Greenfield Community College

How do I find books, articles & more?

First, what do you want to do?

Find books, videotapes and periodicals
Find articles when you have a citation
Find articles on a subject, by author, etc.
Find articles in databases with an off-campus computer

Finding books, videotapes, and periodicals
The GCC Library provides an online or electronic catalog to assist users with finding books, videotapes, and periodicals (or journals) that the library owns. The catalog can be searched by author, title, author/title, subject, and keyword. Various number searches are also available. GCC students can also search by course number and instructor's name for items that have been placed on reserve by their instructors.

Access the online catalog.

The online catalog is managed by a library consortium called C/W MARS which stands for Central/Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing. GCC shares this catalog with a number of other libraries in Western and Central Massachusetts and the materials within the catalog are available to patrons of all of those libraries. Individuals with valid library cards who have set up an account and have a password or PIN can request items from the larger catalog electronically. See "Renew or request books online" and "Get a book or article from another library" under the How Do I menu for more information.

Using this link, you can search the collections of all of the libraries in Western Massachusetts or all of the libraries in Central Massachusetts: http://wmars.cwmars.org/screens/main.html. You can search both regions at once by performing a search in the GCC Library catalog, then clicking on the button for the "C/W MARS Union Catalog" at the top of the screen. You can also search the holdings of other Massachusetts libraries by using the Massachusetts Virtual Catalog, but always check the C/W MARS catalogs first because materials within the local system will be received more quickly. See the Locating and Requesting Books and other Materials handout.

If you are unable to locate an item in any of these catalogs, you can use interlibrary loan to obtain it from another library outside of the C/W MARS catalog. This involves completing a paper or electronic form and providing descriptive information about the item you want. It can take several weeks to receive a book through interlibrary loan, so be sure to allow enough time in your research process.

Finding articles when you have a citation
If you have a citation for an article and you want to find out if the GCC Library owns that article, follow this link to the online catalog to search for the "Journal Title":

http://wmars.cwmars.org/search~S25/s

If the library owns the title, the catalog record for the title will describe which years are available. The library also provides a paper list of the titles owned called a union list. Copies of this list are available throughout the library. Once you determine that the library owns the title, look for it alphabetically in the Periodical Collection.

The GCC Library purchases electronic databases which are finding tools or indexes for periodical literature. These databases provide the citation, an abstract or summary of each article, and the full text of some of the articles indexed. Some of the databases are general in that they index literature from all disciplines. Other databases are subject specific and index literature from specific disciplines such as education, nursing, or psychology.

Another strategy for locating your article is to search the title lists of the databases where the publication is likely to be indexed to determine whether the full text of your article is available in those databases. Ask the Reference Librarian for assistance if you are uncertain how to do this (413-775-1834).

Follow this link to the electronic databases if you are using a computer on-campus:

On-campus database access

Follow this link if you are using a computer off-campus (you will need the number on the back of your library card):

Off-campus database access

Finally, if you are unable to locate an article in the GCC Library, you can always use interlibrary loan to obtain the article. ILL is a wonderful way that libraries cooperate with each other to share their resources. It can take several weeks to receive an article through interlibrary loan, so be sure to allow enough time in your research process.

Finding articles on a subject, by author, etc.
The most efficient way to locate articles on a subject or by a specific author is to use some type of index or finding tool. Indexes sometimes specialize in the literature of a specific academic discipline or subject area, but there are also general indexes that cover all subject areas. Choose an index based on the subject matter you are researching.

To locate articles on a subject or by a specific author, try searching the electronic databases (if you are off-campus, look for a link for off-campus access on this page). The databases are designed to offer a variety of methods for narrowing and refining your search so that it results in the most useful information on your topic. Each of these databases offers Help information that provides tips and strategies for searching the database efficiently. Be sure to read the Help screens, take advantage of the handouts on searching the databases available in the library, and/or ask the Reference Librarian for assistance with formulating your search rather than browsing through the thousands of citations that result from an inefficient search.

Briefly, databases are comprised of records for each article in the database. Those records are made up of fields for various pieces of information about the article (author, title, subject, etc.). When you search a database by subject, you are searching within the subject field. This is an efficient way to search because the whole article will be about that subject. When you search by keyword, the database searches every word in the record for the article and you are likely to retrieve both more articles and more "false hits."

In addition to the electronic databases, which are indexes to periodical literature, the GCC Library also owns print periodical indexes to this literature. Some of these print indexes are general and some are subject-specific. The print indexes are organized by subject and author and usually provide only a citation for the article. Just because an article is cited in an index or database, does not mean that the GCC Library owns the paper version of the article. Check the GCC union list or the online catalog to determine whether the periodical is owned by GCC. If not, check to see if the full text is available in one of the electronic databases or use interlibrary loan to obtain the article.

The most current print indexes are located on index tables in front of the Periodical Collection. The volumes for earlier years are shelved at the end of the Reference Collection.

Finding articles in electronic databases with an off-campus computer
The electronic databases are subscriptions purchased by the GCC Library. These subscriptions include licensing agreements that require that only students, faculty, and staff may utilize the databases off-campus. Because of these licensing agreements, it is necessary that individuals identify themselves with the bar code (or number) on the back of their library card and their last name in order to access the databases from a computer off-campus.

Follow this link for access to databases when you are off-campus:

Off-campus database access

If you do not know how to use the databases, be sure to use the Help screens provided for each one for assistance with constructing an efficient search. If you need further assistance, call the Reference Librarian at 775-1834.