Before you start:

• This assignment will be easier to do if you are using Internet Explorer 5.5 or above and you change your home page to lib2.clarkstate.edu/library. You will need to use LOIS, the Clark State Library Catalog from this page.
• If you are doing this from home, be sure that you log in on the OhioLINK home page (www.ohiolink.edu) before using any of the OhioLINK databases. You'll need to use the following databases at OhioLINK:
  • Academic Search Premier
  • LexisNexis Academic
  • Contemporary Authors
  • Oxford English Dictionary
• You'll need an up-to-date barcode. Check with the library staff to see that your record is current.
• For any questions, or help with this assignment, call (937) 328-6022, 328-6023 or email Carol Brown at: brownc@clarkstate.edu.
• Be sure you've read "Just walk on by" by Brent Staples starting on p. 181 in your textbook Student's Book of College English, 9th edition.

1. Does Clark State own any books by Mr. Staples? if so, list the title of one.

• From the Clark State library's home page (lib2.clarkstate.edu/library), click Catalogs.
• Select "Search our Catalog" under LOIS.
• Choose the author option and click on it. Enter: staples brent.
• If we have a book by Mr. Staples, its record will appear. (Notice that you generally don't have to capitalize and punctuate.)

2. Name an OhioLINK library which has books by or about Brent Staples.

• Click on Home. This time, when you click on Catalogs, select Search OhioLINK Central Catalog. The OhioLINK Central Catalog lists all the books and audiovisuals in 80 Ohio college libraries. Select Author and repeat the process in question 1.
•  When you get the browse screen, click on Staples, Brent A, 1951-. 
• Choose the first book called Parallel Times. Click on it to see the whole record. Click on Check Availability. 
• Write down the name of one of the college libraries that owns this book.

For the next few questions you will be using OhioLINK databases.

• From the Catalogs button or the Articles button click on OhioLINK Home Page. Notice the link to Explore OhioLINK Databases by Name. 
• Drag your mouse to it. Drag across the page and click on "C" for Contemporary Authors. This database gives you biographical information about authors. 
• When you get a form with boxes, enter staples brent in the first box and click on Search. Sometimes this takes a minute.

4. Contemporary Authors tells us that Brent Staples writes editorials for The New York Times. Locate one of his editorials through LexisNexis Academic. Print it and attach it to this sheet.

• Switch databases to LexisNexis Academic. You can find it from either My express Links or Explore OhioLINK Databases by Name. Both of these links are on the OhioLINK home page. If you are doing this assignment from off campus, select your database from the Explore OhioLINK Databases by Name.
• Click on LexisNexis Academic. You'll see the tabs for Quick News Search and Guided News Search. Click on Guided News Search.
  1. Choose a news category. Select General News
  2. At the news source box select major papers.
  3. Change the first box that says headline to Author. Type brent staples in the search box.
  4. The date option you can leave at the default, six months.
• If you have completed all of the steps, you should get a list of editorials that were written by Brent Staples that have appeared in The New York Times in the last six months.

5. The author uses the word "labyrinthine." Look it up, or its root word "labyrinth" in the Oxford English Dictionary and give a brief definition.
 

• To access the Oxford English Dictionary, choose Reference from the Clark State Library home page and click the link for the Oxford English Dictionary. You could also choose Explore OhioLINK Databases by Name, and then choose O for Oxford English Dictionary.
• Enter the word labyrinth or labyrinthine and choose the sb. option. Click there. Now you should see the definition. If you choose the word labyrinthine, you may also want to look at the root word, labyrinth. The hard copy of the Oxford English Dictionary is located in the main reading room on the dictionary stand if you'd like to use it.

6. Use the Academic Search Premier (ASP) database. Look up Brent Staples as a subject (not as an author.)

a. Write the title of an article about Mr. Staples.

b. Is the magazine or journal available at Clark State?

c. Is the full text available in ASP?

• Academic Search Premier (ASP) is located on the My Express Links page or in the Explore OhioLINK Databases by Name list. In the search box type: brent staples and review. Click search.
• Select an article from the resulting list. The citation (listing) will give you all of the bibliographic information about the article: who wrote it, what magazine it appears in, date, etc. It will also tell you that you can get the full text, and/or page image, or it will offer to have "OLinks find a copy." The full text and page image are copies of the actual article.
• Click "OLinks find a copy." This will tell you what library has the periodical that this article is in. In some cases OLinks will also connect you to a copy in another database.

7. Still using Academic Search Premier, search by subject--either use the Subjects tab or use the drop-down menu under default fields, and find an article on Race Relations.

a. What is the title of the article?

b. Is the full text available in ASP?

• Type Race Relations in the search box.  If you chose the drop-down menu, your results will appear when you click search.  There are over 3,000 results.  Choose an article from this first page and write down the title.  If the full-text is available, an HTML Full-Text or PDF Full-Text link will be on the screen.  If the full-text is not available, then an OLinks Find a Copy button will be there.
• If you click on the tab SUBJECT, then type in Race Relations and click browse.  The subjects that include Race Relations are shown.  You have a number of choices as seen below.  Choose the Periodical References for Race Relations.  As explained above, you can then choose a title from your results and if the full text is available an HTML or PDF link will be there: