how to conduct a library research

8/20/2019 How to Conduct a Library Research

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G R O U P 1

How to Conduct a Library

Research


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Objectives

To learn how to classify books in the library

To make researching books in the library easier

To learn the different strategies in library research


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I. hysical arts of a !ook

" book has four #hysical divisions$ namely%

&' the binding$

(' the #reliminary #ages$

)' the te*t and+' the au*iliary or reference material


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The Binding

The binding kee#s the book intact. Its twoim#ortant #arts are the spine and the end papers.

The s#ine is the binding edge of the book and

carries the brief title$ the author,s name$ the#ublishers$ and the call number if it is a library book.

The end #a#ers are #asted to the covers to makethem stronger- they may carry useful information

such as tables$ ma#s$ gra#hs and rules.


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The Preliminary Pages

"s the term im#lies$ the #reliminary #ages come before the te*t or discussion #artof the book. These #ages are%

a' the fly leaves- blank #ages that are the first and last leaves of the book

b' the half title page the #age that comes before the title #age containing the brieftitle of the book and the series title if athe book belongs to a series-

c' the frontispiece the #age that comes before the title #age illustrating thesubject of the book-

d' the title page the first im#ortant #age in the book containing the followingitems%

&. the com#lete title of the book including its subtitle$ an e*#lanation of the maintitle$ when there is one

(. the author,s name$ his designation$ academic degrees$ etc.

). the name of the editor$ illustrator or translator

+. the edition number

/. the im#rint which includes the #lace of #ublication$ the #ublisher and the dateof #ublication-


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e' the copyright date and the names of the copyright owners;f' the dedication page the #age that contains the name or names of the#ersons the author dedicates the book to-

g' the preface the #age that comes before the table of contents andintroduces the author to the reader and the objectives behind the writing ofthe book. This #age contains an e*#lanation of terms$ arrangement$ symbolsused or any s#ecial features and also recognition of #ersons who have assistedthe author in the #re#aration of the book-

h' the introduction the #age that describes the general subject matter and#lan of the book-

i' the table of contents a #age that contains the detailed outline of the book

where the titles of the cha#ters or sections of the book with theircorres#onding #ages are arranged according to the order in which theya##ear-

j' the list of illustrations, maps, charts a guide #age to drawings$ diagrams orsketches in the book


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The Text

The te*t is the main #ortion of the book that givesa full discussion of the cha#ters or sections.


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The Auxiliary or Reference Material

The following #ages make u# the au*iliary or reference material%

a' Appendix- contains a listing of materials referred to$ but not e*#lainedin the te*t.

b' Bibliography- contains a listing of books used by the author in writingthe book$ and books the author recommends for further reading.

c' Glossary- contains a listing and e*#lanation of technical or foreignterms not e*#lained in the te*t.

d' Footnotes- if these are not #laced at the bottom of a #age- they may be #laced in a section for notes. This section gives su##lementarye*#lanation$ indicates sources of certain information or directs thereader to the other #arts of the book.

e' ndex contains a listing of to#ics discussed in the te*tbook arrangedin al#habetical order with #age references.


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II. 0aterials "vailable in the Library

" library will vary in 1uantity and diversity in the materials it holds from otherlibraries according to si2e$ #ur#ose and #rogram of the school. 3ollowing is a list ofmaterials more commonly found in most libraries.

&. Reference books of a general nature. There are books that are not limited to a singlesubject$ but useful form most subject areas. These include%

a' encyclopedias ! #rovide basic facts$ background information and bibliogra#hiesconcerned with subjects.

b' almanacs ! #rovide miscellaneous facts and statistical information.

c' atlases 4 #rovide information from ma#s$ #lates or charts.

d' dictionaries ! #rovide information about words$ their meanings$ derivation$s#elling$ #ronunciation$ syllabication$ usage and current status.


