The Oxford Guide to Library Research (Paperback)

by Thomas Mann (Author) "The best way to start many inquiries is to see if someone has already written an overview that outlines the most important facts on the..." (more)
Key Phrases: classified bookstacks, right subject headings, geographic area codes, The Oxford Guide, United States, Library of Congress (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"An excellent and thorough guide, especially useful in emphasizing the virtues of traditional (non-electronic) sources and shelf browsing."--Steve Kuehler, EDS, Western Jesuit Library

"In a constantly evolving and often bewildering research environment, Mann's exceptionally intelligent, succinct, and practical guide will become essential for novices as well as experienced scholars. He adroitly combines up-to-date expertise in electronic sources with reassuring mastery of traditional methods."--Robert Parks, Robert H. Taylor Curator of Autograph Manuscripts, The Pierpont Morgan Library

Product Description
Let a general Reference Librarian at the Library of Congress show you the best ways to find the information you need.

With all the changes in information storage and retrieval, anyone doing research today may feel unsure of the most efficient ways to use the library. Through clear explanations of nine fundamental methods of searching, Thomas Mann provides an overview of little known but powerful strategies used by librarians and information specialists. These techniques can be applied profitably to almost any area of research, from discovering business records or government documents to unearthing manuscripts in archives or finding genealogical Web sites on line. Chapters explain how to take advantage of controlled vocabularies, browse library shelves systematically, construct keyword searches, use published bibliographies, and even make personal contacts with knowledgeable people. Throughout, Mann enlivens his advice with real world examples, positing along the way some energetic and reasoned arguments against those theorists who have prematurely announced the demise of print. Against the trendy but mistaken assumption that "everything" can be found on the Internet, Mann asserts the lasting value of physical libraries and time tested research strategies, while acknowledging the complementary applications of computer technology. All formats--including books, journals, newspapers, microforms, audiovisual materials, primary documents, bibliographic databases, and digital libraries on the World Wide Web--are considered for their unique advantages, as well as for their limitations.

Required reading for students, scholars, information seeking professionals, and laypersons, The Oxford Guide to Library Research offers a rich, inclusive overview of the field, one that can save its readers countless hours in the search for information.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (September 3, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195123131
• ISBN-13: 978-0195123135
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #725,306 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Researcher's Best Friend, January 9, 2006

By	Irvin L. Matus (Washington DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Oxford Guide to Library Research (Paperback)

The third edition of Thomas Mann's "Oxford Guide to Library Research" is an indispensable friend for students and scholars, or anyone in the general public who has a hobby, a pet project or just the desire to know, and wants not only to improve their research skills but to learn - and take full advantage of - all the resources available to the library researcher in the Computer Age. When the second edition of the "Oxford Guide" was published, all the way back in 1998, computer programs in libraries were pretty much limited to a catalogue of a library's holdings, a smattering of databases perhaps, and Internet access, maybe. Dr. Mann unfolds the riches that may now be found at library workstations and the new ways to find the best on its shelves.

And you can't hope for a better guide. A reference librarian in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress for 25 years, Dr. Mann's firsthand experience in helping patrons get the most out of their library experience is evident in this book. While some would consign libraries and the outmoded technology they were built to house (known as books) to the dustbin, Dr. Mann reveals how computers have done more for library research and serious scholars than for the search for general, often disorganized and unreliable, "information" on the Web.

In the early days of computerization there was a popular acronym for the uncertain results of Internet searching, GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out). It has been supplanted nowadays by the kinder, gentler "I feel lucky" or, for the happy-go-lucky, the "sloppy search." Use these methods, whether on a search engine or a library computer catalogue, you'll likely lwind up with thousands of hits. (Good luck.) But here's Thomas Mann to the rescue. In his chapters on subject headings, on keyword searches and on Boolean combinations and search limitations, he sets out to help you define your subject concisely and precisely, and choose the search methods that will get you to the best sources for your project, instead of settling for what is "good enough." (Is it?)

In "The Oxford Guide to Library Research" you will learn how the indexed subheadings in a subject browse on the library computer catalogue can turn up unexpected sources - instant bibliographies, so to speak - that are just right for your topic, as well as how to negotiate such as the electronic databases with full-text articles from thousands of journals and newspapers. The rest of the book is devoted to the range of print and electronic resources: the specialized encyclopedias on topics that you would never imagine have encyclopedias of their own; microform and CD-ROM databases; online programs that can locate books in a more distant library if it turns out that what you seek is not available in your local branch. An innovation in this edition of the "Oxford Guide" is facsimiles of the actual search pages of major databases to illustrate examples in the text. His invaluable chapter, "Hidden Treasures," has grown by half again from the one in the second edition, now noting print collections that are also available in online databases, as well as a selection of collections exclusive to the web.

Dr. Mann's major goal is to get you to the sources you want, and ones you don't yet know you want, in the most direct and effective way; to make you think, not like a librarian, but as someone with a specific personal research goal, and to give you the knowledge and skills to accomplish it. He peppers the book with anecdotes from his firsthand experiences with researchers, the college student, the accomplished professor and the weekend scholar, while relating information in a conversational, descriptive fashion with sparing use of professional jargon. With "The Oxford Guide to Library Research" at hand when you get to work on your next project, you may discover that doing the research for it is half the fun of getting there. Or, maybe, all of it.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Tool for Any Researcher of Library Patron, January 8, 2004

By	Carl Franklin "Author and Professor" (Cedar City, UT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Outstanding work with clear illustrations and examples of how to improve your library research. I learned more about library research in this book than in all my years pursuing a doctorate degree.

A MUST have for anyone who spends time in the library. You do not have to be a professional researcher or academician to get useful tools from this book. My kids have read the book as well, and their research projects for school improved dramatically.

I strongly recommend this book is you plan any research projects in the future.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learn in-depth ways to use library information!, December 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Oxford Guide to Library Research (Hardcover)

This is a terrific book for anyone interested in books and finding information. The author works at the Library of Congress, and has extensive experience looking for information of all kinds. he uses both print and electronic sources, and both to great advantage. His tips on using ordinary sources are exceptional; for example, did you know that the AMERICANA often prints important American speeches in their entirety? If you are a book lover, this is a useful guide, which you will use for a long time.