MIDDLESEX COUNTY COLLEGE LIBRARY

Before starting: Keep yourself on track by using the Assignment Calculator at U of Minnesota Libraries.

Use iBistro to find out if MCC Library has the movie. (Search by Title of the movie – you may also find books about the movie). Can’t find it here? Check other iBistro libraries or WorldCat. The Library can try and get a copy for you through Interlibrary Loan.

Remember to search iBistro using the name of the director of the film, the film genre, and/or the principal actors.

TIP:In order to adequately search for reviews and criticism, be sure to find the names of the major actors, the director, producer, and the year the film was released. In addition, you may want to note the date of the VHS and/or DVD release.

Internet Movie Database
The most comprehensive of searchable online movie databases (now owned by Amazon.com). Some reviews are available, however, be aware that many are not written by professionals, rather, they are submitted by the general public.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers 4th ed. 2000 in the Gale Virtual Reference Library (Library Database)

CRITICISM and REVIEWS What’s the difference?

While these two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference. Generally REVIEWS are written at the time the movie is first released, when the video or DVD is issued, or as part of a BEST FILMS or RECOMMENDED VIEWING list. Reviews tend to appear in newspapers and magazines.

CRITICISM can be done at any time after the film’s release. It involves a more studied and in-depth approach to the movie. Criticism is more likely to appear in professional magazines and journals. Please note that the study of films as a scholarly endeavor really began in the mid to late 1960’s.

The following can be used to locate criticism and reviews.

Bibliographies & Full-text Articles:Individual Films – from UC-Berkeley Library

Film Literature Index – from Indiana University’s Digital Library Program. Covers criticism published from 1976-2001 only.

Academic Search Premier Library database

Biography Reference Bank Library database
Search for the name of the director or the actors.

British Film Institute Film Classics REF PN 1995 .B732 2003
Reprints the 50 volumes of the series British Film Institute Classics published between 1992 and 2000

Communications & Mass Media Complete Library database

The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Films REF PN 1997.85 .T54 2005

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies REF PN 1995.9 .S26 H38 2001

The Encyclopedia of Stage Plays Into Films REF PN 1997.85 .T544 2001

Encyclopedia of the Musical Film REF PN 1995.9 M86 G7

Encyclopedia of Westerns REF PN 1995.9 .W4 F27 2002
Covers the major and (many of the minor) westerns produced on film.

Film Noir: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference… REF PN 1995.9 F54 S74 1995

Guide to Critical Reviews: The Screenplay REF PN 1995 .S3
A multivolume set with lists of reviews from magazines and The New York Times.

History in the Media-Film and Television Library Database

JSTOR Library database

Lexis-Nexis Academic Library database
Best for newspaper articles back to the early 1980s.

MLA Bibliography Library database

Magill’s Cinema Annual REF PN 1993.3 .M34 M345

Magill’s Survey of Cinema – English Language Films REF PN 1993.45 .M3 1980
REF PN 1993.45 .M32 1981

Movie Review Query Engine
Can be used to locate movie reviews available on the general internet. Just be aware that many of the reviews listed are not necessarily by experts or professional movie reviewers. Some may be submitted by the general public.

New York Times website
The New York Times has just changed their policy about accessing articles on their website. It is still unclear how much you can get for free. You will have to register.
OR

Use New York Times (Historical- 1851-2004) Library database

Project Muse Library database

Selected Film Criticism REF PN S426 .S45
Contains reviews and criticism from 1896 – 1960. Many of the entries are reprinted in their entirety.

CHECK to see if MCC Library has a periodical by using this Periodical Title Finder.

IF you are having difficulty finding criticism on your film:
Reference Librarians are here to help!
Stop by the Reference Desk
Call us at 732 906-2561
Email us at refmcclibrary@yahoo.com
or Post a question on this Blog.

Learning about the authors of articles, books, websites or other materials, provides one approach to verifying the accuracy of information. However, many authors work in relative obscurity and finding extensive (or any) information on their credentials or expertise can be a challenge. The steps outlined below, offer a systematic approach to locating information about authors.
Please see a Reference Librarian if you encounter any difficulties.

