Welcome to Joyner Library. We're here to help you get the most out of the library's resources as you move through LIBS 6014 online. If you need help at any time do not hesitate to Ask a Librarian.
Getting Started
Will I find everything I need online?
Many of the reference materials you will need to use to answer your problem sets are standard works that are only available in print. They are located in Joyner Library's Reference Department as well as in many local public, community college, school, college, or university libraries. These materials do not circulate, and cannot be borrowed on Interlibrary Loan.
So for this class not everything you need can be found online, but can usually be found in a library near to you.
I need to use NC LIVE! What is it, and how do I get there?
NC LIVE provides North Carolina residents and students with access to high quality information - searchable collections of magazine, newspaper, and journal articles, electronic books, historical materials, maps, and much more - covering a wide range of topics. NC LIVE is a consortium, with members from university, public, some private, and community college libraries.
HOWEVER, as students taking classes at ECU, you have access not only to NC LIVE databases, but also to the electronic materials Joyner subscribes to on its own. We do not have NC LIVE passwords to distribute, and you don't need one if you're taking an ECU class. ACCESS ALL ELECTRONIC MATERIALS, INCLUDING NC LIVE, THROUGH THE LIBRARY'S HOME PAGE AT http://www.lib.ecu.edu or http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/
Once on the library's homepage select the ARTICLES button on the top toolbar, or go directly to that Electronic Resources page at:
But I'm being asked for a password! What should I do?
Article databases are licensed to (currently registered) ECU students, faculty and staff. If you are on campus when you access them you'll go right through, but if you are off campus when you attempt to access them you will be asked for your Pirate ID and password. This is the same user ID and password you use for "OneStop" or Blackboard." If you have any problems accessing databases remotely, see our "troubleshooting" page: How Do I Connect to the Library's Electronic Resources From Home?
Just to recap, it is not necessary to access databases through NCLIVE.ORG, and by doing so, you actually limit the resources available to you as ECU students. Once you are no longer taking classes through ECU you can access NC LIVE materials by asking your local public library for a password.
Will Joyner Reference librarians help me with my assignments?
Our mission is to connect our users with the materials they need to answer their questions and to complete their research. However, because this is a library science class we are specifically asked by your instructors not to provide that level of assistance, as it short-circuits the process of learning how reference work is done. We are happy to help you use the library's catalog or its databases, or to locate specific known items once you have identified what you want to see. If you're not sure if your question falls into this category, don't hesitate to ask -- we'll let you know if we can answer. If we can't, we appreciate your understanding.
I have to do an annotated bibliography. What is it and how do I start?
There are many different ways to write annotated bibliographies. Be sure to check your assignment or with your instructor to see if you need to follow specific guidelines for content, length or type of annotation. Then see Joyner Library's "How Do I .... Write an Annotated Bibliography"
If you are able to come into Joyner Library, use the call number charts on the wall by the stairs to determine on which floor books with those call numbers will be found. Students living in Pitt County, even if taking courses online, will have to visit the library personally to check out books. If you are a distance learning student living outside of Pitt County, you can ask that books be mailed to you. See:
Just keep in mind that books located in Reference areas cannot circulate or be mailed out.
Are there books available full-text electronically?
The library has an increasing number of book titles available electronically. NetLibrary, for example, is a collection of books from various publishers that are available in electronic format. As an ECU student, you have access to a collection of more than 30,000 reference, scholarly and professional books. These are available by searching the library's catalog. For more information see: "How Do I....Use Netlibrary?"
Reference titles are also slowly becoming available to us in electronic format. If you don't find them in our catalog be sure to also check the Gale Virtual Reference Library,Gale Directory Library, Blackwell Reference Online, Oxford Reference Online, available from the library's Electronic Database available from the library's Electronic Resources page.
Finding Articles:
Good Starting Places
All of the Joyner Library databases can be reached from the Electronic Resources page. (If asked for a User ID and password, use you Pirate ID and password.) To search for an article on a particular subject in library science, consider using the following databases.
Full Text (1984 to present) indexes articles and book reviews in more than 300 library and information science periodicals; full-text coverage for 148 periodicals. Books, chapters in collected works such as conference proceedings, library school theses, and pamphlets are also indexed. Full-text coverage begins in 1994.
Library Literature & Information Science Retrospective Library Literature & Information Science Retrospective (1905-1983) indexes articles and book reviews of key library and information science periodicals published in the United States and elsewhere. Books, chapters in collected works such as conference proceedings, library school theses, and pamphlets are also indexed.
ERIC is the premiere indexing and abstracting source for education and related disciplines. The database contains more than 950,000 abstracts of documents and journal articles on education research and practice. Documents include reports, curricular materials, books, conference papers, etc. Many ERIC documents (denoted with an ED followed by 6 numbers) from 1993 to the present are available full-text. Most ERIC documents are also available in microfiche in the Joyner Library Periodicals Department. Years of Coverage: 1966 - present
is the definitive online resource for education research. This massive file offers the world's largest and most complete collection of full text education journals. It is a bibliographic and full text database covering scholarly research and information relating to all areas of education. Years of Coverage: 1866 - Current.
Primary Search is a reference source designed specifically for elementary school libraries and public library children's rooms. It provides the full text of over 40 magazines for young readers and abstracts and indexing for over 120 magazines and 109 pamphlets. Primary Search also includes the New World Encyclopedia, the World Almanac for Kids, and the World Almanac of the USA. Years of Coverage: Indexing, 1984 - present; Full text, 1990 - present.
provides excerpts from and citations to reviews of current adult and juvenile fiction and non-fiction. Over 7,000 English-language books are covered by the database each year. Concise, critical evaluations are chosen from 109 leading American, British and Canadian periodicals in the humanities, social and general sciences, as well as library review media. Years of Coverage: 1905 - present
How can I see articles?
Many of our databases include the full text of articles. In some cases, though, the full text of an article may not be available online in the database you are using due to publishers' restrictions or the prohibitive cost of providing them online. Increasingly, when you search for articles in the library's databases you will see the button on your results list or on the screen showing the citation/abstract of the article.
Serial Solutions is a service offered by Joyner and Laupus Libraries that allows you, at the click of a button, to go from an article citation in one database to a full text copy of that article in another, or to see if a particular article or specific journal is available in full text electronic format. It also allows you to find out if that journal is available in print at either Joyner or Laupus.
What if the article I want is not available full-text online?
If the article is not available online, you can check the Joyner Library catalog or the Laupus Health Sciences catalog to see if it is held in printed form. The button does this for you automatically from within databases. If you live within Pitt County you would need to come to the library to make a copy of the article. If you are a distance learning studentliving outside of Pitt County, you can have articles copied and sent to you, using Interlibrary Lending. See: http://www.lib.ecu.edu/Distance/de_ill.htm
A Word About Using Web Sites for Your Research .........
Many instructors advise you to use the Web wisely and with discernment, because the Web has much that is valuable, but also some material that may not be as authoritative as the instructor prefers you to use for your research. Here are some principles for evaluating what you find on the Web: How Do I....Evaluate Websites?
For a list of useful web resources selected and annotated by the Joyner Library Teaching Resources Center Staff see: TRC's Educational Links
