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Help for library questions frequently asked by Bethany and ESR students

Doing research

Where do I begin?
Most people begin their research by looking for books in the Earlham Libraries Catalog and for journal articles in an appropriate database, which for seminary students is usually the ATLA Religion Database. It is sometimes useful to begin research with a general article on a topic, as one might find in a topical encyclopedia. You will find links to these resources on the Libraries' website, especially Resources by Subject: Religion.

Can I search these databases from off-campus?
Yes, as long as you enter them through a link on the Libraries' website. You will asked to log in; use your Earlham/Bethany email ID and password.

How do I find books?
Search by subject, author, or title in the Earlham Libraries Catalog, linked off of the Libraries' main page. The results will give call numbers to help you find books on the shelf, as well as indicating if the book is checked out.

How do I find electronic books?
NetLibrary books may come up in searches of the Earlham Libraries Catalog, where you have the option to limit your search to "electronic resources." You can also search electronic book collections on the Internet; the Libraries link to some Digital Book Collections.

How do I search for articles?
The Libraries subscribe to a wide range of bibliographic databases to aid in searching for journal and magazine articles by topic. You will find these linked from the Libraries' website under All Databases and Resources by Subject.

How do I choose a database?
You can select a database according to its subject area or the type of publication it covers(e.g. newspapers as opposed to journals). Use the structure of the Libraries' website to help you select, for example in browsing Resources by Subject pages, or consult with a librarian.

I only want to see what is online
There is no ready way to search once and see all our fulltext content and only that. Most database search screens do provide a way to limit your results to the fulltext content only. Keep in mind that this may exclude results that are available fulltext in other databases.

The Resources by Subject: Religion page is the most helpful entry point to fulltext articles and electronic books that relate to theological study.

How do I find Bible commentaries?
Search the online catalog. See this guide on how to search for commentaries.

How do I search for articles on particular scripture passages?
Use the Scripture index search in the ATLA Religion Database. See this guide for help. You may also search the Old Testament Abstracts or New Testament Abstracts, available in the Lilly Library reference area.

Are there encyclopedias and dictionaries online?
Yes. You will find the ones helpful to theological study linked under the Resources by Subject: Religion page. You can view all the ones we subscribe to under the Encyclopedias and Dictionaries section of the main Libraries' webpage.

You can search across the indexes of our encyclopedias, both print and electronic, with the tool Reference Universe.

I can't find anything on my topic!

• Be sure you are searching a database appropriate to your need
• Try using broader search terms, or fewer search terms and search limits
• Type in the one or two keywords that are most important in your topic, not a well-constructed question (most search engines are just matching words, not reading and interpreting your question)
• Get research assistance from a librarian!

Why should I use library databases instead of Google?
Google searches anything published on the web -- of quality, or not. Library databases index edited, published material, often scholarly, and collected for an educational use, and subscribed to by your school because it is judged to be useful to the curriculum. Library databases are more focused on scholarly books and articles, and provide more of them, than the open web.

Google Scholar and other scholarly search engines can be good at identifying relevant scholarly articles, but you may not have access to content without having an account or paying for a copy. Library databases give you "free" access to much of the same material, and often to more.

How can I tell if a website is any good?
A quick help in assessing the quality and value of a website is to ask yourself: who is the author (individual or organization, and what do you know of them?), and what is the purpose of the site (audience, goal, bias, etc.). If you can't answer those, the site may not adequately serve your purpose. Here is more on evaluating websites, by Tom Kirk.

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Getting materials

The article I want won't display, or isn't online
If the article does not display when you click on the title, or if you do not see a link to Fulltext in the citation, it is not available there. See other information in this section for help in getting the article. If the article is supposed to be there and won't display, see the Technical Problems section, below.

What is SFX?
SFX is a software that attempts to connect you to information on where the item might be available, whether it be online or on the shelf at Earlham. When you see the SFX symbol next to a citation, follow it to a display of links to other databases where the article is available, and to the Earlham Libraries Catalog, which will search for a print copy in our collections.

How can I find out if a particular magazine or journal is online somewhere?
When you already know which publication and issue you need, you can use SFX to find out if it is available electronically by going to Journals and Magazines section on the Libraries' main page. Search the journal title, and links to any available online formats will come up.

How do I get my hands on a book or article that isn't online?
Use the Earlham Libraries Catalog or SFX to determine if the Libraries have a print copy. Distance students can request such items through Document Delivery.

Can you mail me a book?
We can mail books to distance students through the Document Delivery service. We cannot mail you books from other libraries.

How do I renew books online?
You can log into your Earlham library account through the online catalog, and view the books you have checked out, review due dates, and renew items. Here's how.

How long does Document Delivery take?
Requests are usually processed and sent out within two days. Materials are sent via USPS Parcel Post.

How do I do Interlibrary Loan?
Residential students can request books and article copies from other libraries for items that we do not own. Either follow the "Interlibrary Loan / ILL" link you see next to the citation in the database, or go to the forms on the Libraries' website.

Students at a distance can request copies of an article not owned by Earlham, but unfortunately, we cannot mail you books from other libraries.

Can I get the books and articles I need at a library local to me?
Public or academic libraries near your home may hold some of the materials you need to use for seminary courses. Check with them about access, getting a library card, and which services of theirs you can use or subscribe to.

Can you help me get privileges at a library near my home?
Usually, neither ESR, Bethany, nor the Earlham Libraries can do much to negotiate for special privileges at a library near your home. If the other library requests it, we can provide a letter or reference; contact the theological librarian. Otherwise, you must learn and follow the policies set by that library.

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Creating and managing citations

How do I format endnotes and bibliographies?
For the most part, Bethany and ESR will ask you to format your bibliographies according to Turabian (A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, by Kate L. Turabian, 7th edition). Lilly Library has copies available in the Reference collection. You may want to purchase your own.

How do I format the bibliography for the item I have in hand?
Use the index of Turabian to find the type of item you have in hand, or browse through the chapters on "Source Citation" to find an example that matches. You may also find it easy to browse through examples on web pages that provide citation guidance.

Is Turabian available online?
No. However, it is based on the Chicago Manual of Style, and that is online! It also includes a helpful "quick guide" for short reminders on citing various sorts of documents. You can find this, and links to other webpages that help with bibliography formatting, at the Libraries' How to Write Citations page.

Do you have citation management software?
Yes. The Libraries offer access to the web-based RefWorks. Create your personal, free account with it, then be sure to open it before searching databases and exporting citations. For off-campus use, you will need to get the Group Access Code from a librarian.

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Technical problems

I can't get into the online databases
To use the databases from off-campus, you will have to log in with your current Earlham or Bethany email ID and password. If this isn't working, check our "off-campus connections problems" help page.

If you can't access them from on-campus, notify library or computing staff.

The article/database is requesting a password I don't have

• If you are accessing a resource on the Earlham Libraries website, be sure to log in with your email id and password.
• If you are in Google Scholar or another web database, we won't be able to provide you with a password. However, you can use the SFX Journal Finder to see if we have other access to the resource.

The online article won't display properly
If an article is supposed to be online, but won't display properly, be sure you are viewing PDF format if available. Next, check the "off-campus connections problems" help page to overcome firewall issues. Next, try displaying it in a different browser (IE and Firefox are the most compatible with library databases). If you are opening an email attachment in Webmail, try downloading it instead.

The online article won't print properly
Display the PDF format, if possible. If you are opening an attachment in Webmail, try downloading it instead. If you are printing to a rather old printer, its memory may not be large enough.

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