FOR AUTHORS OF BOOKS:

Check for biographical information on the dust covers of hard bound books, or on the covers of paperback books. (Unlike many other academic libraries, Middlesex County College retains the dust covers of books added to the collection.)

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION:

• Redo a Author/Name search in iBistro to locate other books by the same author or books ABOUT the author.

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION:

• Check Biography Reference Bank, Contemporary Authors or Biography Collection Complete under the author’s name.

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION:

• Look for a book review on one of the author’s books. Lengthier reviews may provide information on the background of the author you are researching. (See a Reference Librarian for help in locating reviews)

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION

• Follow some of the steps outlined in “FOR AUTHORS OF ARTICLES”.

FOR AUTHORS OF ARTICLES:

When using MCC Library’s databases listed under Magazine, Newspaper & Journal Articles , the following techniques can help you find author credentials:

• If the article you find is available full text or full image, you may find information about the author at the beginning or the end of the article. This is particularly true for journal articles.

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION

• Where possible, check for a paper copy of the the magazine, journal or newspaper containing the article in question. You may find information on the author at the front of the issue under “Contributors” or under the information detailing the editorial staff and most prominent staff writers. (Of course if the article was not available in electronic format to begin with, you would have to find the paper source).

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION

• If using the databases on the Magazine, Newspaper & Journal Articles page, try clicking on the author’s name. You may find other articles written by him/her which may contain biographical information. You may also find that the author seems to write exclusively for one publication, on one particular subject area. (If this is the case, follow the instructions that follow).

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION

• Find the website for the publication. (If you are using one of the EBSCO databases, do a “Publication Search”. The website will be listed in the details of the publication). You may find the author’s credentials listed there.

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION

• Do a search on GOOGLE or other search engine (not Yahoo or other directories). A word of caution: there may be many people with the same name. It may prove difficult to determine which one is the author you are seeking.

IF THIS YIELDS NO INFORMATION

• See a Reference Librarian or….

• Maybe the lack of information on the author is telling you something?….

Reference Librarians are here to help!
Stop by the Reference Desk
Call us at 732 906-2561
Email us at refmcclibrary@yahoo.com
or Post a question on this Blog.

• Check the “Occupational Outlook Handbook” at the US Department of Labor website.
• Search O*Net for additional career information. (Produced by the US Department of Labor).
• The State of New Jersey’s Workforce New Jersey Public Information Center.
• Try the New Jersey Occupational Outlook Handbook. (Click on “Download”.) If you are using a newer version of Adobe, you can use the “binoculars” on the left to search for your career.
• Do a Google search for any of the Associations listed in Ferguson’s or the Occupational Outlook Handbook for additional career information.
• America’s Career Infonet is also a good place to check.
• The Digital-Librarian Employment page also has links to many career related sites.

WAGE AND SALARY INFORMATION

Salary information from many of the sources listed above may be country-wide averages. Check wage statistics for New Jersey at the US Department of Labor.

Look at the Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal for salary information on professional jobs.

Try Salary Expert

Or when using O*Net, search for your career choice in the “Quick Search” box, selecting your career from the list provided. At the bottom of the screen select “New Jersey” to find the estimated wages for the occupation in New Jersey.

COLLEGE SEARCH

Check the College Blue Book (In the Gale Virtual Reference Library) to search for colleges that offer the degree programs you want.

You can also search Peterson’s College Search or CollegeNet.

NEED TO FIND A JOB?

America’s Job Bank

New Jersey’s Job Bank

Job listings from the Star Ledger and other NJ newspapers.

Use JobWeb for openings geared to college students.

Check MCC Career Services for job listings.

Keep yourself on track by using the Assignment Calculator at U of Minnesota Libraries.

Search iBistro under the name of the author to find books of criticism on his/her work. Remember that an entire book of criticism is probably not dedicated to one short story, so searching under the short story title might not yield all of the relevant sources.

Remember you can request books from other iBistro libraries by placing them on hold. They will be delivered to the MCC Library.

If you have time before the paper is due, check WorldCat for sources that MCC does not have. Remember that Interlibrary Loan services are available, free of charge to any current MCC student.

