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This is a tutorial to help you use the Los Angeles Mission College Library cataolg.
Before we begin let’s talk about why it is important to use books.
Many instructors require students use at least one or two books when doing research papers.
Books are useful for research for the following reasons:
They give in-depth coverage of a topic.
They provide background information or an overview of a topic.
and books demonstrate how to broaden or narrow a topic.
We are now at the Los Angeles Mission College Library home page. To locate books, textbooks or DVDs click here on Library Catalog.
The default setting will be the Los Angeles Mission College Library catalog. However,by using the arrow and the drop-down box,
you may search ALL library holdings in the Los Angeles College Community District.
If you find a book you want at another library in the district you need to talk to the librarian at the reference desk.
The book you want will be sent to the Los Angeles Mission College and we will contact you when it arrives.
This usually takes 5 work days.
There are three ways to find books in any library. You can search by author, title or topic.
Let's start with an Author search.
Type Sandra Cisneros and click Author.
We found 7 titles. Let’s look at the first result, The House on Mango Street and click on details.
Details will let you know if the book is available and where to find it in the library. The number at the bottom is the call number.
There is also a location which informs you where to find items in the library.
The locations for books that can be checked out are:
Stacks, Paperbacks, Basic Skills, Children's and Oversized books.
If you don’t know where to look for a book in the library, just ask a librarian at the reference desk and we’ll be happy to help you.
Once you have found a book you want to check out you will go to the Circulation desk.
You will need your student ID card or your student ID number and a picture ID such as a California Driver’s license to check out a book.
You may check out 10 books at a time and the checkout period is 2 weeks.
The library also allows you to renew your books twice.
Let's click on New Search and search by title this time.
Let’s type Society In Focus and click Title.
Notice it is the 7th edition
and below we see the author.
Important to note - it is listed as a Reserve Copy.
Reserved Copies are kept at the Circulation/Reserve Desk and can be viewed for 2 hours in the library.
To the far right we see the Date of Publication.
Look at the 2nd result. We see the same title and author but it's important to note this item is the 6th edition.
To the far right we also see the date of publication.
Check your class syllabus to see the edition you need but normally, you will want the newest edition.
However, there may be instances when you want to view an earlier edition as often there are only minor changes between editions.
Make sure to always check with your professor if more than one edition is acceptable for your class.
We also see this item is a Reserve Copy.
Looking at the 3rd selection we see differences from the first two items.
The first two selections are Reserve Copies.
but notice this selection is different.
Besides the title being a different title, notice this string of numbers and letters.
This is the Call Number and means the item is available in the library stacks and can be checked out for 2 weeks.
If you need help locating an item shelved in the stacks, don’t worry,
simply ask one of our friendly librarians who will gladly assist you locating the item.
Now, let's click on the Details Tab.
Here you find the citation information for the book.
That includes the title, the author, the publisher and the copyright date.
Just like in our author search you will find the Call Number and location of the book in the library.
Now let’s click on New Search and let's search by the topic of your research.
Let’s type Sociology and Children and click on words or phrase.
There are 13 titles and if you look on the right you will find that the books are listed in order of date they are published.
When you use books, especially for current social issues, make sure they are not too dated.
Many instructions will give you guidelines about how old the books you use should be.
Let's look at the 5th selection. Click on Details,
and then let’s click Catalog Record.
We see various Subject Terms which can be used for research on your topic.
Click on any of these to be directed to related items on these topics.
Now click on go back
and look at the fourth result.
Click on details.
You will notice there is no call number but instead it says e-book.
Click on the blue URL next to “A Look Inside.”
This will take you to a new website and give you access to the book online.
Depending if you are on or off campus, you may need to enter your User ID and Password.
To summarize what we learned, you can search for books by Author, Title, or Topic.
you can search for books by Author, Title, or Topic.
Be aware of the difference between Reserve Copies that cannot be checked out and items that are available in the stacks.
Be sure to use the Details tab
and also the Catalog Record tab
to help you find related Subject Terms and Headings to help with your research.
Don't be afraid to experiment and try different search methods
because with practice,
you will become an expert in your library searches!
Lastly, ask a librarian for help if you are not sure about your search or how to find books on the shelf.
There will always be a librarian available to give you a helping hand.