Library Catalog

Online Databases

Library Home

• Books
• Magazine and/or journal articles
• Newspaper articles
• Government Documents (federal, state, etc.)
• Online Databases
• Internet Websites
• Personal Interviews

How to find these resources in the SJC Library…

BOOKS    

SJC Library Catalog – all of the books in the SJC Library and the SJC West Library are listed here.

ILL (InterLibrary Loan) – can be requested by any student for any book NOT found in the SJC Library collection (usually takes up to 2 weeks).  How do you know what’s out there?  The WorldCat database is a catalog of materials in libraries all across the country.  You don’t need to know what library has a certain book – we will do that research for you.  All we need to know to request an ILL for you is:  title, author, date, publisher (ISBN # helps if it is available).

Other Libraries – You can search the catalogs of other selected libraries from the Other Libraries section of our SJC Library webpage.

MAGAZINES , JOURNALS, & NEWSPAPERS

(Periodicals)  

Paper Indexes -- Indexes can be found on shelves near the Current Periodical Display shelving in the library.  The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature is one of the more general indexes. 

1. Look up your subject.
2. Take note of the periodical articles, the magazines they are found in, and their dates.
3. Check one of our SJC Library Periodical Listing notebooks (which are scattered around the library in various locations) or its link on our library webpage to see if SJC has  that particular magazine.
4.   If we have it, locate it in the Bound Periodicals area of the library.
5.   If we don't have it, you can fill out an Inter-library Loan (ILL) request to borrow the article from another library.

Online Periodical Indexes -- Another way to find periodical articles is to use one of our online database services.  Academic Search Premier is an example of one of these online database indexes.  (It also contains the full-text of millions of articles which can be printed out.)

Microfilm and Microfiche – sometimes we no longer have the actual print copy of a magazine or newspaper and we have it in a format called microfilm (which is a reel of film) or microfiche (which is a flat sheet of film).  Our SJC Library Periodical Listing notebook will indicate if this is the case.  Microfilm and microfiche are stored in special cabinets in the Carter Room of the SJC Library and can be viewed on reader/printerl machines which are located near the cabinets.  Pages can be printed out at the cost of .05 per page from these machines.

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS    

New Mexico State Documents -- Publications from the state of New Mexico and its various agencies provide a wealth of statistical data on various local subjects.  These can be found in the SJC Library in the New Mexico State Documents area of the Southwest Room.  They are also cataloged in our library catalog, each call number beginning with "NM".  For example:  Sexual Harassment and Employment  NM V 341.81:S 51/996. 

United States Government Documents – SJC Library has a few U.S. government documents (such as Census data). Many government publications are now also available on the internet  (http://www.fedworld.gov is a good site to explore).

ONLINE DATABASES

Our online databases can be accessed through the SJC Library website.

Some databases are very broad, covering many subjects:

·        Academic Search Premierh

·        Expanded Academic (InfoTrac)

·        ProQuest

Others are specialized databases such as:

·        BioOne

·        CQ Researcher

·        Columbia Granger’s Index to Poetry

·        Gale Literary Databases

·        NewsBank

·        Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

WEBSITES

Searching the web can be deceiving and takes more skill than most folks realize.  Anyone in the world can put up a website.  There is no rule or law that says the website has to be factual.  So it is important to evaluate the site to make sure it is from a source you would trust.

For example, a URL ending in “.edu” is generally coming from a college or university and “.gov” is a federal government site.  A URL ending in ".com" implies that there is some sort of "commercial intent."

There are a number of indexes that can be useful in finding web sites. One example is Librarians' Index to the Internet. Also helpful are the advanced search options for Google. This allows you to search for a specific domain, such as .edu, .gov, etc. San Juan College Reference Librarians have also created a number of Research Guides which include top-rated websites.

Remember to pay attention to who has created a web site and for what reason!

RESEARCH GUIDES

We’ve developed several Research Guides to help students research specific topics in the library.  These include lists of resources, hints and tips about conducting a library search on that topic, and suggested websites.  Check the “Research Guides” section of the library web page to see if your topic area is listed.

One very helpful guide for those doing “Argument Papers” is the Current Issues guide which can be viewed at:  :  http://www.sanjuancollege.edu/Lib/Currentissues.htm

BOOKS IN SERIES

For those doing “Argument Papers,” another helpful way to get topic ideas is to look at books in several series that we have in our library collection.

1. Go to the SJC Library’s online catalog.
2. Select a "Keyword Relevance Search"
3. Type in the name of a series in quotes, for example:

• "At Issue"
• "Current Controversies"
• "Information Plus"
• "Opposing Viewpoints"

Then click the "Search" button.