Welcome to the Cañada College Library! We can help you find information for your class assignments from many different sources, including Books, Articles, and Websites.
Printing $0.12/page
DVD players & VCRs All computers can play DVDs, and we have two study rooms with TVs for group viewing of DVDs or videos
Study Rooms We have 5 group study rooms that can be reserved online.
Textbooks The library has many textbooks on reserve for 2 hour checkout. Ask at the front desk to see if your textbook is available or check online.
Computers The library has over 40 free-use computers. No time limits. Just sit down and start!
| To check out any resources or access articles and ebooks off campus, you must have a library card from a library in the Peninsula Library System. |  |
If you do not have a card from one of these libraries, you may apply for one at Cañada Library. To apply:
DOING RESEARCH USING THE LIBRARY’S DATABASES
Take notes as we go through these questions. This page will become a reference guide.
1. How is an online library database different from a public website (regular online site)?
2. Describe the steps you need to go through to access the library databases?
How can you do this if you’re not at school?
3. Describe some steps and tips for searching the databases effectively: (And how are techniques for searching on a database different from searching using Google for example?)
4. Different types of articles are have different intended audiences, purposes, and usefulness:
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Types of article |
audience/purpose |
Which database(s)? |
Useful for… |
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Students /to get the big picture or background information |
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general public (average educated adult) |
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scholarly articles written for professors, graduate students and other specialized professionals |
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argument/opinion articles |
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Databases you should use: Academic Search Premier (ASP), American History and Life (AHL) , Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) Opposing Viewpoints (OP)
5. Here are some different things to look at to help you decide if an article in your search results will possibly be useful to you:
--look at where it was published (name of magazine, journal or encyclopedia it was published in) to see who the audience is
--look at the length (number of pages): even if it is long, there might be a section in there that you could use.
--read the abstract (summary) carefully to see if you can understand what it’s about.
--decide if it is a book review; if it is a book review, you do not want to use it.
Other things to check?
6. What should you do if you find an article that looks like it could be useful? How will you do this?
7. Describe where you find the correct and complete source citation for a database article to use in your Works Cited list:
Keep a list of possible key words for your topic that you can use to search: