Ask a Librarian

You no longer need a library card to access online library resources. All you will need is your college portal login - the same credentials you use to log into Canvas.

A good place to start is USNewsstream (1980 to current).

• Type the keyword(s) you are looking for into the search bar. Open articles by clicking on the titles.
• Citations are available for each open article. Click on Cite, and choose the citation style that you need, ie: APA, MLA.

View this video for more information on how to find articles in USNewsstream.

You can also browse all available newspaper databases.

A great place to start looking for assigned materials is the Shasta College Bookstore's textbook section. Most textbooks that are assigned by professors will appear here after you enter the semester you are attending and the specific classes you are taking.

Additional rental & purchase sites that offer used and new books include: Chegg, and Amazon.

If your instructor put something on "reserve" in the library for the class to use, go to the library home page and click on either textbooks or advanced search located under the search bar in the center of the page. You can search for reserve materials by instructor, course number, or course name.  You can also check in the library catalog by title or author.

In addition, the Student Services research guide offers ideas on textbook assistance.

If you're looking for a specific story or author, a good place to start is the library's eBook Collection.

Try searching for the title of the short story in quotes for more specific results (for example: "Women's Friendships: A Collection of Short Stories").

Also check in the library catalog by searching title or author, or email Ask A Librarian for assistance.

Want to make a recommendation? Use the contact options on the top right, or send an email.

The library building is closed for the Spring 2022 semester, however library services are available in the 700 building (The Tutoring and Learning Center)! We are open in the 700 building Monday through Thursday from 8:00AM to 7:00PM, and Friday 8:00AM - 5:00PM.

We are also available online:  

• Email at Ask a Librarian, instant message with online chat, or make a zoom appointment: Schedule Now.

• Phone: (530) 242-7550

• Text: (530) 212-0225

• Guide to Online Library Resources

• Ask a Librarian series Youtube channel.

Yes, we recommend the options below!

Visit the articles & databases page. Find the best library database for your topic, and click on the title. Enter keywords into the search box that is located at the top of the page. For instance: internet and addiction would look like the image below. If your initial search does not yield enough articles, try different keywords.

SIRS Issues Researcher (for opposing viewpoints on controversial issues) is a database designed for subject searching. It may also be helpful in picking a topic to write about. SIRS provides articles exploring social, scientific, health, historic, business, economic, political, and global issues. A helpful list of popular topics is included as well as current issues.

On the screen with detailed information about the article, check to see if there are links to the full text on the left-hand side of the page (PDF or HTML). If the article is only available in PDF format, you will need to click the PDF Full Text link to open it. The HTML format of full text is located below the article citation and abstract so scroll down.

Some articles are not available in full-text. This means that you will only find their summary. If you need an article that the library doesn't own, you can request it through Ask a Librarian.

For examples and guidelines for citing Twitter (tweets, profiles, and moments) in seventh edition APA style, see the seventh edition reference examples page.

A process by which a scholarly work (such as a paper or a research proposal) is checked by a group of experts in the same field to make sure it meets the necessary standards before it is published or accepted. For more information view what counts as peer reviewed?

We have suggestions for those near Shasta, Tehama, and Trinity counties in our research guide to free internet resources. Suggestions may be subject to change.

The library has copies of some, but not all, course textbooks. You can check if the library has the textbook you need by searching course reserves. You can search for reserve materials by instructor, course number, or course name. If you can't find the book in course reserves check in the library catalog by title or author.

If the library does not have the textbook available, you can rent or purchase your required textbooks through the Shasta College Bookstore. The bookstore will ensure you find the most recent edition of the textbook requested by the professor, and by using the textbook information from the bookstore you can check other sites for renting and buying options that best fit your budget.

Additional rental & purchase sites include: Chegg, and Amazon.

We recommend using these resources to find literary criticism:

• Use the Literature Resource Center to find up-to-date biographical information of authors, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews. Search by title or author.
• In the online catalog search the title of the short story in quotes. For example: "The tell-tale heart".

Under current precautions related to the coronavirus, textbooks, chromebooks, and calculators can be borrowed until the end of the semester. Books and other materials from the general collection can be borrowed for 3 weeks at a time.

The Literature Resource Center provides information on authors and stories from all time periods and includes essays of literary criticism.

You can also use Academic Search Complete to find book reviews. Scroll down to document type under search options and choose Book Review. Search the title that you want in Quotation marks. For instance, "Tell-Tale heart".

Email us for assistance, or use the options under "More Help" at the top-right of our FAQs page.

The library databases have citation makers—look under Tools for on the right side of the article results screen-- but they sometimes have mistakes. Make sure you use reliable guides or citation generators to correct them, or make your own (see resources below):

 

• MLA 9 Quick Tips
• APA Reference examples 
• Citations and Credible Sources MLA, APA, Chicago

The Tutoring & Learning Centers offer assistance also.

• JSTOR Arts & Sciences
  An archival collection of 175 peer reviewed academic journals in the social sciences, math, and humanities.
   
• Academic Search Complete
  This scholarly collection of more than 8,200 publications offers information in nearly every area of academic study, many in full text. Updated daily.            

            In the research databases, there is a Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals limiter that you can
            select to limit your results to peer-reviewed articles only. Scroll down from the search box to limit your
            results. Watch this brief video on  finding peer-reviewed articles.