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e' ga"etteers ! #rovide geogra#hical information and data about #laces.

f' yearboo#s ! #resents events of the #ast year in brief$ concise form.

g' handboo#s ! #rovide miscellaneous information.

h' biographical dictionaries ! a collection of information about the lives ofindividuals$ arranged in al#habetical order by surname.

i' directories ! lists of names and addresses of #ersons$ organi2ations or institutions-#rovide information on the #ur#ose$ dues and the officers of organi2ations.

j' bibliographies ! #rovide a descri#tion of books$ manuscri#ts and other#ublications which have some relation to each other.

k' indexes ! #rovide a list of s#ecific data arranged in al#habetical order.


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(. Reference books in the subject fields$ with em#hasis on thesubject areas included in the school,s curriculum.

). 5u##lementary books to the other areas

+. Other books not related to any s#ecific subject or #rograms of the

school/. 3iction books

6. 0aga2ines and news#a#ers which include current issues and bound volumes

7. am#hlets and cli##ings8. 9overnment re#orts on #ublications

:. 0icrofilms and micro#rints

&;. "udio visual aids such as #ictures$ films$ ta#es$ slides$ etc.


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III. "rrangements of !ooks in the Library

!ooks in the library are systematically organi2ed to#rovide easy reference to the user. !ooks on the samesubjects or relates materials are brought together sothat the user can 1uickly locate the books he needs inone #lace only.


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Dewey Decimal lassification !ystem

Originated by 0elvin


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The "i#rary of ongress lassification

?sed by libraries with large collection$ the Library of Congress Classification is a system where books are grou#ed according to subject into (& 0ajor classes. 5ingle ca#ital lettersof the al#habet$ e*ce#t$ I$ O$ = and B re#resent each major class.

?nder each of grou# of &;$ further division is made where even the smallest to#ic can beaccommodated. 5till on the subject of Literature$ the subdivision e*#ansion looks likethis%

8&; 4 "merican Literature in @nglish

8&& 4 oetry

8&( 4


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0ajor classifications in this system are as follows% ". 9eneral =orks 4 olygra#hy

!. hiloso#hy 4 Religion

C. History 4 "u*iliary 5ciences

. 3ine "rts

O. Language and Literature

. 5cience A9eneral'

E. 0edicine

R. "griculture

5. Technology

T. 0ilitary A9eneral'

?. >aval 5cience

F. !ibliogra#hy and Library 5cience


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IF. The Card Catalogue

Using the ard atalog

ard atalog $ace

atalog Tray


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U!%&G T'( ARD ATA"OG

The first ste# in the search of a book in the library is to consultthe card catalog which is the library,s collection ofinformational materials. 9oing over the card catalog gives theuser an idea on the variety of materials the library holds.

The card catalog is a systematic listing of the books andmaterials in the library with descri#tive information abouteach one% author$ title$ edition$ #ublisher$ date$ #hysicala##earance$ subject matter$ s#ecial features and location.

This consists of cards$ usually )by/inch cards$ filedal#habetically in trays in a cabinet.

@ach tray has a label in its face and this label dis#lays theletterGs of the al#habet that its entries re#resent.


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ARD ATA"OG $A(

Inside each tray are guides to which entries are

grou#ed together. These guide cards stand higherthan the rest of the cards in the tray.


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ATA"OG TRA)

ards $ound %nside the ard atalog

@ach book in the library is given three cards% anauthor card$ a title card$ and a subject card. Thissystem enables the user to search for materials in themanner that is most convenient from him.


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The Author ard

=hen an author,s name is known or given$ the user sim#ly takes note of theinitial letter of the author,s surname and finds the corres#onding card. Theauthor card or the main entry card contains%

&. The author,s full name$ inverted-

(. The title and the subtitle-

). The edition$ if it is not the first-

+. The co author$ illustrator$ translator-

/. The im#rint which includes the #lace of #ublication$ the #ublisher andthe date of #ublication-

6. The collation$ which includes the number of #ages or volumes$ theillustrative material and the si2e of the book in centimeters-

7. The subjects with which the book deals- and

8. The call number on the u##er left hand corner$ the number which isthe key to the location of the books on the shelves.


