Gun control, gay marriage, free speech, mental health, homelessness, the cost of college…What do all these topics have in common? They’ve all been in the news recently.
The Library has some great, really up-to-date resources to help you get quality, credible information about events and issues that are still unfolding.
CQ Researcher - Exceptional current events coverage. Noted for its in-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context - As the name suggests, this is your go-to for controversial topics. With Opposing Viewpoints, you’ll find academic research, news, and informed opinions about today’s hottest issues.
You can find both of these resources on the Library’s “Articles & More” page and can access them on or off campus.
Resources for Health and Health Sciences
Curious about something related to your health? Or, do you need academic health resources for a class? Either way, the Library has resources for you:
You can find these (and other!) databases on the Library website: http://www.cocc.edu/Library/. Click on the “Articles and More” button. You can use these resources anywhere - just enter your COCC student ID # and last name for off-campus access!
Picture this…
When you think of doing research at the Library, you probably think of text - lots and lots of text in books, newspapers, journals, and encyclopedias. Well, it’s true - the Library does have a lot of text resources. But, we also have some pretty cool visual resources that can help you out with your research, too.
ARTstor offers high-quality images of fine art and architecture from around the world.
CAMIO gives you images of items from the collections of the world’s best museums, covering everything from paintings to photography to sculpture to textiles
Image Quest provides photographs and diagrams that relate to almost any topic, from history to nature to chemistry to technology.
You can use and cite these images in your papers and projects, just like you would a book or an article from a journal. Just be careful - you can spend a lot of time exploring these visual treasures!
Read all about it!
Want to take a dive into the past? Or find out the latest in current world events? Or keep up with local news?No worries - we’ve got it all!
On the library homepage, click on the “Resources by Subject” button then the “News and Current Events” link:
New York Times (NYT) Historical – goes back to the very FIRST issue of NYT in 1851.Think about it; this is a first-hand look at the past before the time of the Civil War!
The Bend Bulletin (2005-present) and The Oregonian (1987-present) – these are, of course, our major daily news sources for our community and for our region.
LexisNexis Academic – this resource includes thousands of news sources from the US and the world. Use it to find news in national and regional newspapers; TV and radio broadcast transcripts; or international news!
Science Info at Your Fingertips!
If you’re taking any kind of science class at all, you should check out AccessScience. You’ll find articles covering scientific topics from all fields, as well as videos, images, biographies of famous scientists, news relating to current scientific discoveries and issues, study guides, and cool tools like an interactive periodical table of elements.
Citing Sources
You’ve completed your research, reading, and writing, and now all you need to do is finish your bibliography. Good news - corralling all those citations doesn’t have to be a painful process!
Many library resources will help with citation formatting. For books or movies, you can look them up in the Summit catalog. Every item has a “cite/export” option that provides a citation in MLA, APA, and other common formats.
Many databases, like Academic Search Premier, provide citations for journal or newspaper articles.
You can also check out the Library’s “Citation Tools” web page, which links you to useful information on citing and tools that help you create citations.
And, of course, you can always ask us for help!
Add a Library Class to Your Schedule!
Are you putting together your Fall Term schedule? Did you know you can take classes in Library and research skills?
If you just want the basics, try Lib 100, especially designed for students at the WR 60 or WR 65 level. For a comprehensive research skills class, try Lib 127. This is a great class to prepare you for WR 121 or WR 122 and for upper level classes, if you’re thinking of transferring one day. Or, if you’ve already taken Lib 127 and want to know even more about the world of research, try Lib 227.
Classes are offered online and in-person, depending on the class. Want to get a jump on improving your research skills before Fall Term? Library classes are offered over the summer, too, and seats are still available, including sections of Lib 100 at the Madras and Prineville campuses!
Here we are in the 4th week of Spring Term - which very likely means that you’re looking at turning in a mid-term paper in the next week or so. If you need to find journal articles for that paper, you should check out Academic Search Premier - a Library article search engine that makes it easy for you to find credible, quality, academic resources online. Watch this short video to learn how to use it!
Poetry, Cake & Coffee in the Library on Wed, 4/17
Join us in the Library Rotunda on Wednesday, 4/17 at 1:30 for readings by the winners in our haiku contest and for a special cake created by students at the Cascade Culinary Institute. Check our Facebook page over the next couple of days to read the winning haikus.
Can’t use Wikipedia? No need to panic…
The Library to the rescue!
So, you’ve got an assignment, and your instructor has told you not to cite Wikipedia in your paper. You’ve done a Google search on your topic, and found plenty of tempting Wikipedia information - that you can’t use…what to do?
Turn to the Library. On the Barber Library website, you’ll find plenty of alternatives. Click on the “Encyclopedias and More” icon, and you’ll find links to our high-quality, academic, cite-worthy encyclopedias.
Short - but incredibly useful - research tips, resource updates, and event notifications from the COCC Barber Library. Decorate your research with these helpful hints!
