Start by looking through the tutorial and website key below. Then dive in and start playing with the resources. Test what you've learned by taking the quiz before heading on to the next section.
1. Books & More: Library search. See the next tab for more info. :)
2. Course Reserves: If your professor has placed a book or other physical item on reserve behind the library desk, you can search for it here
3. Periodicals@Foley: Search for a specific journal, newspaper, or magazine. If we have it, this tool will tell you where and give you a link to find it. Great for looking up citations!
4. Databases: Search for articles in our databases
5. Printing: Upload to our wireless print queue, or add money to your Bulldog Bucks account
6. Reserve a Study Room: Reserve one of our second floor group study rooms
7. ILL/Interlibrary Loan: Order books or articles from other libraries
8. Research Subject Guides: See what resources librarians recommend for your subject
9. Schedule a Research Appointment: Set up a time for one-on-one help with a librarian
10. Chat live with a librarian for help right now!
The search box on the library homepage is like Google for the library. It searches across a wide variety of resources, including our physical catalog, electronic resources and many of our databases. Library Search serves as the library catalog and the only way to search for books, eBooks, music, videos, and “things” like puzzles and board games.
Library Search is a great place to start looking for articles and books on a topic, but for powerful, targeted searches that use subject headings or a controlled vocabulary, try a database specific to your discipline or topic.
ALWAYS SIGN IN! Signing in gives you more complete results, the ability to request items, and the best access to available online resources. The yellow bar across the results screen is an hard-to-miss reminder to sign in.
Research guides are librarian-created guides for the best places to go to research your subject. It's a great place to find out what databases are most useful!
This button opens a list of guides. Subject guides provide a collection of resources for that discipline. The librarian who created the guide is also an excellent resource.
This is what a subject guide looks like:
When it comes to doing academic research, asking for help can save you hours of time! Whether you need help with a research project or just have a question about using the library, there are many ways to get in touch with us.
The Chat services is the most popular. It is available 24/7! You can also text a question to 509-730-5979.
Schedule an appointment with a librarian for some great one-on-one help. You can choose to meet in person, over the phone, or in a Zoom video conference with screen-sharing capability.
This screenshot of the library homepage highlights all the ways you can connect with us.
1. Get Help: Click this to open the Get Help Menu
2. Ask a Librarian: opens a page with the library chat box so you can talk to a librarian live
3. Tutorials: Guides for how to use all our stuff!
4. Research Subject Guides: See what resources librarians recommend for your subject
5. ATAS: Support for applications like FolioTek
6. Librarian Subject Specialists: See which librarian is assigned to which department
7. Citation Help and RefWorks: Quick guides for major citations styles, and a link and guide to using RefWorks, our research manager and citation generator
8. Schedule a Research Appointment: Set up a time for one-on-one help with a librarian
9. Tutoring and Writing Center Appointments: Links to the appointment pages for our building partners (not part of the library)
Want to try chat? Here you go!
Abstract - A brief description of the contents of a journal article or book. Many article records in online databases include abstracts so researchers can easily determine if the article/book will be of value to their topic.
Annotated Bibliography – In addition to the citation information for the articles/books listed, an annotated bibliography includes a description of each item. The descriptions are written by the author of the bibliography and often include thoughts on why each reference is pertinent to his/her research.
Annotation – An explanatory or critical note or commentary. Annotation is also the process of adding an explanatory or critical note or commentary to a text. Reference lists are often annotated with comments about what each resource covered and how useful it was.
Appendix – A group of supplementary material appended to a text. It is usually related to the material in the main part of the text but not so closely related to it that it should be put into the main text. Put background information and supporting facts in the appendices. An example of a file that should be put in an appendix is a file of detailed charts and graphs of recent research closely related to the paper's main topic.
Archive – A place in which historical documents and other records are preserved. Usually operated by large organizations, they may or may not be open to the public.
Author – An originator of a creative work, particularly a writer of a text. Searching by author can be an effective form of information gathering.
Bibliographer – A librarian who selects library materials for a specific subject area, often working closely with faculty in the corresponding department(s) to decide on materials that best support the curriculum.
Bibliographic Record - A record in a database for an individual item (such as a book or journal). Information is divided into fields such as title, author, publication date, etc. This is sometimes referred to as the “full record” for an article or other entry in a database.
Bibliography - A list of citations to journal articles, books and other materials on a particular subject or by an individual author. Authors of research papers, journal articles, and books include bibliographies of the references used in their research.
Boolean Operators – The term applied to the words “AND” “OR” “NOT” when they are used to limit or expand a search in an electronic database.
Examples:
counseling AND adolescents – (finds ALL keywords)
principals OR administrators -- (finds either one or both keywords)
recreation NOT hiking -- (finds 1st keyword, excludes the other)
Browse – To inspect something casually, particularly to use an internet browser to casually inspect Web pages. This involves following links from page to page (also called surfing) rather than searching directly. The main difference between browsing and searching is that with browsing you have very little advance knowledge of what will be on the next page.
