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This section will help you to:

• Find your way round the library and its facilities
• Locate the texts you need
• Do some basic research

In the course of your studies, you will probably become a frequent visitor to the library. It is a rich source of information with excellent facilities. It is important that you become familiar with how to use it effectively, get to know the general layout and understand how to get access to the information that you want. 

Remember, library staff are there to help. When unsure of anything ask for assistance.

Finding Your Way Round the Library and its Facilities

• Journals, magazines – These contain original and review articles on a wide range of subjects.  Filed alphabetically by title, current issues are on display, back issues underneath. Back copies may be borrowed for up to one week. Ask library staff for a full alphabetical listing.

• Photocopying and printing - Both facilities are available through your student matriculation card.

• Internet and IT - Free of charge, you can access the Internet plus the whole Microsoft suite from any PC within the Library.

• Inter-library loans - If the material you need is not in stock in West Lothian College or Public Libraries, it can be borrowed from another library.  This may take a number of weeks, a point to bear in mind if working to set deadlines

• Study space - There are a number of quiet study space facilities within the library.

• Staff support - The staff are there to support you in all aspects of your work, from finding the correct resources to using the IT and Internet facilities

• Long opening hours - The library is normally open 8.30am to 9 pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 8.30 am to 5.45m Wednesday, and Friday 8.30am to 3.15 pm, during the College term.

• Reference Resources - An extensive range of reference books including encyclopaedias, yearbooks, subject dictionaries etc are available.

• Special Collections - We have a few special collections that may be of use in your studies. The Social Information File includes details of ‘special needs’ groups and social issues. The Community Information File includes information on the environment, your rights, housing, government. Local History provides information of local historical relevance and the Art File which provides information on local and national arts organisations.

Online Resources

From any college PC with internet you now have access to a number of online databases. These include Newsbank, an online database of national newspapers, Issues Online, online database covering many topical social issues plus many more useful resourses to support your college work. Some of these can also be accessed from home using either an Athens password or your library card number A full list of all the online resource plus how to access them can be found in the library section of the College website at www.west-lothian.ac.uk. Click on Students, then College and Reference library then Online resources.

Learning How to Use the Library

Things you need to know about the library

• Library Layout - Find out where resources are located, i.e. the main lending and reference stock, journals, special collection, etc.

• Using the Facilities - You have to be a member of the library before you can use the facilities. Membership forms are available from the Library counter. Find out about the photocopying, how to borrow items, loan periods, overdue policies, etc.

• How the library is organised - The college library uses the Dewey Decimal system of classification. This is a scheme that breaks subjects down by numbers and allocates numbers to subjects. It uses 10 broad classes of subject for the main branches of knowledge, eg.
  
  100 Philisophy
  200 Religion
  300 Social Sciences, etc.
  
  Each broad class has 10 subdivisions, eg.
  
  300 Social Sciences
  310 Statistics
  320 Political Sciences, etc.
  
  Try to become familiar with the numbers relevant to your course of study.

Finding Books and Other Items

• Browsing - Find out the relevant classification number for your chosen subject and browse in and around that number.

• Use the College Catalogue - A more precise way to find a particular title, author or what is available on a given subject is to check the catalogue. This available on the internet at www.west-lothian.ac.uk click on Student  then College and  Reference Library then Catalogue. Remember, this is a joint catalogue with the Public Libraries and Schools in West Lothian . Some of the items you are looking for may be held elsewhere but, on your request, can be brought to the College for you.  Always allow time to gather information.

Check out the other information available from the Reference Library section of the College website.

Basic Research

Don't judge a book by its cover

• Part of the skills involved in using the library is the ability to use resources effectively. Despite not being able to find anything either in the catalogue or on the shelves that will obviously answer your enquiry, go to the area in the library where you would expect to find something on the subject. Pick up a book in this area, check the contents pages, the index. For example, looking for information on the Warnock Report on Special Education. If you do a subject search using “ Warnock” as your subject term, you won’t find anything. There are also no books entitled simply The Warnock Report. However if you go to the special needs education section in the library  (371.9), pick up almost any book in this section and look up the index pages, you should find relevant information.

• Think about what you are looking for and different ways of finding information on the same subject. Decide on your search strategy, e.g. looking for information about disability. Try the Special Needs section, ask yourself what type of disability am I interested in, what do I want to know about it? Is it a specific syndrome or disability and should I use these specific keywords when checking the catalogue, indexes etc.

• The Internet is an invaluable research tool with a few excellent search engines eg.  Google  at  www.google.co.uk plus subject gateways eg.  BIZED (business) www.bized.co.uk. These, plus many more useful sites, have been organised for easy access from the library homepage at  http://www.west-lothian.ac.uk/students/programme.asp  Remember, as when using  other sources of information  organise your search strategy. Think through what you are looking for and how best to approach it. Anyone can put information on the internet so always make sure your information is coming from a reputable and recognised source. Take note of the full internet address and when you accessed it as you may need these details for your bibliography.