Library Guides: English 1 Current Issues

Instructor: Rae Ann Kumelos
Librarian: Gina Haycock
November 13, 2008

REFERENCE BOOKS:
 Located on the first floor of the library behind the Reference Desk.  These books must remain in the library. Reference books include dictionaries, almanacs and encyclopedias. Specialized or subject encyclopedias (concentrating on a particular subject instead of covering all knowledge) are excellent starting points for research. They are focused on a particular topic, cover the major concepts of the topic, are written by experts in the field, and often have bibliographies or other references.

 Subject Encyclopedias: (a small sampling of what is available)

Encyclopedia of Ethics    #R170.3 En56
Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Child Development    #R305.231 E56
Contemporary Youth Culture    #R305.23509
Gay Rights on Trial    #R305.90664 W242
Global Warming in the 21st Century    #R363.73874 J65
 Eating Disorders and Obesity    #R616.8526 E14
 

Online Reference Books:
 Gale Virtual Reference Library - Gale provides access to 200 reference books. All the books are full-text and cover a wide variety of topics including art, science, literature and much more. All 200 titles can be searched simultaneously or individual titles may be selected. (Cost $20,000)

CredoReference - Credo provide full-text reference books on a wide variety of subjects (Cost $2500)

CIRCULATING BOOKS: Located on the second floor of the library. Our newest books are, for the most part, in the areas of science and social issues, and current topics, because we try to build the collection to the type of assignments given to students.  The COS Library online catalog is linked to the COS Library home page.  Opposing viewpoints is a series of books on controversial issues that is helpful in narrowing a topic. In the COS catalog the following search will retrieve the available titles in this series:

The results can then be sorted by title.

ONLINE BOOKS:

  • NetLibrary E-books: Electronic full-text copies of published print materials, such as reference books, scholarly and popular books. They can be accessed from any computer on campus as well as remotely from home when you set up a user name and password from a campus computer

PERIODICALS INDEXES AND DATABASES: Located on the first floor of the library. Periodicals refer to information printed over a period of time such as magazines, journals and newspapers. These are excellent sources for current and authoritative information. To find an article on a specific topic, it is necessary to use an index.  Indexes are available in paper and electronic formats. The library subscribes to approximately 23 indexes,  300 periodicals and 13 newspapers.  For a list of which periodicals and indexes are available at COS click on the link: http://www.cos.edu/library/periodicalsalpha.htm .  For periodicals that the COS Library does not have available, there is also the possibility of an Inter-Library Loan from Fresno State University.

ALSO, through the Academic Electronic Databases link, http://cos.edu/library/electronic.htm, on the COS Library’s Web Site, there are links to the electronic index subscription databases that the library makes available to COS students. Many of these indexes offer full-text articles, which means the entire article will be available even if the library doesn't subscribe to the periodical itself. If a student is off campus, passwords are necessary to access these databases. Passwords are available for COS students at the COS Library Information Desk or by calling the Library at (559) 737-6179.

KEYWORDS AND SUBJECTS TO USE IN DATABASES
Childhood Obesity Teenage pregnancy Global Warming Veterans
Obesity in children Teenage mothers Global Warming--Political Aspects PTSD
Obesity in children--United States --Prevention Sex education Global Warming--Environmental Aspects Mental health
Overweight children Sex instruction Climatic changes Health care
Food industry Teenagers--Sexual behavior Greenhouse effect VA health care system
School children, food Teenagers--United States--Sexual behavior Climate change Homeless veterans
Advertising and children Teenagers--United States--Attitudes Greenhouse gases Wounded veterans
Food preferences Teen pregnancy Global temperature Treatment of veterans
Market strategy Early parenthood Atmospheric carbon Service-connected disabilities
Fast food industry Pregnant students Air pollution control Veterans, conduct of life
Television advertising Sexual abstinence Ozone layer depletion Disabled veterans
Parents   Carbon dioxide VA benefits
Food consumption   Environmental policy Veterans' hospitals

DATABASES FOR CONTEMPORARY ISSUES:    (These databases are full-text)

  • CQ Researcher -  Provides independent research reports on the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, pros and cons, bibliographies and more. (Annual Cost $523)
  • SIRS (Social Issues Research Series) -  Contains all full-text articles from a variety of newspaper and magazines covering current social issues.  (Annual Cost $1440)

DATABASES FOR SCHOLARLY SOURCES:    (These databases are not completely full-text.)

  • Expanded Academic ASAP (Infotrac) - Infotrac provides articles from more than 500 scholarly, trade and general-interest publications, as well as references for The New York Times. The databases integrate core titles in every major academic concentration; area  and issue-specific journals; academic journals with application in the professions; and publications with national news coverage and commentary.  The time period it covers is current year to date + the previous 3 years. The optional backfile extends coverage as far back as 1980.  (Annual Cost $9,732)
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  • ProQuest is a mega-database that contains 17 databases including: newspapers and magazine/journals (Annual Cost $19,000)

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This page was created: November 2008   This page was last updated: 11/11/2008
 For Questions and Comments, please mail to ginah@cos.edu