German 1020
Introduction to the Library
1. Overview of Libraries Webpage: www.libraries.dal.ca
Your Dal Card doubles as your library card so you need your NetID and password to borrow books from the library. [From the main Dalhousie Webpage www.dal.ca, click on the MyDal tab at the top of the page and then click on New User? which appears under the Username and Password.] You’ll also need to register at the library in order to borrow, if you have not done so already. You can do this either in person at a library circulation desk or by clicking on the Locations and Services tab at the top of the library home page then scroll down to Library Services and under Borrowing, find the Register your Dal ID card as your library card link. This will take you to a form which you can fill out and submit online.
2. Click on the Using the Library tab and scroll down to Learning to use our libraries. Click on the full list of Online Tutorials then scroll down to Quick Tips for using Dal Libraries.
Registering your DalCard as your library card (2:47)
Renewing Books (2:20)
How to read a call number in 90 seconds
Note the other instructional videos and libcasts that you might wish to watch.
3. Basic Overview of Novanet and Novanet Classic
If you click on the Collections tab on the libraries main page, you will find Search Libraries and underneath is a dropdown menu, beginning with Basic Search. Choose the kind of search you want to do from the dropdown menu and then enter the search terms in the box provided. Try searching Becker and Jakob the Liar in Books+ and look at your results. You will see that there are multiple copies in Novanet. To view copies click on the title. You will then see that there are three versions listed in Novanet, one at the Killam, one at Cape Breton University and one at St Francis Xavier Macdonald Library. If the one at Dalhousie is available, you can sign it out. If it is already signed out, you can request it from one of the other locations that are listed. You could also limit your search to Dalhousie only or just one of the Dal libraries if you wish.
You can also search using Novanet Classic, the version of Novanet (with the green tabs) that you might be familiar with from previous years, by clicking on the tab labeled Novanet Classic. You can then search in the Novanet Catalog, which lists all the books and journals at Dalhousie, plus books and journals at all university & community college libraries in Nova Scotia. Try searching Durrenmatt and Pledge, using “any field” in the Search by keyword box. On the next page, you will see that the Killam Library and Université Sainte-Anne both have copies of this book. Click on Dal Killam Library to see if the Dal copy of the book is signed out. If it says “In library” you can sign it out from the library. If it is already signed out by someone else, you could then click on the Sainte-Anne copy and see if it is available and then request it via Novanet Express from another library. At the top of the Novanet page, you will see tabs where you can select the Full catalogue of all the Novanet libraries, just journals/serials titles with book titles left out, just Reserve readings, or just books in a particular library or a specific collection.
4. Requesting material from another library
If you can’t find the book you are looking for in the Novanet catalogue, it can be ordered through Document Delivery and delivered to the library of your choice for pickup. If you find the book you are looking for in the Novanet Catalog but not at the library you use most frequently, you can have the book brought in for you via Novanet Express. There is a link to Document Delivery under Locations and Services on the library main page. Click on that link and you will find a page with instructions about how to request a book from one of the other Novanet libraries (use Novanet Express) or from outside the Novanet system (use Document Delivery).
5. Help getting started with your research
A good way to get started is by looking at the Subject Guides, which have been put together by the library subject specialists for each of the disciplines taught at Dalhousie. Follow the link from the main library page and then scroll down to Arts and Social Sciences and find the German Subject Guide. You can also get help with using library resources at any of the public service desks in the Killam Library or one of the other libraries on campus. Another good place to start is at the Service Point in the Killam Lobby on the main floor. If you need in-depth assistance, you will be referred to Research Assistance staff.
6. Research Tools
If you click on the Research Tools tab at the top of the libraries main page, you will find a number of suggested ways to pursue your research or find assistance.
7. Writing & Style Guide
There are a number of different standardized styles and in many cases, your professor will tell you which style to use when writing a paper. The library has put together some quick guides for the more frequently-used styles – APA, MLA, Chicago and CSE. Click on the Writing & Style Guides tab at the top of the libraries main page and you will find links to these brief guides. There is also a link to the Writing Centre from the Writing & Style Guides page.
8. RefWorks
On the Writing & Style Guides page, you can also find under Quick Links a link to RefWorks. RefWorks is a web-based citation manager that allows you to compile, edit and format bibliographies by importing references directly from online databases or by entering them manually and insert them into your finished paper in the citation style that you are using (eg. APA, MLA). Scroll down on the RefWorks page to set up an account and to find instructions, online tutorials, quick tips, etc.
9. Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Still under Writing & Style Guides, please take note of the section on the right hand side of the page. Click on the link called Avoiding Plagiarism and read the section under Academic Integrity. If you have questions about Academic Integrity at Dalhousie, take a look at this university webpage for answers: http://www.dal.ca/dept/university_secretariat/academic-integrity.html
Updated February, 2015