Library Catalogs

OU Library Catalog--includes bibliographic records for everything the Library owns: books, journals, videos, electronic books and journals, government documents, audio recordings.

World Cat--union catalog of libraries worldwide

MelCat--union catalog of many Michigan libraries; 1st stop to interloan books

Subject headings, a sampling

Literacy

Libraries

Reading

Writing

Books and Reading

Language and Languages Study and Teaching

English Language Study and Teaching

Bilingualism

Second Language Acquisition

Printing History

Written Communication

Boolean keyword searching

"And" requires that all terms must be in your search results. It serves to narrow your search. Dogs and Cats--This means each result will be about both dogs and cats.

"Or" gets you MORE. Use it between similar terms. Dogs or Cats--This means each result will be about either dogs or cats (or possibly even about both dogs and cats).

Sample Library Catalog search:

(literacy or "books and reading")

and

history

and

"united states"

For a quick tutorial go to the University of Wakaito library's web site--click on "Search Strategies" and then on "Keyword Search Tools.

Databases & E-Journal Collections

MLA Bibliography--the standard index for literature and the best index we have for linguistics. Coverage begins in 1926. Includes citations to journal articles, books, chapters, and dissertations. There are no abstracts, but there are "enhanced" subject headings. Has an online thesaurus.

ERIC--the standard index for Education (very broadly defined). Coverage begins in 1966. It is a great source for linguistics. Indexes primarily journal articles and unpublished reports and presentations [ERIC Documents]. Has online thesaurus (get to from "Search Tools" tab). [Search "age groups" in thesaurus to find formal subject headings/descriptors for age groups.] Online links to many documents (ED) from 1992 on, before on microfiche. Use links for journals.

PsycInfo-goes back to 1887. Another good source with many references to "literacy" and to other linguistics topics. Useful to limit searches to "English language" and to "articles." Note that you can also limit to a particular age group from the search page. From the "Search Tools" tab you can get to the thesaurus (listing of subject terms/descriptors). Indexes articles, books, chapters in books, and dissertations.

Library Literature-- indexes journal articles, books, conference proceedings back to 1980 in the area of libraries and information science. It does not include abstracts.

America, History and Life--indexes journal articles, books, chapters in books, and dissertations on the history and culture of the United States and Canada.  Indexing began in 1964. Remember that you can "limit your results" by "historical period"--meaning that results will be about the period NOT written during the period. Also, you can use the "indexes" feature to check about subject headings.

Historical Abstracts--Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, the history of education, and more. Like AHL you can "limit your results" by "historical period"--meaning that results will be about the period NOT written during the period. Also, you can use the "indexes" feature to check about subject headings.

JSTOR--Online collection of many scholarly journals from volume 1 until 2 to 5 years ago. Full text of articles is searchable! Problem: JSTOR does not use subject headings. If you get too many results searching your terms in "full-text" try restricting them to "article title."

Contact Information

Library Instructor: Millie Merz, 241 KL, 248-370-2457, merz@oakland.edu

Course Instructor: Alice Horning, 330 WH, 248-370-4134, horning@oakland.edu

Reference Titles

Oxford English Dictionary--Now available online. The OED is a historical dictionary of English, covering the language from the earliest times to the present day and showing the development of meanings through time.

Encyclopedia of Language and Education
Ref. P 40.8. E53 1997
Volume 2 is "Literacy."

Literacy in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Theory, and Practice Ref. LC 151 .L487 2002

Literacy Dictionary: The Vocabulary of Reading and Writing Ref. LB 1049.98 .L58 1998

International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences--Available both online and print (not yet cataloged). Includes an interesting article on "literacy."

Credo Reference--a collection of online reference works. Try doing a search on "literacy."

A Sampling of Web Sites

Human Language: Resources from Linguistics and Beyond--from the American Library Association, this is an annotated list of web sites related to linguistics.

The Literacy Web at the University of Connecticut--intended for the teacher this is a great resource linking you to many interesting web sites.

ReadWriteThink--Web site developed by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English.

OU Library Course Page: Psycholinguistics--direct links to many OU accessible online journals in the field of linguistics.

OU Library Course Page: Second Life: Research and Creative Activities in a Virtual Environment

OU Library's Research Guide for Linguistics

Other Info

Does the library have access to a journal online? Easiest way to find out is to check the "Alphabetical List of Online Journals" from the library's "Find Articles" page.

Where do you find lists of databases and other online resources available at OU? The easiest way to find these is to check "Databases by Subject" or "Databases A to Z" from the "Find Articles" page.

When you are using the library's databases, be sure to click on the blue link when the article you want does not have a full text link in the database. will then take you to the article from another source OR take you to the library catalog record for print holdings OR take you to a form to request a copy of the article via interlibrary loan.

• RefWorks - a reference management tool that allows you to create a personal database of references and automatically generate formatted bibliographies for your projects.

MM's RefWorks Literacy folder