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The Title ard

=hen an author,s name is unknown or not given but the user is familiar with the distinctive title of the book he is looking for$ he sim#ly takes note of thefirst letter of the first word of the title$ discarding thearticles a$ an and the. 3or e*am#le$ if you want the

book The Literature of "merica$ look under L.

"bbreviation such as


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The !u#*ect ard

=hen a user,s assignment is to write a re#ort or aterm #a#er on a #articular subject he was assignedto$ he takes note of the initial letter of the subject andfinds the cards that will hel# him locate the titles andauthors of the books that discuss his subject indetail. " subject card differs from all other ty#es ofentries in that the subject is ty#ed at the to# of the

card in red letters$ or in black ca#ital letters.


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The ross Reference ards

=hen a user cannot find his #articular subject ina subject card$ he is usually directed to refer to otherrelated headings in the see card.


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He may also encounter the see also card which isfiled ne*t to the subject card. =hen a user feels theneed to read more on the subject$ the see also carddirects him to other references related to his subject.


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Arrangement of ards

9enerally$ small libraries arrange cards by al#habeti2ing author$ title$ and subject cards together but a library may elect to al#habeti2e author and title cards together and subject cardsse#arately.

Libraries may arrange cards in two ways% word-by-word and letter-by-letter

=OR


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In letterbyletter al#habeti2ing$ the order of the letters$ regardless of thenumber of words$ is the only one considered.

This ty#e is similar to the dictionary,s method of arranging words. In word byword al#habeti2ing$ aside from looking at the order of letters in the first

word of a grou# of words$ you also look at the letters in the succeeding words. Looking back at the e*am#les of arrangements above$ notice that in wordbyword al#habeti2ing$ all words beginning with Fort are grou#edtogether$ with s#ecific names of 3orts arranged in al#habetical order. 9iventhe same set of words in letterbyletter al#habeti2ing$ Fort $odge is

followed by Forte as similarly done in dictionary arrangement.

Dee#ing in mind these two ways of al#habeti2ing$ #lus the s#ecial rules inthe treatment of names and titles discussed earlier$ you should be on your way to using the card catalog more effectively.


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Choose and


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9et !ackground Information

!ackground knowledge #laces your to#ic on a widerconte*t$ dee#ens your understanding and hel#s youfeel more comfortable with it.

@ncyclo#edias are a good #lace to get an overview ofa to#ic that is new to you.


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9et !ackground Information

=ork from general to s#ecific

0ake your way from general encyclo#edias down to subjectencyclo#edias to scientific books and research journals.

5ubject dictionaries can hel# out too.

Can hel# define unfamiliar words. 3or e*am#le%


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9ather 5ources

rimary sourcesPrimary sources include eyewitness accounts #ublished in news#a#ers$ thoughts and feelings recorded in

diaries and letters$ documented interviews or oral histories$ and data collected in the census.

ublished material by #rominent #eo#le$ such as The %omplete &or#s of Abraham 'incoln or (he )peeches of *artin 'uther +ing, r.$ are also considered #rimary material.

!econdary sources offer commentary written about events after the fact. 0ost #ublished information Asuchas standard books and articles' falls into the secondary source category.

Additional sources of information may com#lement what you find in books and articles$ and include biogra#hical sources$ book reviews$ statistics$ geogra#hical sources$ essays$ government #ublications and videodocumentaries. 5tatistical$ geogra#hical and other factual materials can really hel# to make your case bysubstantiating your #oints and arguments.

Ti+s for finding sources,


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3inal Checklist

!tay focused and use critical thin-ing to judge the 1uality$ 1uantity and a##ro#riateness ofinformation.


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9rou# &

9rou# 0embers% !orla2a$ C2arina Ro*anne Cal$ Ri22a 0arie Hernande2$ 5heraldyn Fien Limsiaco$ Trisha 0ae agcaliwangan$ Leidel Ramire2$ Dimberly Recto$ Fincent

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