Shrinking Print

The UCC Library online reference collection keeps growing. . .as our print reference collection keeps shrinking. More and more of the big (and not-so-big) publishers of quality reference books are moving their collections online.

Check here for all of our online databases: http://www.umpqua.edu/index.php/search-databases

A few highlights:

• EBSCO’s Literary Reference Center contains tens of thousands of literary critical analyses and over a thousand literary reference works.

• Oxford Online Premium contains hundreds of reference books from Oxford Press.

• Nearly all of our medical and nursing reference books are available both in print and online in Gale Health or Salem Health databases.

• Credo Reference is an online general reference collection of 500+ books from various publishers.

• Small Business Resource Center includes the complete text of dozens of handbooks, “—for Dummies” titles, and start-up books

• Learning Express Library is a database of eBooks on test preparation, GED study guides, practice entrance exams to health occupations, math skills, reading skills, writing resumes, and more.

• Access Science includes the 21 volume McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology

Whether it’s the history of popular culture, current social topics, foreign language dictionaries, or encyclopedias, we have it online in an eBook. (And, of course, we have thousands of journals and magazines in our databases, as well.)

While we always like seeing you in the library, please be sure to check out all of our online offerings from wherever you are.

N.pag., Medium, Italics: The New MLA and You!

It happens every ten years or so, and for thousands, their lives are never the same. No, we’re not talking about solar eclipses, the national census, or even snow in June…it’s time for a new MLA!

Just like our favorite software or fashions, the Modern Language Association ‘s (MLA) citation style has updated to reflect new resources available, as well as changing trends in humanities writing. The very first MLA guide (only one page long!) was published in 1951. Today, the Modern Language Association’s Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is 290 pages long, and covers everything from articles (a, an, the) to Yahoo!

While much of the style is the same as the 6th edition you might be familiar with—yes, papers must still be written in 12-point font with 1 inch margins rather than 18- or 20-point, sorry term paper assignees—but there have been some significant changes as well, particularly with citations for electronic formats.

Here are the highlights:

• Italics—Chaos! Rioting in the streets! Peanut butter and pineapple on the same sandwich! Both the APA (American Psychological Association) and the MLA have managed to agree on something—all book, magazine, newspaper, website, and database titles are now italicized, not underlined.

• Web resources (databases and open websites)—Web addresses are no longer required for citations of online resources…unless they are. The language on this requirement is particularly squishy, so here’s the direct quote:

“In the past, this handbook recommended including URLs of Web sources in works-cited-list entries. Inclusion of URLs has proved to have limited value, however… You should include a URL as supplementary information only when the reader probably cannot locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it” (182).

• N.pag.—While this looks like it might be some trendy slang, it is actually the new abbreviation for citing items with no page numbers.

• Medium—Is that source you’re citing a dead tree (paper) publication, or dependant on the will of the internet connection? Now all citations are to have a marker at the end indicating their publishing medium. The two big ones are “Print” and “Web” respectively.

• Fuzzy Kitten Clause—all creators of Works Cited lists are required to spend at least 5 minutes immediately after completing their citations cuddling the cutest, fuzziest kitten they can find. If you are allergic to cats, the Handbook points out that hypo-allergenic pets make a good substitute, but iguanas are not really acceptable. Completing this task will help dispel the majority of the irritation caused by following the rest of the new style requirements. (Happy April Fool’s!)

And there you have it! If you have questions about citing a source, the librarians are here to help— feel free to drop in with any questions! For more details, check out our new handouts for the MLA style, or grab a copy of the 7th edition handbook at the UCC Library!

Global Road Warrior? Credo?

What stereotypes of Venezuelans are accepted by foreigners? What is the literacy rate in Ireland? What is the main religion in Iceland? The UCC Library recently picked up a new subscription to "Global Road Warrior", a new database, that answers these questions and provides easy-to-find information about countries and cultures around the world.

Choose a continent:


Click on a country:


From the country profile, you can choose a subject on the left, print screens, and grab the citation by clicking on "Cite this document".

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The library is also subscribing--on a trial basis--to Credo, a database of 348 reference books. This is a great place to start researching any topic to learn more about it. All 348 books are available completely online and can be searched simultaneously. Or you can search books by subject. If you find a book you like, you can browse it by its table of contents, look through the images in the book or search through it by keyword.

To give you an idea of the variety of ways you can approach the books in Credo, here's an index of some of the pictures found in "The Encyclopedia of Folk Art":


When you zero in on a topic in Credo, note the list on the left side of the screen. You'll find a list of related entries elsewhere in Credo, as well as a list of related resources. The related resources provide a list of other library databases, including the library catalog. Click on a resource to carry on your search outside of Credo. Kinda cool.