Using the New Library Search Tool

Have you used OCC Discovery yet? 

The new OCC Discovery search tool has been launched for over a month now.  Have you given it a try yet?  The goal of this blog is to highlight some of the features that may be helpful to you in your searches.

New Navigation Links on the Website

One of updates you may have noticed is the links on the left hand navigation have changed.  The key search options are: Search the Library and Databases A-Z. 

Search the Library 

The Search the Library link will take you into OCC Discovery.  From here you can search for:

• Textbooks for your courses
• Print books and e-books
• Films and documentaries
• and many of the library's subscriptions to newspapers, magazine, and journal articles.  

While this sounds like a one-stop shop, in order to get to the results you want it is essential to use the filters available to help you narrow your search.  (If you have conducted a search, you may have received hundreds of thousands. . . or even millions of results!) These filters or facets can dramatically help in finding the resources you need.   Let's look four of these way to filter just a little more.  (See the number on the image to the right which corresponds with the description below)  

Let's say you are looking for books containing monologues, you do a search, and you receive results for articles, books, films, and more.  

1. At the top of the screen, the number of results you have received for your search appears.  While the number is not necessarily important, not many of us will look through 30,000 results to find what we want.  (The example to the right shows over 50,000 results.) The next three ways to filter can help reduce that number.
   
2. You have the option to search: Everything, Articles, Library Catalog, or Textbooks.  Choosing one of these, besides Everything, is a great way to get started narrowing.  Everything: searches everything in Discovery. Articles: searches the articles and book chapters from our database subscriptions (so you will get more than just articles).  Library Catalog: searches books (print and electronic) and films.  Lastly, Textbooks searches only those items on reserve for your courses (textbooks, bone boxes, etc.)
   
3. The Availability option can also help you narrow.  Those that are particularly helpful are Peer-reviewed Journals (identifies items that are peer-reviewed) and Held by library (identifies items that are physically within the library).
   
4. Resource Type can very quickly limit your results to the type of resource you are looking for.  In the example above, the student needed a monologue book.  By selecting Books from the resource type, only books will appear in the results list.    

Databases A-Z

The other new link is Databases A-Z.  

This takes you to a list of all the databases (or electronic resources) available through the OCC Library.  This is a phenomenal resource.  

If you know the name of the database you want (i.e. Films on Demand), you can go directly to the letter the title begins with.  Or if you aren't sure which database you want, but you know the subject (i.e. psychology, history, business), you can select that from the drop down options.  Additionally, there are links to the most popular databases to get you quickly to the most used databases. 

Interested in learning more about the library? Attend one of the library workshops! No reservations needed! 

Library Closed: February 14-17 & 20th

The OCC Library will be closed Friday, February 14th - Monday, February 17th for the Presidents' Day holiday, and also on Thursday, February 20th for FLEX Day. 

Learn About the Library! Spring 2020 Workshops

The library provides workshops for students to learn how to do library and information research. The goal or mission of these workshops is based on the ultimate goal or mission of Information Literacy, which is that students learn library and information research skills that make them independent and life-long learners. Extra credit slips will be available if requested by your teacher. 

Description:

These 60 minute extra-credit workshops, held in the library's lecture room, will teach library and information research skills using print and electronic resources. They will also introduce the library's services and resources. Student will learn to identify and access the various library and information resources; to identify scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals; to search discipline-specific and advanced electronic resources; to do research on the web; to evaluate search results for credible resources; to cite their sources in either MLA or APA styles; and to understand how the proper use and citation of library and information resources helps avoid plagiarism.

Spring 2020 Workshop Schedule

Monday, Feb. 10, 6:00 - 7:00pm

Image by Pexels at Pixabay

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 11:00am-12:00pm
Saturday, Feb. 22,11:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 3:00-4:00pm


March
Wednesday, Mar. 4, 1:00-2:00pm
Tuesday, Mar. 10, 5:00-6:00pm
Saturday, Mar. 14, 11:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday, Mar. 17, 3:00-4:00pm
Thursday, Mar. 19, 1:00-2:00pm
Monday, Mar. 30, 6:00-7:00pm


April
Saturday, Apr. 4, 11:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday, Apr. 7, 5:00-6:00pm
Wednesday, Apr. 8, 3:00-4:00pm
Saturday, Apr. 11, 11:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday, Apr. 14, 5:00-6:00pm
Thursday, Apr. 23, 3:00-4:00pm
Tuesday, Apr. 28, 11:00am-12:00pm


May
Monday, May 4, 6:00-7:00pm

For More Information:

Contact Erin Gratz at egratz@occ.cccd.edu or the librarian's Reference Desk during the library's at (714) 432-5900.

Student Learning Outcomes:

When a student has completed these library workshops, they will be:

• Aware how to identify, access, and evaluate credible library and information resources using a variety of search strategies.
• Aware how to correctly cite library and information resources and avoid plagiarism.