Library Guide for General Education
Contents

INTRODUCTION
DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR TOPIC?
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BOOKS ON YOUR TOPIC?
USE THE CATALOGUE
BROWSE THE LIBRARY SHELVES
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR JOURNAL ARTICLES ON YOUR TOPIC?
BROWSING JOURNALS
USING DATABASES
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET?
INTRODUCING WEBLINKS

 
INTRODUCTION

This guide will help you locate information in the area of General Education. You may need to use both print and electronic resources to obtain the information you need. The guide is an introduction only and students should ask Library staff for assistance if needed.

 
DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR TOPIC?

Dictionaries and encyclopaedias are a good starting point for research. They give definitions and provide background material that will assist you in understanding your topic.

Some useful reference books in the General Education area are:

World book encyclopedia
Macquarie dictionary
Australian learners' dictionary
Macquarie thesaurus
Visual dictionary
McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of science and technology
Science encyclopedia
Dictionary of nature
Dictionary of mathematics
Encyclopedia of life sciences
Medical and health encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of the human body
Encyclopedia of geography
Atlas of the world
Biographical dictionary
Australian encyclopedia
Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia

Check the Library catalogue to see if a particular reference book is held in your Campus Library.

 
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BOOKS ON YOUR TOPIC?

Books provide detailed information on a subject. You can locate them by using the Library catalogue or browsing the shelves.

 
USE THE CATALOGUE

To locate material (including books, magazines and videos) use the terms from your topic in a general keyword search of the Library catalogue. For a more structured approach use the following headings for a subject search of the Library catalogue.

Animals
Australia - Biography
Australia - Discovery
Australia - Geography
Australia - History
Australia - Parliament and government
Australia - Politics
Australia - Social conditions
Australian Aborigines
Business communication
Computers
Culture
Drug abuse
Energy resources
English language
English literature
Environmental issues
Essay writing
Genetics
Global warming
Greenhouse effect
Health
HIV
Human body
Human rights
Immunisation
Indigenous groups
Information technology
Jobs
Mathematics
Natural disasters
Occupational health and safety
Report writing
Study skills
World geography
World history

BROWSE THE LIBRARY SHELVES

By browsing the Library shelves you can get an idea of what the Library has in your area. Dewey numbers that you may find useful in the General Education area are:

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR JOURNAL ARTICLES ON YOUR TOPIC?

Journals are also known as magazines, serials and periodicals.

Journals provide up to date information and cover recent developments in that subject area. For some areas they are the best source of information.

To locate journal articles you can browse (look through whole issues), or search for journal articles in databases.

 
BROWSING JOURNALS

Some journals that may be useful in the General Education area are:

Check the catalogue or with Library staff to see if these or other journals are held in your Campus Library.

USING DATABASES

Databases are electronic indexes to journals and other resources. Some databases offer the full text of the article whilst others will provide only information about articles.

Electronic databases that may be useful in the General Education area are:

Australia/NZ Reference Centre
Australian Public Affairs - Full Text
Electric Library Australasia
Infotrac OneFile
Picture Australia

Information about database access is available from campus libraries.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR INFORMATION FROM THE INTERNET?

INTRODUCING WEBLINKS

The Internet provides access to a vast amount of information. Websites providing this information range from reliable and authoritative to less reputable sites. Weblinks is a collection of websites, covering a range of topics, selected by North Coast Institute library staff for their relevancy and reliability.

Some Weblinks topics that you may find useful are:

Culture and customs
Environmental studies
History
Mathematics
Media
Science

Or you can select from the Weblinks for General Education.

For further assistance in locating information, or using some of the sources listed in this guide, take a look at Searchpath an online research tutorial, or contact library staff.