THEA 2800- fundamentals of acting

Library Basics

Review of Search Strategies and Developing a Topic

• Boolean, Truncation & Wildcard (guide)—how to use connectors such as AND, OR, NOT and search shortcuts.
• Constructing a Search Strategy (guide)—how to combine search terms for use in online catalogs and databases.
• "Mapping" your topic (guide)—this short illustrative guide suggests ways to consider, develop, and "map" a topic.

Finding Books

Quick searching:

• GIL-FIND@VSU Library Catalog—find books, videos, scores, and other items in Odum Library's catalog and easily narrow your results by format, author, language, etc.
• GIL-Find Tutorial (video guide)
• Library of Congress Subject Headings

Advanced options for searching for books:

• Classic GIL@VSU Catalog—offers advanced searching in fields such as exact titles, subject headings, locations such as Reference or 3rd Floor Shelves, etc. Also contains a tab for searching Course Reserves.
• GIL Universal Catalog—expands the Classic Gil@VSU catalog to search for and request books from all University System of Georgia libraries. 
• GIL Universal Catalog / GIL Express (guide)—how to request books from other USG libraries.
• eBooks—the box on the left hand side of the page has links to eBooks from EBSCOhost, ebrary, and Gale Virtual Reference Library..
• WorldCat Catalog—searches multiple library catalogs from around the world to locate records for books, websites and internet resources, manuscripts, maps, computer programs, musical scores, films and slides, newspapers, journals and magazines, and sound recordings. You can also narrow a WorldCat search to locate just those items available at Odum Library.

Using InterLibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan (ILL) allows you to request articles, books, and other materials from other libraries.  You can use the ILLiad system by logging in with your BlazeView username and password to request articles that should arrive in 2-5 days, or books within 2 weeks.

• ILL FAQs
• ILLiad FAQs

Resources for Literature

Reference Materials

You will find print reference sources for literature in both the main reference collection and the "reference alcove."

• Gale Literary Index
  • Use the Gale Literary Index to search Gale literature reference books found in the Odum Library Reference Collection. Use the library's online catalog to locate these items. An excellent source for biographical and critical essays.

General online reference sources: Odum Library e-reference shelf

Online reference sources for literature (for example, author biographies) include:

• Literature Online Reference Edition
• Literary Reference Center

Finding Articles

• Use Ulrich's to determine if a journal is refereed (peer reviewed). Look for the referee's shirt!
• If you have a citation, use the black "journals" tab at the Odum Library homepage to search for that title.

Library Databases for Literature

• MLA Bibliography
• Literature Online Reference Edition
• Literary Reference Center
• JSTOR
• Research Library

Retrieving the Articles

• Using the "Find-It" Button (video tutorial)
• Locating bound & current print journals in Odum Library
  • Bound periodicals are located on the 1st floor of Odum Library.
  • Current periodicals are located on the 1st floor of Odum Library.  Don't forget to lift up the shelf if you are looking for previous months' issues.
• Getting Your Hands on the Articles (guide)—shows paths to getting articles in print, online full text, or by interlibrary loan request.
• Getting Electronic Journal Articles Full Text (Odum Library Guide)
• Use ILL- Odum Express to request articles, or books, not owned by Odum Library.

Dissertations & Theses

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Other Skills/Resources

MLA Style and Citation Resources

• MLA Citation Guide (Odum Library) (guide)
• Research & Documentation Online (dianahacker.com)
• Formatting in MLA Style (Purdue Online Writing Lab)
• VSU Student Success Center—can provide in-person assistance and tutoring for citation help.

Full text E-books—These sources, which are freely available online, may also be of use to you.

• archive.org -texts
• Project Gutenberg
• Google Books

More Help from Odum Library

• Anywhere Access—log in to Anywhere Accesswith your BlazeView username and password to use library resources while off-campus.
• Live Chat —every possible way to contact a Reference Librarian, including online chat, text message, email, phone, or visiting us in person during reference desk hours.
• Schedule a research consultation with a librarian for in-depth help