Frequently Asked Questions
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How do I... Find a book?
How do I... Renew a book?
How do I... Find a journal?
How do I... Find an article within a journal?
How do I... Find a thesis or dissertation?
How do I... Find a book not on the shelf?
How do I... Get materials from other libraries using Interlibrary Loan (Illiad)?
How do I... Find reserve materials?
How do I... Find CDs, DVDs and videotapes?
How do I... Find and use style guides?
How do I... Find tax forms?
How do I... Find newspapers on microfilm?
Q: How do I... Find a book? A: The Online Catalog will tell you which materials the library owns whether they are books, journals, magazines, tapes, DVDs or teacher's kits. Click on the Search link at the top center of the screen. When the search box pops up, check that you are on the Online Catalog tab before entering your search. If you know the title or author, use a Title or Author search. If you just know the topic, try a Subject search. Click on the titles to see more information about each item. When you find your book, be sure to check the Location (MSU Library, MSU Reference, etc.) and the Call Number at the bottom of the screen. Need more information? Try How to Use Your Library on our Online Tutorial    Q: How do I... Renew a book? A: Click here for the Renew Instructions  Q: How do I... Find a journal? A: The Online Catalog will tell you which journals the library subscribes to whether they are electronic or paper. Click on the Search link at the top center of the screen. When the search box pops up, check that you are on the Online Catalog tab before entering your search. If you know the title of the journal, use a Title Browse search. Click on the link next to the title to see more information. Once you have found the journal you need, click the Find It button to see if the Libraries have electronic access. If the journal you need is not available electronically, click the back button and check the Holdings at the bottom of the screen to find out if the Libraries own the issue you need in paper. The most recent issues (usually one year) of paper journals are in Current Journals for easy browsing and older issues are found in Bound Journals or in Microforms. Want to search e-journals only? Click on the Search link at the top center of the screen. When the search box pops up, click the E-Journals tab then enter the first few words of the title. Tip: If you aren't certain how the title begins, you can change to Title Contains All the Words and enter words from the middle of the title. Need more information? Try How to Use Your Library on our Online Tutorial Q: How do I... Find an article within a journal? A: Use one of our indexes/databases to find articles within journals and magazines. Click on the Search link at the top center of the screen. When the search box pops up, click on the Index/Databases tab before entering your search. Enter a word from the index/database name and click go to get an alphabetical list of databases. If you don't know the index/database name, click the Category tab to choose from a subject list of databases. Both lists contain the same databases, just organized differently for easy access. Once in the database, search the topics for which you are looking. Need more information? Try How to use your library! Finding Journal Articles our Online Tutorial for database searching. Q: How do I... Find a thesis or dissertation? A: Click on the Search link at the top center of the screen. When the search box pops up, check that you are on the Online Catalog tab before entering your search. If you know the title or author of the thesis/dissertation, use Title Browse or Author Browse. If you want to browse thesis/dissertations by department, do a Subject Browse search for Mississippi State University dept . of [Your Department Name Here] dissertations. Once you have found the thesis/dissertation you need, click the link in the Electronic Access note or get the Call Number from the bottom of the screen. The library collects two copies of each Mississippi State thesis/dissertation that are not available electronically. One is kept on the regular book shelves on the 3rd and 4th floors, the other is kept in Special Collections on the 3rd floor and can only be used in the Special Collections department. Want information about submitting your thesis/dissertation to the library? Go to the Office of Thesis and Dissertation Format Review web page http://library.msstate.edu/thesis/index.asp or call (662) 325-2170. Q: How do I... Find a book not on the shelf? A: If the Online Catalog tells you a particular item is Available but you do not find it on the shelf, contact the Access Services department. They will attempt to locate the material and inform you if it is found. Be sure to have the Title and Call Number or Volume/Issue number of the item you need. Q: How do I... Get materials from other libraries using Interlibrary Loan (Illiad)? A: Interlibrary Loan (Illiad) FAQ http://library.msstate.edu/faq/faq_display/index.asp?cate=3&x=11&y=8 Need more information? Try Understanding Interlibrary Loan (Illiad): An Interactive Tutorial http://library.msstate.edu/content/templates/?a=1159&/. Q: How do I... Find reserve materials? A: http://library.msstate.edu/circ/accessing_electronic_reserves.asp Q: How do I... Find CDs, DVDs and videotapes? A: The Online Catalog will tell you which materials the library owns whether they are DVDs, videotapes, journals, books, magazines, or teacher's kits. Click on the Search link at the top center of the screen. When the search box pops up, check that you are on the Online Catalog tab then enter the title. Once you have found the material you need, be sure to check the Location and Call Number which is listed at the bottom of the screen. You can also browse the CD, DVD, and video collections in the Instructional Media Center (IMC). You can also limit a search to just visual materials (DVDs, videotapes) or just music. Click on the Search link at the top center of the screen. Check that you are on the Online Catalog tab, then click Search Catalog. Click the Keyword Search near the top of the screen to get more search options. To limit your search, change the Format to visual materials (DVDs, videotapes) or music. Need more information? Try How to Use Your Library, our Online Tutorial Q: How do I... Find and use style guides? A: The best place to find style manuals like APA, ACS, MLA and Chicago is the Reference Desk on the 2nd Floor of Mitchell Memorial Library. There are also some online resources that provide some guidance on different citation styles. Feel free to check out the libraries' Citation Style Guides http://library.msstate.edu/content/templates/?a=1127 Q: How do I... Find tax forms? A: During the spring semester, the Government Documents/Microforms room on the 2nd Floor of the library provides a display of tax forms and instruction booklets. Materials are also available via the web at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/ for federal information and http://www.mstc.state.ms.us/ for State of Mississippi information. Q: How do I... Find newspapers on microfilm? A: Newspapers on microfilm are located in the Government Documents/Microforms room on the 2nd Floor of Mitchell Memorial Library. The titles are organized alphabetically by the city in which they are published. If you are not sure where your newspaper is published, you can search for the newspaper by title in the Online Catalog. Click on the Search link at the top center of the screen. When the search box pops up, check that you are on the Online Catalog tab then enter the title of the newspaper. Click on the link next to the name of newspaper. The record displayed will tell you the city and state where your newspaper is published. |
