Options through Education (OTE) Library Resources

Background information is so important when you start research, or even when you are curious. We often start with Wikipedia but the library has a few other encyclopedias and dictionaries that are more reliable.

A few other notes about background sources:

• They help you narrow down your topic in research
• They help you learn search terms and gain vocabulary that you did not know before
• Some provide you with lists of references which will help you know where to go next in your research or curiosity deep dive
• Experts write them (the one's we're recommending) and they can be a contact for you to learn more as well as a trusted source of information 

Books can be for fun or for research. 

We have a few places you might find books for pleasure reading:

• Pop Collection
• Graphic Novels
• Staff Picks

Regardless of whether you want to read something fun or do some research, you can use the library catalog.

• Use the main search bar on the home page if you know what you want: type the title and author's last name
• Use the advanced search if you are doing research on a topic and have ideas that you want to explore
• You can read some books online, and can limit to online options if you want
• You can find physical books in the stacks upstairs by clicking the locate button (you can even text yourself the results!)

• Books in other libraries do not have the locate button but you can use the call number to find it

Usually articles are most helpful for research and we don't read them for fun quite as much. There are two main ways to get articles through the library. 

First, you can use the library catalog. 

• Search the catalog in advanced search the same way you would for a book, but limit to "articles" at the top of the search.
• You can limit to peer-reviewed in the side bar if you want, and every peer-reviewed article will have the peer reviewed indicator below the title.
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• Once you have the article you want, you can click download PDF, or read online. Sometimes you have to click the article title and then click the database link.

Second, you can start with a database.

• Go either to the databases link, if you know what database you want already, or go to the research guides, if you are not sure of what database to use but know your topic area.
• Search for what interests you as you would in the library catalog.
• Download or save the permalink for any article you find because leaving the article open will result in the page timing out and you losing your article after a set amount of time.
• If you find an article that you want, but it has a red "Find it at BC" button next to it, that means the article is not available in full text on that database. Click the "Find it at BC" button to see if we have it on another database. If not you can place an Interlibrary Loan.

If there is a book or an article you want but BC does not have it, do not fear! We will get it for you from another library through a process called Interlibrary Loan. You will submit a request by filling out a form with the information about what you want (title, author, publication date - the more information you give the easier it will be for us to get it for you).

You will log into your Interlibrary Loan account with the same credentials you use for the Agora Portal.

• If you are requesting a book, you will choose the "Copy Request" option.
• If you are requesting an article, you will choose the "Loan Request" option.

You have access to major US Dailies, as well as many other current and historical newspapers through BC. Learn how to get access to them all on our Newspaper Guide.