Browser - Software on your computer allowing you to access the Internet: Internet Explorer and Firefox are a couple of examples.
Call Number – Numbers and letters assigned to each book in the library. Usually found on the spine of the book, call numbers group books by subject and make it easier to find a book on the shelves.
Catalog - The database of books and other materials housed within the library. Foley Library’s catalog is also called Voyager.
Circulation/ Circulation Desk – The library department responsible for checking out books and other library materials. They also handle renewals, recalls, holds, overdue notices and reserves for materials in the Foley Library collection. The Circulation Desk phone number is 509-313-5803.
Citation - A reference to a book, article, or other material, that provides the information necessary for others to find the same work. A book citation includes author, title, publisher and year of publication; a journal citation includes author, article title, periodical title, date, volume, issue number and page numbers of the article.
Examples of citations:
BOOK: Houston, P. D., Blankstein, A. M., Cole, R. W., & Hope Foundation. (2007). Out-of-the-box leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
ARTICLE: O'Connor, B., & Cordova, R. (2010). Learning: The Experiences of Adults Who Work Full-Time While Attending Graduate School Part-Time. Journal of Education for Business, 85(6), 359-368.
Controlled Vocabulary - A controlled vocabulary is a list of terms used by a database or catalog to categorize articles and books by topic. Sometimes called subject headings, sometimes called descriptors, these terms will differ for each database.
Copyright - Legal privilege granted to an author, composer, etc. for exclusive rights of publication and distribution of a work.
Database - A large collection of data or information that has been organized for rapid retrieval. Foley Library subscribes to over 100 online databases that support the programs of study offered by Gonzaga University. Some databases provide citation information only, while others offer the full-text of articles online.
Descriptor - A word or phrase in a database’s Controlled Vocabulary. Descriptors are assigned to each article in a database based on the content of that article. Experienced searchers know that using descriptors or subject headings is an effective way to search for articles on a topic.
Dissertation – A document written in completion of requirements for a PhD; also called doctoral dissertation. A dissertation is the culmination of years of researching, writing, revising and stress.
Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) – A database of dissertation citations and abstracts.
Document Delivery – This is a service that delivers electronic copies (PDFs) of journal articles and other documents. When you find articles on the internet you will often have a publisher or document delivery service offer to sell you the article. Instead of purchasing access to the article, Gonzaga students should use ILLiad at no charge!
DOI Number – DOI stands for Digital Object Identifier. Online academic articles have been assigned an individual DOI number. Just like an ISBN number on books or an ISSN number for journals, the DOI number is unique to that article.
Edition – A version of a published text, or all the instances of a published text issued at a given time. An example would be the 2nd edition (2001).
Entry – Any record, or a field in a record, that has been included, or entered, into a database. An entry word is the headword in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or glossary.
Field - A section of a bibliographic record containing specific information such as the author, title, abstract or descriptors for an item. It is possible to specify which field you want the database to search in for a particular keyword.
Full-Text Database - A database that provides the entire text of an article, usually in PDF or HTML format. Full-text articles can be printed, saved or emailed.
Hold/Request - A feature of the Foley Library catalog that allows you to place a "hold" on an item that is checked out to another patron or on the shelf. If you are a local student you can pick the book up at the Circulation Desk, for distant students the library will check out and mailed the item to them.
ILL – Acronym for interlibrary loan.
ILLiad – Foley Library’s interlibrary loan and document delivery service. You will have to create an ILLiad account in order to use it. Go to http://www.foley.gonzaga.edu/ill
Index – An index is a book or database that lists citations to journal articles or books. Abstracts and full-text are usually not included.
Information Literacy – Critical thinking skills that enlighten the process of finding, evaluating and using information, including information found on the Internet.
Interlibrary Loan - A service that allows Gonzaga’s students, faculty and staff to request books and articles that are not in the Foley Library collection. We are able to borrow books and get copies of articles from other libraries. This service is free for current students, faculty and staff.
Journal - A periodical containing scholarly articles written by researchers in a particular field. Journal articles often include an abstract and a list of references (bibliography).
Keyword Search – A search of a database using some keyword, a significant word from the title, abstract or descriptor of a record as a point of reference to the article's overall content.
LibApps - A set of behind-the-scenes tools that librarians use to (among other things) create "LibGuides" like this one.
Librarian - A professional educated and trained to assist you in finding and using information. The librarians at Foley Library are all members of the Gonzaga University faculty.
Literature Review – A systematic and thorough search of all material, print or electronic, published on a given topic. This can include books, journals, newspapers, catalogs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, bibliographies, handbooks, manuals, indexes, yearbooks, gazetteers, directories, chronologies, almanacs and guides.
Magazine - A periodical such as Time, Newsweek, Forbes, etc. that is published primarily for the general public. Magazine articles are not considered appropriate for most scholarly research.
