Table of Contents:

Finding a Book
Finding an Article
Requesting Material from Other Libraries
Other Library Resources
Reference Services
Where Is It?
Library of Congress Call Numbers

Finding a Book

The Archway Online Catalog

To search for books or audio-visual materials in the library, use Archway, the library online catalog. The Archway catalog allows you to search by keyword, subject heading, title, or author. After choosing the type of search you wish to perform, simply type in your search. Archway will then display a list of titles. Find the call number by clicking on a title from the list. You need this number to locate the book on the shelf. The Archway catalog will display whether the item is available on the shelf in library or if it is currently checked out. For more information on searching the Archway catalog, see the Archway Online Catalog Searching Guide, or ask a reference librarian.

Using Call Numbers

All libraries use a call number system to organize books on the shelf by subject. The SCC library uses the Library of Congress Classification System. This system assigns the letters A-Z to represent specific subject areas. The books are arranged on the shelf in call number order.

To be able to locate a book on the shelf, you must write down the entire call number from the Archway online catalog. The call number starts with letters between A and Z, and is followed by a series of numbers and other letters. It is not necessary to understand the meaning of the call number; simply find the appropriate shelf in the library for the first letter or letters and follow the call number sequence until you locate the correct book. More detailed information on call numbers can be found at the end of this handbook.

When you are researching a particular subject, a helpful hint to remember when looking for more information is to look at nearby books with similar call numbers. These books will be similar in subject matter.

Reference and Circulating Books

There are two types of books in the library, those that may be checked out and those that may not. Books that cannot be checked out are called reference books. Reference books provide specific information such as statistics, criticisms of literature, definitions, facts and dates, etc. The books must stay in the library because they are used frequently and are often very expensive. On the Archway catalog, reference books are preceded by StCharles Reference and show the status of Library Use Only. All reference books in the SCC library are located on the first floor.

The books that you may check out are called circulating books, and are located on the second floor of the library. In the Archway catalog, the call numbers for books that can be checked out are preceded by StCharles Second Floor. If the book is available for checkout, the status AVAILABLE will be displayed. If the book is already checked out, the status DUE: with a due date will display.

Finding an Article

Using Online Databases

Articles are excellent sources for discovering valuable information on nearly all topics. A few advantages of articles are their currency of publication and their concise format. The problem is knowing what magazine, journal, or newspaper, if any, has articles for a given subject.

To help you locate articles by topic, an index (or database) is needed. Indexes allow you to search for articles by keywords or subjects. These indexes have historically been published in print. However, with the automation of libraries, many indexes now are offered through online databases. The SCC Library has many online periodical indexes, which are available from any computer with Internet access. From the library home page, click on Find an Article (Databases) to see the online databases available. Some databases give the citation of the article, which includes the author, title, date, pages, and name of the periodical, so you can find the article on the shelf. Other databases also provide the complete article on the computer, called full-text.

Choosing a Database

When beginning a search in an online periodical database, it is important that the database be chosen that best represents a subject to be searched. The SCC library has online periodical and newspaper databases covering a wide variety of subjects, and also has databases on specific subjects such as education and nursing. If someone looking for articles on urban crime selects a nursing database, chances are they will find little if anything at all. Be sure to read the database descriptions on the library web page to select the best one for your search.

Finding Periodicals in the SCC Library

Periodicals may be found in various places in the SCC library, depending on their format. Current periodicals, those from the current year only, are kept on the first floor on the tall shelves in the back of the reference area. Periodicals are arranged by title. Periodicals from earlier in the current year maybe found by lifting the display shelf. Back issues of periodicals, those before the current year, are kept on the second floor shelved by the title. To determine what periodicals SCC library has, consult the online SCC periodical holdings list on the library's Web page at http://atoz.ebsco.com/home.asp?Id=5256. It includes not only the periodicals found in paper or microform in the library, but also includes those available in full-text on our online indexes.

Microfiche and Microfilm

As a means of preservation and storage, periodicals are often photographed with a special camera and put on microfiche or microfilm. Microfiche is a transparent sheet and microfilm is a roll of film on a reel.

The microfiche and microfilm collection in the SCC library is located on the first floor near the vertical file. The collection is arranged by the title of the periodical. To view periodicals on microfiche and microfilm, use the library’s reader-printers, which allow you to read the material and to make copies. If you need assistance in operating the reader-printers, ask a reference librarian at the reference desk.

