FIT Library Information Bulletin Start Here: How Do I Pick the Right Library Materials for My Research?

GlAdys Marcus Library
INFORMATION BULLETIN

Start here: How do I pick the right library materials for my research?
Revised August 2007
Prepared by Naomi Schwer Bricker, Reference Librarian; Adjunct Assistant Professo

This is a guide to some of the materials available, in print or online, from the Gladys Marcus Library at FIT. "How to do research: In the library and beyond: A guide for students" is a longer, more detailed guide through the research process.

Why? and Why not? (listed in some of the categories below) can help you decide which type of material may work best for a specific research need.

YOU CAN SPEAK TO A REFERENCE LIBRARIAN at any point during your research if you need help or ideas. Find us at the Reference Desk, 4th floor, or reach us by phone at (212) 217-4400 during hours the library is open. If you are a current FIT student or employee, you can also use our e-mail service, Ask A Librarian.

When You Start Your Research... | To Find books or DVDs on a Topic | To Find Magazine or Newspaper Articles: Using the Digital Library and Other Resources | Using the Internet | Using a Public Library and Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

WHEN YOU START YOUR RESEARCH...

Think through your topic: Read any written instructions you have been given and discuss The assignment with your classroom instructor before you begin your research.

What type of information do you need:
Statistics? Directory information? Pictures? History? Biographical information? Are you looking for historical or current information? Several points of view on a single topic?

What keywords or phrases best reflect your topic?
Think about different ways to express your topic using:
synonyms (e.g. cars/automobiles),
alternate/related concepts (e.g. capital punishment/death penalty, trends/fashion forecasting, flats/fashion illustration/fashion drawing, contractors/private label manufacturers)
broader and narrower topics (umbrellas/accessories, authors/science fiction writers)

Always keep track of your research:
Even if you are just beginning your research, make sure you keep a list of all of the materials you have used, including books, magazines, newspapers, websites, databases, etc.

Having this information will allow you to refer back to the resource if you need to, and will allow to you to begin to compile a bibliography or “works cited” list to include in your paper.

The more you can clarify before you come in to, phone, or e-mail the library, the better librarians can help you get on with your research. Let us know if you're just starting out, or if you've tried some strategies and just aren't getting what you need.

TO FIND BOOKS or DVDs ON A TOPIC

Why? For an overview of a topic, for a detailed discussion of a topic
Why not? Not for very recent topics, or very specific topics

StyleCat [Online Catalog] , the library’s online catalog [available on computers in the library, or remotely at http://www3.fitnyc.edu/library], lists all books, periodical titles, and non-print material (e.g. DVDs, CDs, slides) that the library owns.
When you find a listing in StyleCat [Online Catalog], write down the title, author (if any) and FULL collection/call number (e.g. Reference Stacks HD62.5 .M387 2005).

Use appropriate SUBJECT HEADINGS:

When you search StyleCat [Online Catalog] in its default setting ("Field to search: All Fields"), you are looking for all the words you've typed to be found in some combination of the title of the book/item, the author's name, the publisher's name, and the subject of the book/item. Sometimes that will get you good results, but sometimes you will get nothing, or too much, or too many irrelevant-looking items listed. You can choose so search by "Subject headings" (choose "Field to search: Subject"), specific word(s) assigned to describe an item.

The "subject headings" are mostly assigned by the Library of Congress, and are standardized for most academic libraries in the US. This allows most books on a subject to be found by searching specific word(s) or phrase(s) without having to try endless combinations like you might have to do on a search of the Internet.

A person's name or organization's name can also be a subject heading for information about (not by) that person or organization.

There are some useful lists of SUBJECT HEADINGS by topic here, or ask a Reference Librarian for help if you can't figure out what word or phrase would work best.

