1. ISTC 201: Using Information
Effectively
LAKSAMEE PUTNAM
LPUTNAM@TOWSON.EDU
RESEARCH & INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN

2. Comics Studio with Ellen Forney
 Thursday October 13th, 2011
 2-3:30PM
 Cook Library 507 – Towson room
 Cartoonist Ellen Forney, the mind behind the comics and
artwork in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time
Indian, will teach participants how to develop their own comic
art, including text and illustration. Attendance is limited to 25
students; please contact Patricia MacDonald, Cook
Library, pmacdonald@towson.edu to register.

3. Comics: The Extraordinary Power of Words and Pictures
 Thursday October 13th, 2011
 7-8:30PM
 University Union - Potomac
Lounge
 Comics are enjoying a new respect as
a compelling literary medium. Join
Ellen Forney, creator of the art in this
year’s One Maryland One Book
selection, The Absolutely True Diary
of a Part-Time Indian, as she
enthuses about their quirky appeal in
a presentation about both her solo
projects and her work with the novel.

4. First…
 Laksamee Putnam
 lputnam@towson.edu
 Cook Library Reference:
 410.704.2462.
 IM/email
 Phone: 410.704.3746.
 Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU
 Albert S. Cook facebook profile!

5. Take away…
 Review of last class
 Finding Books: Cook Library
 Finding Articles: Databases
 Requesting items vs Interlibrary loan

6. Putting it all together…
 Your Topic:
Keyword #1 Keyword #2 Keyword #3
___________ OR ___________OR ___________
AND
___________ OR ___________ OR ___________
AND
___________ OR ___________ OR ___________

7. Web pre-searching
 Good:  Bad:
 How?  How?
 Why?  Why?

8. Finding Books
 Plenty of relevant information in print
 Use broad keywords
 Multiple places to search
 Towson Library
 USMAI Libraries
 Catalog vs WorldCat TU

9. Finding Books

10. Finding Books
Finding the appropriate subject words
or “subject tags” that describe your
search topic is essential. These subject
tags apply in database indexes too.
Keep track of any good words you find;
you will use them later when you
search for scholarly journal articles in
the databases.

11. Finding Books

12. Finding Books

13. Finding Books

14. Finding Books

15. Finding Books

16. Finding Books

17. Finding Books
 If Cook Library and USMAI does not have a copy of
the book you want, you can request it thru
InterLibrary Loan

18. Finding Articles
 Looking for specific research about your topic
 The library subscribes to thousands of journals (but
not all of them)
 Databases help you search through multiple journals
 Use subject specific databases to help narrow your
article search

19. Finding Articles

20. Finding Articles
 Database Demo
 Choose Databases
 Choose Advanced Search
 Peer Reviewed articles
 http://cooklibrary.towson.edu/helpguides/guides/scholarly_dem
o/scholarly_demo.swf

21. Finding Articles

22. Finding Articles
 Database Demo
 Alter the time frame
 Notice Subject terms
 View Similar Results
 Click full text pdf or Find It

23. Finding Articles
 Database Demo
 After clicking Find It
 If we do not have an electronic copy, be sure to check to see if
we have a print copy
 If Cook Library does not have a print or electronic copy you
can request article thru InterLibrary Loan (Iliad)

24. Let’s start searching!
 Find a book on your topic
 Try to find one available here at Towson and another located
elsewhere
 Find an article on your topic
 Use various combinations of your keywords
 Fill out this form:
 http://bit.ly/ISTC201worksheet

25. Questions?
 Feel free to contact me:
 Laksamee Putnam
 lputnam@towson.edu
 410.704.3746.
 Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU
 Or any reference librarian:
 Visit Cook Library Reference Desk
 410.704.2462.
 IM – tucookchat