Reference FAQs (Print)- E.Y.Berry Library Learning Center, BHSU

HELP (Reference)

How do I find a book in the library?
How do I find an article in a popular periodical?
How do I find an article in scholarly periodical?
How do I find a government document?
How do I find a Website?
How do I get access to the library databases from my home?
How do I log on to the computers in the library?
How do I print from the computer?
Where are the magazines or journals?
When is the computer support part of the Information Desk available for help with computer problems?

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How do I find a book in the library?
On the library Web pages in the green bar toward the top of the page you may start searching the library catalog via the “keyword search”. This will take you to SDLN as the search database.

You may search the catalog in several different ways:

Keyword search: This is the broadest search and allows you to type in any topic term that is related to the information that you are interested in finding.
Author search: If you know the exact name of the author of a work, you type in the name in reverse order i.e. Sullivan Arthur . If you know only the last name of the author type the last name only i.e. Sullivan.
Title search: If you know the exact title choose “Title exact” then type the first four words of title in exact order (omit initial articles – a, an, the) i.e. authentic Gilbert & Sullivan. If you are not certain of the title, you may choose “Title keyword” and type only important words from the title i.e. authentic Gilbert Sullivan.
Subject heading search: If you want to be more exact in your searching you may choose to search under “subject keyword” if you do not know the exact order of the terms in the Library of Congress Subject Heading i.e. violence television. If you know the exact order of the terms in the LC Subject Heading choose to search by “subject exact” i.e. violence on television.
Combination search: This search may be used if you know the last name of the author and the first word of the title (omit initial articles – a, an, the). An example of this search is: Sullivan authentic.
With each of these searches you will be given search results. If there is only one record under your search that record immediately comes to the screen. If there are more than one it will indicate the total number of records found. Click on “go”. Choose to look at the titles of interest to you by clicking on the number that appears in blue print on the left side of list. The complete record for the chosen item comes to the screen providing information on where the item is located. In our library “Location” can be as follows:

Locations on the main floor:

Main Book Collection (LC Classifications A - HE)
Reference Collection (LC Classification A - Z)
Curriculum Collection (Textbook Classification A - Y)
Media (LC Classification A – Z)
Reserves at Circulation Desk
Newspaper Microfilms by title in Microfilm cabinets
Atlases & Maps shelved adjacent to Reference shelves

Locations on upper floor

Main Book Collection (LC Classification HF - Z)
Oversize Book Collection (LC Classification A - Z)
Case Western Historical Studies access via Special Collections Office
Archives access via Special Collections Office
U.S. Government Documents (SUDOC Classification A - Y)
U.S. Documents MICROFICHE (SUDOC classification A - Y)
SD State Documents (SD DOC Classification A – W)

When you have found the item, if it circulates from the library take it to the “Circulation” desk for checkout. The photo ACE card is the library card for faculty, staff and students. You must have the card with you to do checkout. Local users may fill out an application for a card.

Be sure to watch for “Availability” status. If it indicates “Unavailable” click on “Location Details” to see when the item is due to return. If that date falls within a timeframe suitable to you needs you may choose to place a “Hold” on the item record in order that you would be the next person to have access for check-out.

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How do I find an article in a popular periodical?
If you are looking for a popular periodical, one for general public use, you will find those indexed in our basic periodical databases in ProQuest and InfoTrac.

When ProQuest is selected from the Online Database page it will open to a file called “All Collections”. Enter the topic terms that cover the information that you are pursuing. If the terms are to be found side-by-side i.e. “acid rain”, you should enter them in that way. If the terms are not normally found side-by-side you should use the “and” connector in the search i.e.” television and violence”. After entering terms press “enter” or click on “search”. The resulting list that appears on the screen will have popular periodicals, newspapers and some scholarly journals. To view a particular record click on the title of the article that appears in blue. This will open the record on the screen. This record may be just a citation; citation plus abstracts; or citation plus abstract plus text of the article.

