Jen Library Reference Department

Here are 25 suggestions to help you with your research in the library:

1. Can’t find the book or article you need in a SCAD library?  Use interlibrary loan! This service allows you to get books from around the country.  Just fill out the correct online form.  The library will notify you when your request has arrived and you just pick it up at the Circulation Desk.  If it’s an article, it might even be emailed or faxed to you.
2. If you have a quick question about library resources, send us an email using Ask-a-Librarian. Just click on the link from the library homepage and don’t forget to fill out your contact information on the form so we can get back to you.
3. Are you looking for DVDs or VHS tapes? From the library catalog, choose Advanced Search on the navigation bar on the right.  Then limit the material type to PROJ MEDIUM (projected medium).  You can then make your request at the Circulation Desk.  DVDs and videos must be watched in the library.  At Jen Library, there are individual study carrels on the 3rd floor where you can view them.  At ACA Library, you can watch movies in room 440.
4. Request books from another SCAD library at the Circulation Desk. Are you in Savannah, but the book you need is in Atlanta–or vice versa?  All you need is the book’s title or call number and your SCAD ID.  The book will be pulled and sent to you.  The library will notify you when it arrives and you can then pick it up at the Circulation Desk.  Sorry, books cannot be mailed to or from Lacoste, France.
5. Login to your library account online. From the library catalog, choose Library Login in the upper right-hand corner or select My Account from the navigation bar on the right.  Enter your last name and SCAD ID number.  This allows you to renew your books online, read e-books from your apartment or dorm room, create lists of the sources you’re interested in and more!
6. Try a truncation search! By adding * to your search, you can look for variations of a word.  For example:  are you searching for a topic in architecture?  With architect*, you can find architect, architects, architecture, or archetectural.
7. Are you looking for background information, but your professor won’t let you use Wikipedia?  Try using a research database. As a SCAD student, you have access to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online. If you need information for an art topic, use the Grove Dictionary of Art.  These are available from the Research link on the library homepage.  Then select Databases by Title.
8. What’s a Boolean search and how can it help you? Boolean searches help you create smarter searches with more useful results.  Use AND to combine terms:  Judith AND Holofernes finds information about Judith and the giant together.  Use OR to search for similar terms:  cathedral OR church.  Use NOT to exclude words:  Maya NOT software will find information on the Central American civilization.
   