For example, there are StyleCat [Online Catalog] listings under all of the following subject headings:

Art deco	Metropolitan Museum of Art
Clothing trade -- Directories	Psychology
Costume – England	Small business
Melville, Herman	Versace, Gianni

For an overview of a topic, you can use a general ENCYCLOPEDIA. You may also want to consult a specialized subject ENCYCLOPEDIA, DICTIONARY, OR HANDBOOK.

Search StyleCat [Online Catalog] for these titles by using the subject you are looking for, along with the word or phrase “dictionaries”, “encyclopedias” or “handbooks, manuals, etc”.   For example:
     Canada – Encyclopedias
     Personnel management – Handbooks, manuals, etc.
     Textile fabrics – Dictionaries

There are also many good subject encyclopedias available online through the Digital Library, through Credo Reference and Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Be sure to SPELL and TYPE YOUR TERMS CORRECTLY.
In a computer search of StyleCat [Online Catalog], the Digital Library databases or the Internet, missing even one letter can get you incorrect or even no results. If you get a “0” result for a search, go back one step to check if you’ve made a spelling or typing mistake. Ask for help if you’re still not sure!

TO FIND MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER ARTICLES: Using the DIGITAL LIBRARY and other resources

Why? For more current or detailed information, or if you cannot find any books on your topic
Why not? Not for broad overview of a topic, articles from general (as opposed to scholarly) periodicals won't have bibliographies referring you to other related sources.

Periodical indexes help you find articles on a specific topic without having to flip through hundreds or thousands of issues.

Most of the FIT Library's periodical indexes are available online through the Digital Library, but some are only print format or on CD-ROM; Many of the online databases include the FULL TEXT of the article, others have only the CITATION (i.e. name of magazine/date/page of the article).

Some of the indexes available at the FIT library are:
     Art Full Text & Art Index Retrospective
     General OneFile (WAS: InfoTrac OneFile)
     New York Times Index

The articles you find using a periodical index may be from a newspaper, a news wire service, a consumer magazine, a trade publication, or a scholarly journal. There's a good explanatory chart here (scroll down to, and click on, "Difference between Scholarly Journal, Magazine, and Trade Journal") or ask a librarian about the different types of publications and which may be most appropriate for your particular purpose.

If you are using an index that is not full-text (i.e. does not include the full article):

w Look for, and click on the

icon or Find This Article link, or

w Check the booklet "Periodicals Listed by Title" found on tables in the Reference Room, 4th floor, or

w Check StyleCat [Online Catalog] (under the name of the magazine, not the name of the specific article) to see if the library owns the magazine you need. Unless otherwise indicated, magazines and newspapers (including those on microfilm) are kept in the Periodical Department on the 6th floor of the library.

USING THE INTERNET

Why? Very current, many different perspectives & opinions, very specific topic coverage, easy and cheap to find information.
Why not? Internet information may -- or may not -- be reliable, authoritative. Hard to tell who or why someone writes about a topic. Information online may be changed frequently (e.g. Wikipedia).

Use the FIT Library’s INTERNET GUIDES as starting-off points on various topics such as Business, Careers, or Textile Industry. The guides are also available in printed format at the 4th Floor Reference Room

INFORMATION BULLETIN: Searching and Evaluating Internet Resources provides helpful tips on how to search and what your results mean.

Need more help with an Internet search? Ask a Librarian, in person, by phone.

USING A PUBLIC LIBRARY and INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL)

Why? Item not available at FIT library
Why not? Item might actually be available in another format (e.g. online through Digital Library instead of book or magazine format), not for things you need right away

If the FIT library does not have the book or periodical you want to use, try a PUBLIC LIBRARY or look into INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL).

If you see that a nearby public library has the item(s) you're looking for, going to that location will usually be the fastest way to get the item. Try any/all of these:

	New York Public Library (locations in Manhattan, Bronx, Staten Island)
	Brooklyn Public Library
	Queens Library

If you have more time, you can request the item through ILLiad, our interlibrary loan system. Most items can be located in another library (usually in other U.S. colleges and universities) and sent to the FIT library for you to use.

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