Search for additional sources of short story criticism by searching the following databases:

Biography Reference Bank

Facts on File-Bloom’s Literary Reference Center

Literary Reference Center (EBSCO)

JSTOR

MLA Bibliography – the most well-known source for literary criticism

Academic Search Premier

Project Muse

Additional criticism can be located by using Reference Books:

Critical Survey of Short Fiction – REF PN 3321 .C7 2001
Critical Survey of Short Fiction – REF PN 3321 .C7 M345
The titles above are also available online: Literary Reference Center (EBSCO)
Reference Guide to Short Fiction 2^nd edition – REF PN 3373 .R36 1999
Short Story Criticism REF PN 3321 .S56 H37
Short Story Writers -REF PN 3373 .S398 1997
Twentieth Century Short Story Explication – REF PN 3373 .W33

A word of caution: You may find the SAME critical essay in several of these volumes and databases.

Reference Librarians are here to help!
Stop by the Reference Desk
Email us at refmcclibrary@yahoo.com
Call us at 732 906-2561 or
Post a question on this Blog.

The Assignment Calculator is at U of Minnesota Libraries.

A grad student from U of Minnesota provides a free downloadable APA Style Sheet for MS Word for many versions of Word. Please note the librarians have not tested this software, so user beware! A different APA Style Sheet is available for Word 97, 98 and 2000.

The reference sources: Child Development, The Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior, The International Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family, Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, and Psychologists and Their Theories are available online in the Gale Virtual Reference Center (under “Reference, Facts, Encyclopedias, etc. on the Library’s Homepage).

Check iBistro (the Library’s book, video, DVD, etc. catalog) and PsycBooks for e-books on psychology and related topics.

For articles on psychology related topics use the principal database for psychology research, PsycInfo, on the Library’s Homepage under “Magazine, newspaper and journal articles”.

For any articles or books not available at MCC Library, use the Interlibrary Loan request forms. MCC Library will have the materials delivered here for you to use.

If you need help in learning to use PowerPoint, check out this tutorial from University of Rhode Island, this one from Internet 4 Classrooms, or check out the list of PowerPoint tutorials available on the web, courtesy of the University of Alberta.

Remember that the Reference Librarians are here to help!
Stop by the Reference Desk
Email us at refmcclibrary@yahoo.com
Call us at 732 906-2561 or
Post a question on this Blog.

The Library’s catalog, iBistro has several new features for you to use.

From home or on campus, you can now place a HOLD on items listed in the Library catalog. Items placed on Hold will be available at the Circulation Desk in our Library for you to pick up.

Found a book in another iBistro library that you would like to read?

Use the Hold feature and the item will be delivered to the MCC Library. You will be called or emailed when it arrives at MCC.

Need to renew a book?

Login to MY ACCOUNT. See what has been checked out to you and renew items on your account.

What do you need in order to take advantage of these features?
Your updated library bar code (on the back of your student ID card) and the initial PIN: CHANGEME

Have questions? Contact us at 732 906-2561
Email us at refmcclibrary@yahoo.com
or post a message to this blog.

Remember to help yourself with time management of your paper by using the Assignment Calculator.

Use the Library’s databases to find articles on your topic:

ABI/Inform

Business Source Premier

Lexis-Nexis

Locate Books, DVDs and videos in this Library and 27 other libraries by using iBistro.

To find items in other libraries throughout the country,use Worldcat.

Whatever we do not have in this Library can be obtained for you at no charge by using Interlibrary Loan.

There are additional resources listed on the Computer Science Subject Guide.

Need more help?
Stop by the Reference Desk
Email us at refmcclibrary@yahoo.com
Call us at 732 906-2561
or
Post a question on this Blog.

Start off by using the Assignment Calculator is at U of Minnesota Libraries.

Below are suggested sources for information on topics in Dance:

• Check the International Encyclopedia of Dance located in the Reference section of the Library at REF GV 1585 .1586 1998 ( Check this blog regularly-we are waiting for final approval to have it available online. A link will be provided here). Here is a temporary link that is not available from home, yet:

  http://www.oxford-dance.com 

• Look for books, DVDs and videos available in our Library by using iBistro.
• For books, DVDs and videos available in other libraries, try WORLDCAT. Use Interlibrary Loan for items MCC Library does not have. Forms are also available at the Reference Desk.
• Use The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts catalog. While the items are not full text, MCC Library can try to obtain them through Interlibrary Loan.