Libraries around the world provide access to a variety of resources, both in print and on the Internet. By increasing your information literacy skills you can more effectively select, search and evaluate those resources. This tutorial will take you through the basics of information literacy and the use of Pfeiffer Library.

Before you can begin, you need to know what we mean when we talk about information sources. So, let's learn about types of sources!

Let's learn how to find these types of sources in Pfeiffer Library. First, books and media.

Many of our books are available as ebooks. Here is a how-to for those.

If we don't have what you need, we can get it! Here is how to use the WorldCat database to find books in other libraries, and request us to borrow them for you.

In college-level research, you will often find yourself needing articles in scholarly journals, magazines or newspapers. The library has around 100 databases you can use to find such articles. Here is how to use them. The first video covers the basics; the second one demonstrates important advanced search techniques.

FalconSearch allows you to search across all of our book and journal databases in one simple search. Here's how to use it.

Citing sources is an important part of research. Let's learn about what citations are and how to do them.

These links will take you to online guides for each of the major citation styles.
MLA
APA
Chicago/Turabian

If you have a citation and need to know if we have the item, there are a few options:
For BOOKS or MEDIA, search in our catalog by book title
For ARTICLES, you can search the ARTICLE title in FalconSearch, or search the JOURNAL title in our catalog or our Find a Journal service. The catalog will tell you whether we have the journal in print and what years we have. The Find a Journal service will tell you whether we have the journal online or in print, with links to the databases containing the journal. It will look like this:

To access Find a Journal from our website, click on Find an Article, and then on Find a Journal in the list of links.

Evaluating information is one of the most important parts of research. This is true whether you are researching for a paper for class or for personal needs. Inaccurate or out of date information can lead to, at best, inaccurate knowledge, and worse, a bad grade. Poor information can even lead to death where health and safety are involved! One way to evaluate whether a source is a quality source is to apply the CRAAP test. This video will show you how.

The recent onslaught of questionable news stories in social media and elsewhere is one reason learning to evaluate information is extremely important in your personal life. Click here for a worksheet to help you determine the validity of news you find online.

The most important thing you can know about the library is that the librarians are here to help you. We are available in person or by phone during the day and evening, and after hours, just click on Ask A Librarian on the library website to enter an online conversation with a librarian via our 24-7 chat service.

If you have been assigned the quiz on this tutorial, click the link below. Make sure you have watched all of the videos first.

QUIZ