SCCC 280A, 281A, 285A and University 201
Fundamentals of Inquiry
Library Instruction Week #2

It can be safely argued that the changes to today's libraries have been greater over the past 10 years than the collective improvements made since Gutenberg invented the printing press more than 500 years ago. This is obviously due to the Internet, digital printing, html and the browser. Until fairly recently, this was all sort of spectacular but we are becoming accustomed to it. The most significant issue to the library user of today is a matter of choices; whether to choose one format over another or where to get the item from.

This module will take advantage of the design of the headers at the top of most of the pages used by the USC Libraries. Go to the TOP of this page. Look at the header and beneath the picture you will see a horizontal list of items. To the right you will see a pull-down menu entitled "Quick Links to Libraries & Collections." This header will appear on most pages associated with any of the on-campus libraries and will connect you to most of the online items and services available to you.

Reading across you will see the following locations, objects and services. Examine then thoroughly. There is a lot of information here.

• LIBRARIES; access information, resources and policies,
• CATALOG; access USCAN, USCAN-Web and KUDZU, a catalog of numerous universities' holdings,
• INDEXES; connections to our digital indexes by subject and alphabetically,
• E-JOURNALS; access E-Journals by subject, title or vendor,
• HOURS - of operation,
• SITE SEARCH provides a search engine to search library sites,
• USC HOMEPAGE takes you back to campus.

The Pull-down Menu will take you to the following libraries and collections. Follow the links

• The Thomas Cooper Library, starting with its Homepage
• Government Documents
• The Map Library
• Newspapers / Microforms
• Rare Books & Special Collections; guide to many unique collections,
• Reference Department; connect to online reference service and more,
• Science Library; connect to many online science resources,
• Business Library; information and guides
• Film library
• Math Library
• Music Library
• South Caroliniana Library
• --Book Division
• --Manuscripts Division
• --Modern Political Collections
• --University Archives
• Law Library
• Medical Library
• Special Library Collections

Action Items

1. Explore each of the links described on this page.
2. Identify and make note of the indexes which are the most appropriate to your field of study.
3. Locate one or more E-journals that you might find useful and locate articles within that interest you.

Questions for understanding

1. Using only this page, could you show a friend how to locate several library resources?
2. Did you discover anything that really surprised you or that caused you to be excited?
3. Is there any online academic tool that you think should be there but wasn't? If there is, please identify it.

Terms used

• Abstracts - a paragraph describing the contents of a document. Many indexes supply an abstract as part of the bibliographic record.
• Bibliographic Record - the information supplied to describe the content and location of a document. It will be found in an index to describe a journal article and in USCAN to describe any material that has been cataloged. Typical information will be author, title, subject volume, pagination and date of publication as well as the location.
• E-Journal - a journal that is available in digital format.
• Government Documents - material collected and published by any government. Also used as the name of the department within a library that collects and maintains such materials.
• Indexes - tools, either printed or online, that are used to find journal articles on a particular topic. Online indexes are particularly useful because search engines allow searchers to develop highly sophisticated queries.
• Microforms - Before the introduction of digital text, space was often saved in libraries by converting material into microform. This was a photographic technique which greatly reduced the size of the printed page. Film, either in spool or sheet form, is read via a machine which magnifies the print to a readable or printaable size. This is particularly useful in the case of newspapers.All microforms in the Thomas Cooper Library are kept and maintained in the Government Documents area.

The information literate student determines the nature and extent of the information needed.

1. The information literate student defines and articulates the need for information.

• A. Confers with instructors and participates in class discussions, peer workgroups, and electronic discussions to identify a research topic, or other information need
• B. Develops a thesis statement and formulates questions based on the information need
• C. Explores general information sources to increase familiarity with the topic

(Try dictionaries and encyclopedias first. Then try USCAN to see if there are any books on the subject.)
• D. Defines or modifies the information need to achieve a manageable focus
  (Do you have too much or too little information? Later we will look at ways of focusing right in on a topic.)
• E. Identifies key concepts and terms that describe the information need
• F. Recognizes that existing information can be combined with original thought, experimentation, and/or analysis to produce new information

These issues need not be associated with a large research project. Use them on a daily basis when you are working on any class project or assignment. They will help you think clearly about what you are learning and perhaps, point out areas where you need additional information.