BACK

Beasley's Guide to Library Research (University of Toronto Press: 2000). ISBN: 0-8020-4782-3  Cloth $30 US & CDN; ISBN: 0-8020-8328-5. Paper $12.95 US & CDN. 

May also be ordered from: Univ. of Toronto Press - Phone: 1.800.565.9523 Fax: 1.800.221.9985 or from their website at  http://www.utppublishing.com/detail.asp?TitleID=2062

Beasley's Guide to Library Research offers straightforward help in navigating the complex labyrinth of library research. Suitable for novice and experienced researcher alike, this revised classic is an invaluable tool for locating and using materials from research libraries anywhere in the world.

Written and organized for easy access, the reader is guided step-by-step through library rules and methods of operation, the effective use of microfilms and various cataloguing systems, and the location of materials using bibliographies, reference books, and periodical indices. Also covered are the most modern forms of research, including computer databases, inter-library loan systems, and online computer searches.

Whether the reader is a student, teacher, writer, librarian or business person, Beasley's Guide to Library Research provides the essential information that enables all library users to make the most of their research time.

David Beasley was a reference librarian for 28 years at the New York Research Libraries.

Contents:

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

How To Obtain a Book or Periodical
Requesting a Publication
CD-ROMs as Indexing Services
Filing Request Slips
Publications in Microfilm
Interlibrary Loan
Research by the Internet
Librarians and How To Deal With Them
Rules and How To Deal With Them

1. GENERAL APPROACH TO THE RESEARCH LIBRARY

What a Research Library Offers
Where to Begin
Online Searching
The terminal: Networks; Information Retrieval Service; Data Banks; Strategy; When Not To Use Online

2. CATALOGS AND HOW TO USE THEM

Card Catalogs
Filing Quirks: Locating Series Volumes or Other Parts of Works; Requesting a Work from the Catalog
Book Catalogs
NYPL Dictionary Catalog of the Research Libraries, 1911-1971; Automated Book Catalogs; Carlyle System; Different Cataloging Arrangements; Other Catalogs in Research Libraries
Open Shelf Reference Books
The Request Slip
Supplementary Catalogs: Authority Catalogs; Deferred Catalogs; Special Catalogs; NYPL Catalog of Government Publications in the Research Libraries; Supplementary Catalogs; Publications in Microform

3. TOOLS OF RESEARCH

The Bibliography: Its Forms and Uses; Bibliographies to Books; Checklists; Annotated Bibliographies; Bibliographies of Biographies; Bibliographies of Monograph Series; Bibliographies of Directories; For the Periodical [by subject area]; For Bibliographic Lists, Citation Indices, Reports; For Primary Information and Current Facts; Special Lists; For Special Materials; For Government Publications
Interlibrary Loan
Other Systems; METRO System; Sources in Which To Find Publications in Other Libraries; [CRL] Center for Research Libraries, Chicago; European Services, Videotex
Levels of Research

4. RESEARCH IN DEPTH

Retrievable Information: Analyzing the Subject
Approaches to Retrievable Information: The Researchers; The Historical Approach; The Geographic Approach; The Subject Approach; Other Approaches
When to Use Bibliographies, Indices, Books, Periodicals, and Manuscripts as Exemplified by Subject Area: General Knowledge; Humanities; Social Sciences; Sciences; Special Collections
Researching in the Performing Arts: Theatre; Music; Dance
Medical Libraries
Law
General Rules for When To Use What
When To Use Other Libraries
The Microform Problem - How To Deal With It

APPENDIX: WORLD'S MAJOR RESEARCH LIBRARIES AND METHODS OF APPROACH
The New York Public Library
Harvard University Library
British Library (England)
Bibliotheque Nationale (France)
State V.I. Lenin Library of the Russian Federation
Saltykov-Schchedrin State Public Library
National Library of China
National Diet Library (Japan)
U.S. Library of Congress
Parliamentary Library (Canada)

BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

BACK