Exercise 4.1: Getting to Know Your Way Around the Library.

This exercise will involve you in actual and virtual visits to libraries. The goal is for you to become familiar the resources at your "home" academic library and a library at another university.

Part A

Visit the main library on your campus. Perhaps there are scheduled guided tours. If one is available, take advantage of the opportunity and also obtain any written guides that are provided. Describe the location of each of the following:

1. The Circulation Desk
2. The Reference Desk
3. U.S. Government Publications
4. The Library Catalog (probably computer terminals)
5. Interlibrary Loan
6. Current Periodicals such as the American Political Science Review
7. Back Issues of Periodicals
8. The Reference Section where non-circulating volumes such as encyclopedias are shelved.
9. Special Collections
10. Books catalogued under Library of Congress call numbers beginning with "J".

Notes:

Part B

Use a computer and a web browser (probably Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer) to locate your home library’s web site.

1. Locate and copy the electronic catalog citations of:
   1. A book by Robert A. Dahl
   2. A book titled The American Voter
   3. A book on politics in Germany
2. Name and describe the electronic indexes and databases that can be used to locate scholarly articles.
3. List any indexes or services that provide full text copies of scholarly articles.
4. What social science abstracts are available from your library’s web site?

Notes:

Part C

Use your computer and web browser to locate a library at another university. (Several you might try are Brown University; University of Washington ; Stanford University).

Notes: