Purdue University Calumet University Library - Guide for International Students

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The Purdue University Calumet Library

Library Information for International Students

Welcome to the Purdue University Calumet Library. As a foreign student, you may be unfamiliar with the many aspects of our library. This guide will provide you with the library information and services that will help you learn strategies and skills to locate information and use it effectively.

Finding Library Materials

I. Books:

The PUC Library shelves books in several locations: Stacks, Reference, Special Collections, TERC (Teacher Education Resource Center), Folio (oversized books), and Government Documents). Most of our library books are shelved in the Stacks.

You may use the Library’s PULSE Online Catalog, and select Search or Assisted Search options to look for books by author, title, subject, keyword, etc. Note the call number, location, and status.

II. Journals:

Current issues of journals and magazines are kept in the Unbound Periodicals area, arranged alphabetically by title. Back issues of periodicals are bound together in volumes and shelved in the Bound Periodicals by call number.

You can use the PULSE Search option to look for journals in the Library. Pick Journal Title from the drop-down menu when looking for a particular journal. Enter the first few words of title: Journal of engineer (Journal of engineering for industry). Omit articles (a, an, the ...) at the beginning of title.

If you are searching for all journals related to your course, you may enter the subject plus “periodical”: “finance periodicals”, select Library of Congress Subject from the drop-down menu, and click search. A list of journal titles will be displayed.

Electronic journals are included in PULSE and are also available by clicking on Electronic Journals and Collections on our library's web site.

III. Articles:

Our library subscribes to many online databases and electronic journals for study and research. Click on Databases and Research on the left side of the Library’s web site to locate a database and find articles on a particular topic.

INSPIRE, Indiana Virtual Library, is a good place to start your search. General subject areas that INSPIRE specializes in are business, education, medical, newspapers, and biographies.

First Search provides information in a wide range of subjects in over 30 databases. WorldCat is an excellent database to use to identify material not owned by our library. It helps you to know which libraries have the books you need. You may request a book via Interlibrary Loan by clicking on Send request to ILLiad at PUC.

Other databases can be accessed by clicking on Other Online Databases. There is a list of databases arranged alphabetically by title of the database.

In addition, click on Electronic Journals and Collections; you are able to access other databases such as IEEE Journals (Full text from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), Elsevier Science Direct Online (the resource for Science, Technology, and Medical information), JSTOR (an electronic archive of core scholarly journals in the humanities, social science, and science), Springer Journals Online (interactive databases providing one million documents online), etc.

Many journal articles are available in full-text form now. Full-text means that you can print, download or e-mail the entire article. For periodicals that are not available full-text in one database, you may need to determine whether or not they are available locally at our library or in another database.

IV. Foreign-Language Dictionaries:

Many language dictionaries are located in the Reference section. Additional copies, which may be checked out, are kept in the Stacks. To find a bilingual dictionary (e.g., a French-English dictionary or a Chinese-English dictionary) on PULSE, search the following phrases as a Library of Congress Subject:

French Language - Dictionaries - English

Chinese Language – Dictionaries – English

Listed below are some of the bilingual dictionaries available in our library:

· Chinese-English dictionary of contemporary usage

Reference PL1455. C59 1977

· A dictionary of modern written Arabic: (Arabic-English)

Reference PJ6640. W43 1994

· Jing xuan ying han han ying ci dian (Chinese English dictionary)

Reference PL1455. C66 1986

· Merriam-Webster’s French-English dictionary

Reference PC2640. M48 2000

· The Oxford Spanish dictionary: Spanish-English/English-Spanish

Reference PC4640.O94 1994

· Spanish-English, English-Spanish medical dictionary

Reference R121.M488 2005

In addition, many language dictionaries are available on the Internet:

· http://dictionary.com provides dictionaries, translations, and resources for English style, grammar, and usage.

· http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm (the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary) includes dictionaries, Thesaurus, and word games.

V. Sources for English as a Second Language (ESL)

The Library provides various materials of English language for foreign speakers. Use Search on PULSE, enter English Language – Textbooks for Foreign Speakers, select Library of Congress Subject from the drop-down menu, click search, and you may find the relevant book you need for your English course.