Requesting Material from Other Libraries

There are several options for obtaining a book or an article that is not owned by SCC (for books check the catalog and for articles check our periodical list).

The SCC Library is a member of MOBIUS. Through MOBIUS students can request books from any academic library in the state of Missouri to be sent to our library, or to any academic library in the state for easier pickup. For detailed information on using MOBIUS, see the MOBIUS section of the Archway Online Catalog Searching Guide, or ask a reference librarian.

Interlibrary loan is a service provided to SCC students, faculty, and staff to obtain materials not available through MOBIUS or not available through our full-text databases. Use the Interlibrary Loan Form to request the material to be sent to our library.

Other Library Resources

The Vertical File

The vertical file is a filing cabinet containing subject folders of various types of information. Pamphlets, maps, documents, and articles may all be found in the vertical file. The vertical file is arranged alphabetically by subject. The "Vertical File Listing" is a black binder that lists all the subject folders within the vertical file. You may check out material from the vertical file at the circulation desk.

Reserve Materials

Instructors may place certain materials on reserve. Placing materials on reserve simply means that these materials are kept behind the circulation desk, and may be checked out for short amounts of time to ensure that all students will have access to the material.

Reserve materials may be found by giving your professor's last name at the circulation desk. You may also search under Reserve Lists on the Archway online catalog. By entering the instructor's name or the name of the course, a list of materials placed on reserve for a given instructor or course will be displayed. To check out material placed on reserve, see the circulation desk.

Reference Services

Library Instruction

The reference librarians provide library instruction to various classes. These sessions will help you to locate books using the Archway online catalog, to find articles using the online databases, and to effectively search the Internet. Your College 101 class will probably come to the library for a basic session, and your other classes may come to the library for advanced sessions specific to the subject of the course.

Online Tutorial

An online library tutorial is available to orient students to the library and its various resources. This tutorial is in two sections -- the Online Library Tutorial (which covers the online catalog, searching our databases, and evaluating web sites) and a Virtual Tour of the Library.

The tutorials are available to students through their WebCT account. It is listed for all students as a course called St. Charles Library Tutorial.

Library Research Paper Consultations

Library Research Paper Consultations are for students who have been unsuccessful in their attempts to find information on their research topic for class assignments. The consultations are for all SCC students. They are arranged by appointment and must be made 48 hours in advance by either stopping by the reference desk or calling the desk at 636-922-8620. Generally, the consultation lasts 30-45 minutes, and the reference librarians will help the students formulate a research strategy. After meeting with the librarian, students should feel confident about independently locating books and articles for their assignment.

Where Is It?

Call Numbers in the Library of Congress System

The Library of Congress Classification System combines letters of the alphabet and Arabic numerals. Starting from a base of twenty-six letters, it offers, in theory, 676 subject divisions -- compared with 100 divisions (from a base of 10) in the Dewey Decimal Class System. At the present time, the letters I, O, W, X, and Y are not used but are reserved for further expansion.

Library of Congress classification numbers range in length from one letter and one numeral (P 1) to two letters, four numerals, one decimal number, and a decimal letter and number combination (PN 1993.5 .U65). The classification proceeds from general to specific, and the longest numbers belong to the most specialized subjects.

All numbers before the decimal are read in ordinary sequence; all those following the decimal are read decimally. Therefore, PN 1993.5 .U6554 will come before PN 1994 .C5. Class number and author number make the call number. The last letter and numeral combination is the author number.

Examples of class numbers in order:

PN 1 .A86

PN 86 .K57

PN 86 .K7

PN 1993.5 .U65 .S4

PN 1994 .C5

PN 6099 .L27

PN 6099 .L4

Books are arranged on the shelf according to the classification and within each class, alphabetically by author. The following examples show the way the call number looks on the spine of a book and how they should be arranged on the shelf.

PN 1. A86 T4

PN 56.5 .C48 W39

PN 56.5 .C5 W16

PN 86 .K57

PN 86 .K7

PN 1990.4 .D5 V57

PN 1991.3 .U6 B78

After the last decimal point, start alphabetically again, and use the smallest digit, first. Do not consider the set of numerals as a whole number. Example:

BF 26.5.A679     BF 26.5.A72     BF 26.9.B321     BF 26.9.B99

Take each digit at its own value, individually. These are in order after the decimal point,

.M13567, .M42, .M942. Also, another way to view this filing system is to add a zero to the number, and the value may become clearer to you, showing that you still file by using the smallest digit --- .M135670, .M420, .M9420.