or go to CONSULS and try Journal Title for the journal you need.  (It may be a good idea to try one of our full text databases first and then go on to a specialized database for additional coverage of the literature)

A note on the placement of journals in the library building . . . Current issues, (copies received fairly recently) are shelved on the second floor, in an area whose windows look out to the Webb Classroom Building.  Earlier issues, which we generally own either in microfiche (microfilm for older numbers, 1970s and previous) or in volumes bound with cloth covers, are on the first floor. 
 

Looking for information on the web . . .  The Worldwide Web is a free-for-all, where all kinds of information can be posted by all kinds of groups and individuals.  Some sources are fully as reliable and reputable as any scholarly book or journal, some are different in every way.  When you use the Web, you need to bear these points in mind: 

1. Choose an appropriate search engine.  A selection can be found by clicking on the Search icon in the Netscape navigation toolbar; the Search page also offers a link to Search Tips. 
2. Look for clues to the source of the information presented on each site and to how up to date it is.  Who is the author, and what are the author's qualifications? 
3. Make sure you can identify any web site you have chosen to use for a paper or project. The English Department has posted information on proper ways to cite electronic sources: go to the ECSU Home Page, click on ACADEMICS, click on English Department, click on The Writing Program, click on Resources for Students, and scroll down to Writing Resources.
4. If you're interested in exploring some advanced and timely ideas about selection and identification of search engines, you might try this site:  websearch.about.com