If you find that you would like to have a copy of the article, check to see if there is an image version for printing. Image is a copy that looks as it did in the original publication. You may do that by going back to the results list and if image is available a camera looking icon appears to the immediate left of the title. Click on that icon and a pdf version of the article will come to the screen. Adobe Acrobat Reader must be on the computer for this to happen. If you are working on your personal computer and you do not have the “Acrobat” program on the computer, you may download it from the internet for free. Be aware that this is a graphics program and does consume a great deal of memory. Check your free memory before download begins.

InfoTrac will provide similar search possibility. Choose “General Reference Gold (InfoTrac)” from our Online Databases page. When it opens to the screen change from “subject guide search” to “keyword search” using options on left side of screen. Follow the same search suggestions found above under ProQuest. The results of your search will have a different appearance. But the same possibilities for access are present.

On the results list page you are shown if there are citations only; expanded citations; text; or text plus graphics. Click on “blue” title and the full record appears on the screen. If the text is available and you would like a printout of the article, again you may check for “image availability”. To do this in InfoTrac databases use the options on the left side of text screen and select “e-mail and retrieval”. This will take you to a screen that will allow you to e-mail the text of the article to yourself and will have an “Acrobat Reader” option for pdf file if image is available.

If you have found citations only for articles in either ProQuest or InfoTrac, you may find if our library has the article available in another database or in paper by choosing to search our library catalog on SDLN. When you select SDLN the page that appears allows you to go to the “Online Catalog” to search for the magazine or journal title. If our library has access to the title a record will appear. In this record the “Location” line (s) will provide information on where the periodical will be found. If the location is “PERIODICALS” that means it is found in paper. Click on “Location details” to check for availability of the issue you need. Other “Location” possibilities are “ONLINE JOURNAL” indications for ProQuest, InfoTrac (various files), JSTOR, American Chemical Society, etc.

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How do I find an article in Scholarly periodicals?
Scholarly periodicals are defined as being journals with articles that:

1. are written by experts in their field;
2. are “referred” or “peer reviewed” before inclusion; and
3. are documented with a reference list or bibliography of sources used.

Our library provides access to scholarly journals within InfoTrac and ProQuest. Specific files included in ProQuest are: ABI INFORM, General Science Plus, ProQuest Education Complete Plus, and PsychInfo.

We also subscribe to a number of databases in InfoTrac and many standalone databases. All of these databases are listed on our Online Database page.

Follow the instructions for searching ProQuest and InfoTrac given under “Find an article in a popular periodical”. To use ERIC follow the SDLN search practices with the exception of choosing to search by “Descriptor keyword”. PsychInfo and the “Stand Alone Databases” will each have different instructions for searching. Follow the instructions found within each database to be most successful.

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How do I find a government document?
The library is a depository for the federal and the State of South Dakota documents. You can search library catalog for these documents. The government documents are located on the upper floor of the library. Please visit Govt. Documents page for more information.

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How do I find a Website?
The library maintains a list of quality Websites on various subjects. You can search the library Web Portal by keywords. We have also provided a list of good search engines on Web.

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How do I get access to the library databases from my home?
Remote (off-campus) access is available by using the barcode number at the bottom of the ACE card and your last name as your password. If your card has an “A” at the beginning and a “B” at the end of the number leave those off. Use just the numbers. Note that some databases are not available to off-campus users. A description of databases is given on Online Databases page.

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How do I log on to the computers on campus?
You need to use the Computer Access Card (pink card) to access computers anywhere on campus. It identifies your username and password along with information for access to Web Advisor. In case, if you don't have this card, please obtain it at the Information Desk of the library. Please bring your ACE card for identification.

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How do I print from the library computer?
Each semester $18 is placed on to your ACE card for computer printing. You may send a print job from any computer and then go to the printer station to swipe your card and select your job for printing.

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Where are the magazines or journals?
Current issues of popular magazines are located adjacent to the coffee shop. Back issues and scholarly journals are found on the north end of the upper floor of the library. They are filed in alphabetical order by title.

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When is the computer support part of the Information Desk available for help with computer problems?
The schedule for the desk is basically 8-12 and 1-4 Monday-Friday with a few exceptions. If no one is at that location you may go to the Technical Support Services office located across from the Radio Station on the lower floor of the library.