Research Help

We're here to help. Call us at 253.566.5134, click on our Chat button (below) or come to the Reference Desk. The reference desk is in the area on the left as you approach the circulation desk from the main entrance. If these methods don't work for you, contact one of us to make an appointment.

Reference librarians are here to help you with anything related to research:

• Choosing or refining a topic
• Forming a research strategy
• Learning to use the many library resources available to students
• Evaluating the authority and accuracy of resources
• Citing resources in a specific style such as MLA or APA

Explore our Web site. We have a variety of tutorials available on topics such as using the library catalog or citing your sources in MLA and APA formats.

• If you are just starting your research, please ask a reference librarian to help you explore our specialized encyclopedias. They are an excellent starting point for obtaining an overview of a subject; identifying experts; recording key words and phrases for use in searching databases and the internet; and bibliographies that might lead you to other sources.
  
• If you need a book, use the library catalog. The catalog lists the location of books, video recordings, DVDs, CDs and slides. It also lists the titles of periodicals (magazines, journals and newspapers) that the library subscribes to in paper and contains links to ebooks and useful internet sites.
  
• If you need a periodical (magazine, journal or newspaper) article, use a periodical database. Periodical databases can be searched by topic and will provide citations (information on the author, title, date, page numbers, etc.of each article) and often the full text of the article as well.
  
• If you know the broad subject your topic relates to, try our research by subject pages as a starting point.

_{Last updated February 14, 2008}