PROF 120: College Learning Strategies  

Milne Library Catalog
Search the contents of Milne Library here at the SUNY Oneonta campus.

• Use the Milne Library Catalog search box in the center of the library home page.
• You can search by author, title, subject, and keyword (words anywhere).
• In any list of results, the number of items owned by the library will be followed by the number of items in circulation. (1 owned / 0 out). The Is it here? link to the far right provides more detail about the status of the item.
• Note the call number for the item and consult Library Floor Plans to determine the location of the item.
• For more information about any item, click on the title in the results list.
• To check a something out, take the item(s) to the Circulation Desk on the 1st floor across from the main front doors, and present your Oneonta ID.

Periodicals are publications that come out on a regular, or periodic, basis. Examples include newspapers, magazines, and journals. Scholarly, or peer-reviewed, periodicals are appropriate for more serious research, while magazines, or popular, periodicals are intended for entertainment or information for general audiences.

See this Types of Periodicals guide to understand all the differences. These databases allow you to search for content that is not, for the most part, free on the web. The library pays for access to these databases. 

Use the Browse by Discipline list (under the Databases tab on the home page) to find the best databases for your topic.

All of the following databases are linked from the library home page under Databases.

All of the following databases are linked from the library home page under Databases.

Locating the full text of the article in electronic form:

If there is no full text with the citation for an article in a database, click on or Find It!. If a full text of the article is available in another database, there will be a link connecting you to that database, where you can locate the article in the appropriate volume, or search for the article by title or author.

If the article is unavailable electronically, but available in print or microfilm, click on Oneonta Local Collection for exact holdings. Periodicals are located on compact shelving or in microfilm drawers on the floor P.

Requesting an article on Interlibrary Loan:

If you find an article from a periodical that is not available at Milne Library in any form after you have linked to "Check Library Catalog", you can request the article through the link Request item on Interlibrary Loan on the record for the article needed (see computer screen that comes up after you click on Find It!). You need to be registered to submit ILL requests. See a librarian for help. You can also request articles through the Interlibrary Loan  link on the library website.

If you have the citation for a periodical article

•        use the Journals tab on the top of the library home page
•         type in the title of the journal or magazine
•         look for that title in the list and follow the link to the database(s)
•         follow the links to the correct issue of the periodical OR
•         locate a "search" box to type in the title of the article
•         If the library subscribes to the periodical in print or microform, this will be indicated as well. Follow the link(s) to see what years the library
          subscribes to.

Search Engines: Search engines create their listings using automated software without evaluating the contents: Google and bing 

Subject Directories:  Humans select, sometimes evaluate, and organize (by subject) the listings in a directory. Use a directory to browse and to find the "best" sites on a general or popular topic:  ipl2 and Intute

Wikipedia: Don't use an article from Wikipedia in your bibliography. However, a wikipedia article can be a useful place to get background information and an overview on a topic. The references and links at the bottom of the article often list reliable resources you can use.

Searching tips:

•          Limit a search to .edu and .gov sites for best quality

o    To do this add site:edu or site:gov to your search. EXAMPLE: college students volunteering site:edu

•         Limit the search to the TITLE of the page to get more targeted results.

o    To do this add allintitle: in front of your search terms. EXAMPLE: allintitle: organic foods nutrition

Evaluation tips: Use the following checklist as a guide to help you determine the value and validity of all the sources you find as you do your research.

  Evaluating Information - Applying the CRAAP Test (California State University at Chico)

Most databases include examples of how to cite an individual article. Once you are viewing an article or its bibliographic listing, look for a link that says "cite" or "how to cite." Keep in mind these examples are only guidelines, and often are not correct. You will still need to use a style manual or one of the guides below to "fix" the citations.

Milne Library Guide: APA Citation

Print a copy from this link, or ask for a copy at the Milne Library Reference Desk. Written by Milne Librarians. Summary of the APA guidelines.

Milne Library Guide: MLA Citation

Print a copy from this link, or ask for a copy at the Milne Library Reference Desk. Written by Milne Librarians. Summary of the MLA guidelines.

Son of Citation Machine

Create citations automatically, online. The citations created are not perfect! You still need to check the citations against a handbook.