   Boolean operators

9. If you’re looking for images, you need the Visual Resource Center. They provide slides and digital images through the SCAD Digital Image Database and ARTstor Digital Library.  And you don’t need to worry about quality, the background information (or metadata), or copyright!  But you must be logged in to your MySCAD account to access the VRC.  Then just click on their link from the library homepage.
10. Are you looking for scholarly articles? There are three types of periodicals:  popular, trade or professional, and peer-reviewed or academic.  If you’re looking for scholarly articles, you want magazines that fall into that last category.  These journals have almost no advertisements and the few they have will advertise conferences or books.  Also, there will be likely few or black and white images.
11. What is so special about Special Collections? In Savannah, the Special Collections contain publications from SCAD’s Design Press, artist’s and art press books, pop-up books, historic Savannah materials, comic books, rare and fragile materials and more.  Two notable collections are the Myrtle Jones papers–a local Savannah artist–and the Don Bluth Collection of Animation, donated by the animator’s studio.  You can find all this on the 3rd floor of Jen Library.  In Atlanta, there is a collection of rare books in room 442 and a great artist’s book collection in room 444.
12. Use LexisNexis Academic to find all the news that’s fit to print. LexisNexis is a fulltext database that offers newspaper and magazine articles from around the world.  You can even get legal and business news and company profiles.  The librarians suggest using the News or Power Searches.  Access LexisNexis from the Research link on the library homepage, and then select Databases by Title.
13. You’re looking for a book, but it says it’s ON EXHIBIT. The book will have a location that says something like Jen Library-Savannah-2nd Floor Stacks and a call number.  But when you go to the 2nd floor, it’s just not there.  Check the status.  If it says it’s on exhibit, it’s actually being showcased on the New Book Shelves on the first floor.
14. Create an account in your favorite database. Many of the databases the library subscribes to for articles let you create free accounts.  These accounts offer a lot of extras!  For example, Art Fulltext and the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals will continue to send articles on your search topic to your email.  Creating a free account in JSTOR lets you save useful citations to a list and then print or email those lists–and the lists last FOREVER, even if you use JSTOR at another university.  If you use images databases, ARTstor offers extra features and an application for presentations.
15. Searching for paper or project ideas?  Reference books are a great place to start. These often contain fantastic background information, images, and point to other books in the library that will be useful on a topic.  Reference books are on the first floor of the library.  They can’t be checked out, but you are free to use them in the library–copy or scan until your heart’s content!
16. Become familiar with the Writing Center’s web site and online guides. Are you writing a bibliography?  The Writing Center has guides for MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian formats.  From the library homepage, click on Writing Center.  Then from the links at the top, choose Handouts.
17. Still need help formatting your bibliography? Some databases will format citations for you.  Try it in Wilson Omnifile Fulltext Mega, Art Fulltext, Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals, or even Psychology and Behavioral Sciences.  Select some articles by checking off the box next to the titles in the list, click on Print, Email, or Save.  There should be a dropdown menu for you to choose the citation format you need.  Send it to yourself, double-check it, and put it to use in your Works Cited.
18. The library has fulltext articles. But what does this mean?  It means you can get articles online by searching specific databases.  That’s right–you can read these articles in your apartment or dorm room.  To find these databases, click on Research on the library homepage and then choose Fulltext Resources at the top of the page.  Some databases are completely fulltext, like LexisNexis Academic.  Others only offer some fulltext access, such as Art Fulltext.
19. What’s New? There are two ways to find out.  The New Books shelf is the first shelf you see in the library on the first floor.  You are free to browse this and see what’s new in your area.  Remember, these books are also listed as ON EXHIBIT in the library catalog.  You can also check out other new information from the library catalog by clicking on the What’s New link in the right-hand navigation bar.  This is frequently updated as we get free trial access to new databases or when we think there’s something cool going on that students, faculty and staff should know about.
20. Did you know that a book’s call number actually means something?  The books in the library are actually arranged by subject. If you find a good book in the library catalog, browse the shelf for more books related to that topic.  Some examples:  B = Religion, NA = Architecture, ND = Painting, TR = Photography.
21. How do you get a book or article that your professor put in Course Reserves? First, you need to search for the item.  Go to the library catalog and from the right-hand navigation bar, you will notice that there are two ways to search for course reserves.  You have a choice to search by your professor’s name or by the course number.  Once you find your item, take the call number to the Circulation Desk and they will pull it for you.  These items must be used in the library.  If your professor has included online readings, just login with your last name and SCAD ID.
22. You want or need a book that someone else has.  Put a hold on books that are already checked out. When you find a book in the library catalog that has already been checked out, the request feature will be available to you.  Click on the request button at the top of the page.  Enter your last name and SCAD ID number.  You have now prevented that person from renewing the book.  When it is returned to the library, you will be notified and then you just come and pick it up at the Circulation Desk.
23. SCAD Libraries do not generally purchase your class textbooks for the collection. New editions come out so often!  However, some of your professors will put the textbooks on Course Reserve.  See tip #21.
24. Having a hard time finding materials in the library or in the research databases?  Be general, and stick to keyword searching. This is the easiest way to search and leads to the most results.  The databases will also look for variations of your search words.  In both the library catalog and the databases, once you find a book or article that you like, look at the subjects.  Those are more specific and will take you to other books and articles that are just like the one you found.
25. Are you still stuck?  Come see a Reference Librarian. You can find one of us at the Reference Desk.  Or in Jen Library, our office is the last set of glass windows on the first floor.  During the quarter the Jen Library Reference Desk is staffed Monday through Thursday, 8am to 9pm; on Friday from 8am to 5pm; and on Sunday from 11am to 8pm.  At the ACA Library, the Reference Desk is open Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm.  We are happy to help you with any questions, research assistance, or other information that you need.  We’ll even make appointments with you!  Really, it’s our job to answer your questions and we’re always happy to do so.