Finding Books
Reference books
are good for getting background information on topics and for finding
bibliographies -- lists of relevant books and articles. Looking through
reference books may help you define your topic more clearly and help you
focus in on what interests you about your topic the most.
Some Online Reference Books:
E-Reference
Books--Literature
Some Print Reference Books:
The following are some of the relevant titles available.
for Lord of the Rings research:
Contemporary Authors--New Revision Series REF PN 453 .C62 v.36
Contemporary Authors REF PN 453 .C61 v.17-18
Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 15: British Novelists 1930-1959, Part 2 M-Z REF PN 466 .D5 v.15 pt.2
British Writers Supplement II REF PR 85 .B688 Suppl
Magill's Cinema Annual REF PN 1993.3 .M34
Other Books
Use our Online Catalog and the I-Share Catalog to locate circulating books, other reference books, government documents, and audiovisual items. You will need the 14-digit barcode from your student ID to order books through I-Share. Allow 3 days for I-Share books to arrive.
Books or government documents that can't be found in I-Share can often be obtained through ILLiad.Searching for Articles in Databases
Some useful databases to start with for journal articles:
Project Muse (full text of scholarly articles across a range of disciplines)JSTOR (full text of scholarly articles across a range of disciplines)
MLA International Bibliography (citations and some full text for literature articles)
Academic Search Premier (citations and some full text for articles across a range of disciplines)
for newspaper articles:
- New York Times Article Archive (1851 - present, 1851 - 1922 full-text)
- Use the Archive to search for relevant articles. Date, headline, author, and lead sentence are given. Some full-text articles are included in the Archive. Full-text of New York Times articles from June 1980 forward can be found in Academic Lexis-Nexis. Full-text of NYT articles from 1851 forward can also be found on microfilm.
Retrieving an actual article through a database that contains some or no full-text articles:
If there is an HTML or PDF full text link right in the database you have searched in, click on the link, which will open up a window with the article. Then print or, in some cases, email or save the article.
If there is not a full-text link right there, this database does not have the full text of the article. HOWEVER, you may still be able to access the article, even by just a few clicks. Click on "Find It--Lake Forest College." The article may be- in another database that the Library has. If the window that opens has a "Full text may be available via" link, click on it to try to go to the full text of the article.
- in a print copy of the journal that the Library owns. If the window that opens has a "May be owned in print..." link, click on it to open a new window leading to the journal's Library catalog entry to see if the Library owns the print version of the appropriate issue.
- obtainable through interlibrary loan. If the window that opens
has a "Request article via Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad)" link,
click on it to open a new window that allows you to request the item.
For additional databases and articles, go to the Library's list of Databases. For passwords, call the reference desk at x5074.
Finding additional book or journal article citations:
Google Scholar
Some Relevant Web Sites
for Lord of the Rings research:Tolkien Society
The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
National Geographic Beyond the Movie: The Lord of the Rings
Official Lord of the Rings Movie Site
for academic honesty:
Companion website to Diana Hacker's A Pocket Style Manual
Lake Forest College Student Handbook
Lake Forest College Statement on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Sometimes useful information can be found on the Internet using a search engine such as Google. Be sure to evaluate any resulting website carefully.