History Professor Stanford  

About the Library

Website: http://www.canadacollege.edu/library

Phone: (650) 306-3267

Hours:

Monday-Thursday 8am-8pm,

Fridays 8am-3pm

Library Services

Textbooks on Reserve – Ask at the front desk. Usually only for using in the library for 2 hours.

Computers – The library has over 40 free-use computers. Just sit down and start!

Getting a Library Card

• You can use any San Mateo County library card at Cañada College Library

• With a library card you can place holds on books, CDs, DVDs and more and pick them up at Cañada College Library

Other Services 

• No time limits
  
  
• Printing ($0.12/page) PCs & Macs (no printing on Macs, sorry)
  
  
• Color printing($0.25/page). Ask at the front desk.
  
  
• DVD players built-in (We have headphones!)
  
  
• 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 and a silent study room. The group study rooms have sign-up sheets on the doors and can be reserved any time during the week
  
  
• You can have DVDs, videos and books sent to Cañada
  
  
•  Librarians to help you one-on-one
  
  
•  Black & white photocopier ($0.12/page)

1. Go to Cañada College Library's homepage: www.canadacollege.edu/library
2. Click on Find Articles
3. If you are physically on campus, click "on campus"
4. If you aren't on campus (for example, if you are at home), click "off campus"
5. Choose the database that you'd like to access. Need advice? No problem: contact Contact Dave Patterson at pattersond@smccd.edu or (650) 306-3476.
6. If you are on campus, you will immediately access the database
7. If you are off campus, you'll need to enter your Peninsula Library System library card number (for some databases, you must also enter your PIN, which is usually the last four digits of your phone number. Problems? Call us (650) 306-3276 or e-mail pattersond@smccd.edu or ferrarim@smccd.edu
8. Start researching!
9. If you are striking out, frustrated, or need some help, no problem! Contact Dave Patterson at pattersond@smccd.edu or (650) 306-3476.

JSTOR (On campus)

JSTOR (Off campus)

JSTOR is a database that is full of thousands of articles from journals. Some of these articles were written 50 or even a hundred years ago. None of the articles were written in the last 5 years, so if you're looking for recent information, choose another database.

If you want to use JSTOR on campus, you don't need a library card.

If you want to use STOR from off campus, you DO need a library card. You can use a library card from any library in San Mateo County. For example, if you live in Burlingame, and you have a Burlingame library card, you can use it!

When off campus, choose JSTOR from the Off campus list of databases. You put in the 14 digit number on the back of your library card and the last 4 digits of your phone number

If you need a card, just go to the front desk at the library. It's free and it's fast!

Go to Advanced Search

Use quotation marks: "Christopher Columbus"

I always uncheck the box "search to links to items outside of JSTOR"

Try limiting to "history" and "history of science and technology" but also try NOT limiting your search

Don't use the "abstract" limit: doesn't work very well!

Do try limiting to "item title"

Don't be depressed if you aren't understanding the articles! These articles are usually tough! Very tough! So hang in there, show it to your professor, read, re-read, re-re-read, and remember that it's not you, it's the article! In other words, don't feel like, "What's wrong with me?" Remember, these articles are usually written at a very advanced level.

Remember that some of the articles are old! Think about the author's point of view. For example, an article on Columbus from 1940 might be written by an author who hasn't thought a lot about the rights of indigeous peoples!

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.

Photo Credit:  sleepyneko (2008)