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Choosing the Appropriate Access Tool

In Chapter 1 you learned about questioning your information need. Once you have asked yourself the right questions, you will have a clearer idea as to whether the information you need will most likely be found in a book, a journal article, a newspaper or a reference tool, on the Internet, or in a combination of resources.

The next step then is to determine what information is available to you and what access tools you will need to retrieve the information.

As a college student, you probably have most of the following available to you:

 
Information Format
Access Tools
Books & Videos
Your Library Catalog is where to go to determine if your library has a particular book or video. A library's catalog is usually accessible through the library's web page.
Reference Works

Most libraries have a Reference Collection where you can go to find quick facts and stats such as those found in encyclopedias and almanacs. Many reference works are also available online so check your library's web page too.

Magazine, Journal & Newspaper Articles

To find articles by subject, author, or in a particular publication you will most likely use a periodical index.. Your library will have some print periodical indexes, but most indexes are now available electronically through the library's web page and are often referred to as periodical databases. Sometimes these databases give you only the information on where to find the article, but quite often you may also find the full text within or linked to the article information.
The Internet

Use a public search engine such as google.com or av.com to search the internet by keyword. Or browse through hierarchical subject listings in directories such as yahoo.com or The Librarian's Guide to the Internet.
Other Databases
 Your library is likely to have additional databases that contain other information, for example image databases such as CollegeSource a database of college catalogs from around the nation. Check your library web page for a description of available databases

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Adapted with permission from Oasis, San Francisco State University http://oasis.sfsu.edu

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