Expository Writing: Guide to Library Resources and Services

I. Mini-Tour of Library
First floor:
 Circulation desk and reserves (near the entrance): get your library card, check out books
and check out articles/books your professor places on reserve.
 Reference room and Reference Foyer (side of building): contains encyclopedias,
handbooks, dictionaries that provide context to your research topic. Always staffed by a
reference librarian.
 Computers: 14 PCs throughout the library. The two PCs in front of the reference are
printing Pharos stations and there are two others on the 1st and 2nd floors.
 Index Area (back of the building): Find book reviews and indexes of articles published.
Scanner available.
 Study Carrels: Towards the back of the first floor; quiet study areas located throughout
library.
 Archives and Special Collections (near the Mars Rover): Houses historical documents
and artifacts of the college.
 Photocopier: 1 copier located near Reference; one copier in Periodicals area.
 Bathrooms: women’s room 1st floor, men’s room lower mezzanine.
 Library cafe: coffee, tea and snacks

Lower Mezzanine Levels:

 Book stacks level 1 (floor underneath the “Pit”); bound journal articles; Archives Room;
vending machine
 Book stack level 2
 Book stack level 3
Upper Mezzanine:
 Periodicals Area: magazines, newspapers, microfilm, microfiche
 Curriculum Library: library materials for education students

II. Searching for a book in the reference room

The Reference Room’s books are organized by subject categories. To determine the category
where a reference book would be classified under, look at the list posted on the door of room 118
labeled “Library of Congress Classification Schedules.”

III. To access the library’s resources if you are off campus:

Go to the subject guide on the Library Web Site for this class:
http://libguides.framingham.edu/mancusoexpos and under the “Find Articles and Journals” tab,
directly to the library databases (like InfoTrac’s General Onefile). Enter your Blackboard
username and password. Or you can go to the library Web Site:
http://www.framingham.edu/henry-whittemore-library/index.html and then go to the A-Z list of
databases for access and enter your Blackboard username and password.

Questions? Email (reference@framingham.edu) or call us at (508.626.4654).

 Expository Writing: Guide to Library Resources and Services

IV. Searching for a book in the catalog from the Minuteman Library Network
http://library.minlib.net/search~S15

To conduct a subject or keyword search, enter a phrase in the search box and select “keyword”
and “Framingham State University” in the drop down menus. To search for books in other
libraries, select “All locations” instead of Framingham State Univesity.
(See screenshot below.)

Questions? Email (reference@framingham.edu) or call us at (508.626.4654).

 Expository Writing: Guide to Library Resources and Services

You can also find subject headings and re-use them as keywords. (See screenshot below)

Once you find a book, write down the call number to help you find the book in the library.

All full-time and part-time Framingham State College students can borrow books from the
Whittemore Library, as well as other libraries within the Minuteman Library Network. Day and
evening students must register with the library to activate the student ID barcode or student ID
number. Borrowing privileges will expire when the student is longer affiliated with the college.

I recommend that you do not limit your search only to Framingham State College. You can
always request a book from another library within Minuteman Library Network. Usually books
requested from the network are received within 3-6 business days.

Questions? Email (reference@framingham.edu) or call us at (508.626.4654).

 Expository Writing: Guide to Library Resources and Services

V. Library Cards and Interlibrary Loan

Once you register your library card, you are able to request books and articles through
interlibrary loan (ILL). You can request a book or article through interlibrary loan at
http://www.framingham.edu/wlibrary/illform.htm.Your request might take more than two weeks
to fulfill. Please contact Danielle Lamontagne at 508.626.4690 for questions on ILL.

VI. Searching for Articles:

For a listing of all of our research databases, go to the “A to Z List of Databases” link on the
library webpage. If you are off campus, you must authenticate by entering your Blackboard
username and password. You can also go to: http://libguides.framingham.edu/mancusoexpos and
under the “Find Articles and Journals” tab.

You will find relevant articles in the following library databases:

 EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier (also Communication and Mass Media Complete)
 InfoTrac’s General Onefile (also Communication and Mass Media Collection, Academic
Onefile, and Expanded Academic Index ASAP)
 LexisNexis (news)

VII. Searching in EBSCO’s Academic Search Premier

When you get some results, select articles by “adding them to a folder”.

Open the folder icon at the top of the page once you have selected the articles. In the folder view,
select the articles that you would like to print, email, or save.
You can read the abstract to determine if the article is relevant
Click on the “Cite” icon to see the citation in MLA and other citation styles.

Questions? Email (reference@framingham.edu) or call us at (508.626.4654).

 Expository Writing: Guide to Library Resources and Services

EBSCO formats the article in a number of citation styles:

VIII. Searching for scholarly articles in Google Scholar

Select the link A to Z List of Databases on the library homepage and then the Google Scholar
link. Once on the Google Scholar page, go to Scholar Preferences and make sure that
Framingham State College is listed as a preferred library.

When creating a search in Google Scholar, you do not need to link terms by “and” for example:
television addiction children

Questions? Email (reference@framingham.edu) or call us at (508.626.4654).

 Expository Writing: Guide to Library Resources and Services

IX. Searching on the Google for Information

Try to keep the search simple. Limit your search to .edu or .gov sites. Play around with key
words to get the best hits. You can also limit to the pdf format which sometimes gets scholarly
articles.

Questions to ask when you are evaluating Internet resources:

 Who is the author or producer of the content?
 Is the information on the webpage current?
 What is the purpose of the website? Who is the audience?
 Is the information accurate? Is the information taken from another source?
 Is the webpage easy to navigate? Do all the links work?

Questions? Email (reference@framingham.edu) or call us at (508.626.4654).

Expository Writing: Guide to Library Resources and Services

Questions? Email (reference@framingham.edu) or call us at (508.626.4654).