Listed below are some of the English language books for ESL learners:

Keys to composition: a guide to writing for students of English as a second language /by Susan S. Johnston, Jean Zukowski Faust.

Stacks PE 1128.J 59P PE1128.J59PE1128 .J59 E1128 .J59

Past, present, and future: a reading-writing text / by Joan Young Gregg, Joan Russell.

Stacks PE1128.G66 1983

Practice makes perfect: English grammar for ESL learners [electronic resource]/ by Swick, Edward

American idioms and some phrases just for fun: an ESL meaning and usage workbook [electronic resource] / by Edward Swick

(Electronic resource means the book is an e-book, click the linked resource to the Net Library and check out the book online. To read the e-book from off campus access, you have to set up an account, and use user name and password to login.)

Online Help with ESL:

· English as a Second Language /by Purdue University

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ (provides ESL resources, handouts and exercises)

· Self-Study Quizzes for ESL Students /by Internet TESL Journal http://a4esl.org/q/h/

· The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation /by Jane Strauss

http://www.grammarbook.com/ (answers to questions concerning proper English grammar and punctuation)

· Guide to Grammar and Writing /by Capital Community College Foundation

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

VI. Writing Style Manuals

The Library keeps some style manuals in its Reference collection. Check the Library’s catalog for locations. The primary style manuals available in our library are as follows:

· Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

Reference BF76.7.P83 1997

· Chicago Manual of Style

Reference Z253.U69 1993

· A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian)

Stacks LB 2369.T8 1996

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

Preference LB 2369.G53 2003

MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing / Joseph Gibaldi Reference PN147. G444 1998

Writing Style Manuals are also available online:

· APA /MLA Formatting and Style Guild http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

· Guide to citation style guides http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/journalism/cite.html

· On the Library’s web page, select Electronic Journals and Collections. Then click Virtual Reference, and you will find a list of online style manuals, including Purdue University Manual for the preparation of graduate theses.

VII. International Newspapers:

To read international newspaper on our library’s web page, you can click on Electronic Journals and Collections, and select Virtual Library. Then click Virtual Reading Room, and under the list of newspapers, click News and Newspapers Online.

Many international newspapers are also available on the other web sites:

· Online News Papers: http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/

· The Internet Public Library: Http://www.ipl.org/div/news/

Library Services

I. Reference Services

If you need any help in our library, come to the Reference Help Desk. Reference librarians will help you find information on a topic, search the library catalog and databases, and develop search strategies for papers and projects. We can also answer any other questions about library resources and services.

II. Interlibrary Loan Request

The Library provides students with books and periodical articles not available locally through the Interlibrary Loan service. Before requesting an Interlibrary Loan, you need to register. On our library’s web site, click on Electronic Library Services. Then, click Request an Interlibrary Loan, and follow the instructions for first time users to fill out the form.

Interlibrary loan requests may take as long as one to two weeks to fill. Start your research well in advance so that you can take advantage of this service.

III. Renewals:

You may renew an item in person at the library's circulation desk or electronically. To renew online, click PULSE, and find Patron Information at the top of the page. Then, enter your ID number and your last name to log in. Look at the Charged Items, which is the list of items you have checked out. Click on the Renew box next to each item that you want to renew, and then click on Renew Items. If the item was successfully renewed, a new due date will appear.

Another way to renew material is clicking on Electronic Library Services on the left side of the Library’s web site. Then, click Renewals, and follow the instructions to fill out the form. However, you cannot renew periodicals or items that are overdue.

IV. Holds:

You may request an item that is currently checked out of the library by placing a hold. You can place a hold in person at the circulation desk or electronically.

To place a hold online, you need find the record for the item you want in PUSLE to make sure the status is charged. Then, click on Requests at the top of the page; enter your ID number and last name to Login. From the drop-down menu, select Hold and click OK. You will be notified when the item is available for pick-up.

If you need help placing a hold, just ask the staff at the Circulation Desk in person, or call at 989-2224.

Please note that all staff members in our library are here to help you and to answer your questions. Feel free to stop by the Reference Help Desk to speak to the librarian on duty. The Library's liaison for International students is Lan Shen. Please contact her at 219-989-2903, or shenlan@calumet.purdue.edu.