Microform – A microform is a way to store and preserve articles and other documents. The documents are photographed and reduced to fit on a film or card. Special equipment is needed to view, scan or print articles and other documents stored in one of these formats. There are two microform formats at Foley Library:
Microfiche – Microfiche is similar to microfilm, but the images are on individual sheets of transparent plastic 105 x 148mm (approx. 4”x6”). Each sheet holds up to 98 page images.
Microfilm - Microfilm is a long strip of transparent plastic wound on a reel. One roll of microfilm can hold as many as 800 images of newspaper pages.
Monograph – A boring-sounding library term for a book on a single topic.
Off-Campus Access – See: Remote Access.
Online Catalog or Electronic Catalog – A record of the holdings of an institution (e.g. library or museum) or group of institutions (a consortium), often searchable, that can be found on the Internet.
Open Source- In production and development a philosophy or methodology promoting free redistribution and access to an end product's design and implementation details.
Peer-Reviewed Journal – Also called a “Refereed Journal”, this is a journal where articles must be reviewed by two or more other professionals in the field and prior to being accepted for publication. Most graduate literature reviews require peer-reviewed articles. You can check Ulrich’s database or Cabell’s Directories (available online through Foley Library) to find out if a journal is peer-reviewed.
Periodical – A generic term for publications such as journals, magazines or newspapers that are published at regular intervals.
Periodicals@Foley – www.foley.gonzaga.edu/periodicals This is your gateway to the periodicals available to you online and in print as a Gonzaga student. Use Periodicals@Foley to see what journals Foley Library has and to check for online (full-text) access to an article before requesting it through Interlibrary Loan.
Plagiarism – Plagiarism consists of intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic exercise, written or oral. Compositions, term papers, lab reports, or computer programs acquired in part or in whole from published or internet sources, commercial sources or from other students and submitted as one's own work is plagiarism. For example, it is plagiarism to copy material from a web site and then present that material, or a summary of that information, as one’s own reflection without acknowledgment.” (Source: Gonzaga University’s Academic Honesty Policy, p.2; http://www.gonzaga.edu/Files/Campus-Resources/Offices-and-Services-A-Z/Academic-Services-Office/AHP.doc )
Primary Source – The originator of a primary record. A primary record is a resource created by the individual(s) that initially experienced or used it. They create the records for their own purposes, records that often remain unpublished. Sometimes they witness an event, sometimes they are involved in an event, and sometimes the record is directly created by the event.
PRIMO - Primo is a “next generation” catalog interface which provides access to all types of information which Foley has purchased or licensed. In one search, you can find books, DVD’s, and articles from Foley’s collection. PRIMO also provides several ways for you to narrow or clarify a search. If the full text of an electronic periodical or other digital resource is available, click on it from Primo and go directly to it. Note: PRIMO does not search everything at Foley, but it may be a good place to start.
Recall - A special request for a book that is already checked out to someone else. That person will be notified to return the book within 7 days. Fines on recalled items are $1/day after the recall due date. Contact the Circulation Desk if you have questions about recalls.
Record – An individual entry in a database and simultaneously a collection of related data fields. Each field, although related, is of a different type to all the other fields in the record.
Refereed Journal – see Peer Reviewed Journal.
Reference Desk – The Reference Desk is “Help Central” at the library. It is typically staffed by one librarian and one student worker who help students with their research, answer questions about library services and direct people to the restrooms. We help distant students, too. Call 800-498-5941, email us at refdesk@gonzaga.edu , text your question to 509-730-5979 or go to the library homepage and click on the Contact Us link for your chat options.
Remote Access - From off-campus, you have to log in to use our databases. Your database login is the same as your Zagmail login. If you don’t know what that is, contact helpdesk@gonzaga.edu or 509-313-5550 and ask the IT guys for help. You can also use the library number: 1-800-498-5941 and ask to be transferred to IT.
Renewal – An extension on a book’s loan period. Graduate students can borrow most Foley Library books for a period of 8 weeks and can renew a book up to 8 times (as long as no one else needs it). You can request renewals online through the library catalog. Interlibrary loan books (books we borrow from other libraries) can be renewed once, but the due dates and renewals are at the discretion of the lending library rather than the Foley staff. ILL renewals must be made through ILLiad or by contacting the ILL staff
Scholarly Journal – see Peer-Reviewed Journal.
SFX - The underlying software that links article records from databases (or PRIMO) to Foley Library’s online and print journal holdings. See Periodicals@Foley.
Subject Directory – A hierarchical grouping of related subject headings. The tree structure shows relationships between subject headings. They can be found either inside a database or separate from a data base.
Subject Heading - See Descriptor.
Thesaurus - A list of subject headings or descriptors for a particular database. You can browse a database’s thesaurus to find controlled vocabulary terms to use in your searching.
Truncation – A search technique that expands a root word by using a specified symbol. In most databases, an asterisk * is used for truncation. For example: enter the keyword leader* to search for the words: leader, leaders, leadership. In the Foley Library catalog, a question mark is used for truncation: enter nurs? To search for nurse, nurses, nursing.
URL - Uniform Resource Locator. The Internet address for a