Your Touro College librarian will help you find relevant print and nonprint material in the our collections.  S/he will help you find proprietary and public domain (free) resources on the Web.  Your librarian can refer you to other libraries and obtain material from other libraries.  S/he can also provide you with expert research advice, extensive reference assistance, and comprehensive library instruction.

Knowing how libraries are organized and what services are available will make your research easier.
 

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Research advice and reference assistance are available your libraries' reference desk.  These services include guidance in the selection and use of library material and online resources.  It also includes help refining your Search Techniques.  Before you begin research for term papers, projects, and assignments, review our Research & Writing Guide and contact your librarian; consult Library Locations & Hours for maps and contact information.  Off-campus research and reference help is also available by email via our Ask a Librarian feature (under "Library Services" in the upper left); response time is within 48 hours, except for weekends, holidays, and intersessions.

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Borrowing Policies & Procedures

Loan periods	To check out items, you must have a barcoded Touro ID or library card. Books (and audiotapes, diskettes, CD-ROMs) - two weeks (faculty, a semester),      conditions below.  Audio-CDs, videotapes, DVDs - two weeks (faculty only), conditions below. netLibrary ebooks - four hours. Reference material, journals, and microforms do not circulate.  Reserve items do not circulate, but may be checked out for in-library use for periods      of three hours and are charged $1 for every hour overdue (no grace period).      They may be checked out overnight one hour before closing if there are two copies      on reserve and if the item can be returned one hour after opening the next day.
Renewals	Items may be renewed after being checked out seven days unless they have been requested by other patrons.  To renew an item, present it in person at any library, or update My Account of charge outs, due dates, and any accrued fines.  You will find the My Account feature on our Virtual Library (www.touro.edu/library/) and via the Books & Media (Library Catalog).  To use this feature, you must have a barcoded Touro ID or library card.
Returns	When possible, items are to be returned to the library from which they were borrowed.  This will ensure that there are no outstanding circulation records in your name.
Requests	If an item is checked out to another patron, or located at a library you do not use frequently, you may place a hold on it and/or have it transferred to the library of your choice by clicking on the REQUEST button at the bottom of its Books & Media (Library Catalog) record.  You cannot request items that are reference, reserve, ebooks, etheses, or ejournals.  Do not request items with a Status of MISSING.  Make your requests well in advance of need since the loan period is two weeks and it often takes as long as two weeks for material to arrive from other libraries.  The Books & Media (Library Catalog) can be found on our Virtual Library (www.touro.edu/library/).  To use the REQUEST feature, you must have a barcoded Touro ID or library card.
Recalls	All items are subject to recall after 14 days.  Should an item you checked  out be recalled, you will receive a "Recall Notice" in the mail with the new due date by which the item must be returned.  Charges for overdue recalled items are $1 per day.
Limits	The library reserves the right to limit the number of items that can checked out at any one time based on demands on the collections.
Overdues	There is a grace period of three days for overdue circulating items.  After three days, there is a charge of ten cents per day per item. The maximum charge for each circulating item is $15.  Once a patron has three overdue items, their borrowing privileges are suspended.
Lost Items	Report lost items immediately.  The charge for a lost item is its cost, a $15 processing fee, plus any overdue charges accrued to the date the item is declared lost.  Items not returned within a semester after the due date will be declared lost with the borrower responsible for the cost of its replacement.
Penalties	Patrons who fail to return items or clear outstanding records will be reported to the Bursar.  The library reserves the right to suspend borrowing privileges for patrons who accumulate overdue charges in excess of $15, have overdue reserve material, have reached the maximum number of circulating items, or have failed to return overdue recalled items.
Damaged Items	The charge for an item returned in such poor condition that it can no longer be circulated is its cost plus a $15 processing fee.
Adjustments	An adjusted refund is given for items found and returned after payment is made provided the items have not been reordered.  The refund is the cost of the item and the $15 processing fee.
Alumni	College alumni may use material in the library, but may not charge material out.  College alumni may also use proprietary electronic resources in the library, and off-campus with a remote login and password.

To locate ebooks, etheses, and other non-print material on the Web, consult the material on Finding Books & Media.
 

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To locate articles in print journals and ejournals on the Web, consult the material on Finding Journal Articles.
 

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To find other nonprint material, consult the material on Finding Books & Media (for ebooks, etheses, etc.), Finding Journal Articles (for ejournals and ejournal databases), and Searching the World Wide Web (for subject directories, search engines, and deep Web resources).
 

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If items are at another Touro library, you can go to that location or your librarian can, in most cases, obtain them for you by intralibrary loan.  If you teach or take courses outside of metropolitan New York or Long Island, you can have Touro material mailed to you.  If material is not owned by or available at Touro, your librarian can, in most cases, get it for you by interlibrary loan via OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and its LVIS (Libraries Very Interested in Sharing), or by commercial document delivery.  If material is not owned by Touro, your can ask your librarian to purchase it.  You can also  Request Material Online.  If you are using a Touro computer, you will be able to link to forms via Request Material Online.  If you are using an off-campus computer, you will be able to use these forms with a remote Login & Password.

If a specific item is not available in a Touro or public library, you may be referred to a METRO (Metropolitan New York Library Council) or LILRC (Long Island Library Resources Council) library where you can consult the item on-site.  If you need resources on a specific subject not available in a Touro or public library, you may, for limited and fixed periods of time, be referred to a METRO or LILRC library where you can consult the resources on-site.
 

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This guide reviews information in the "About the Libraries" and "Library Services" portion (in the upper right) of our Virtual Library (www.touro.edu/library).  It also explains how to use the links in the "Find Resources" portion (in the upper right) in sections noted below.
 

• The section on Finding Books & Media describes how to locate books and media (audiotapes, audio-CDs, videotapes, DVDs, slides, microfilm, microfiche, diskettes, CD-ROMs, ebooks, etheses, ejournal databases).  It explains how to view your account of charge outs, due dates, and any accrued fines, and how to renew material online.  It also covers how to identify course reserves in the libraries.

• The section on Finding Journal Articles discusses how to link to proprietary (purchased or subscription) ejournals, search proprietary and public domain (free) databases for articles, and search indexes for citations and abstracts.  It also covers how to locate subscriptions to print journals and backfiles on microfilm and CD-ROM.

• The section on Searching the World Wide Web details a two-part process.  The first part involves Finding Web Resources by using subject directories, search engines, and deep Web resources.  The second part entails Evaluating Web Resources to determine their appropriateness for research.

• The section on Gray Literature describes how to find documentary material that is not commercially published.

• The section on EReserves discusses how to access required electronic course reserves.

The search tools mentioned above (the catalog, subject directories, search engines, etc.) are online indexes or databases.  To use them effectively, you should understand some fundamental search techniques.
 

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• Example:  In some databases, teach* will retrieve teach, teacher, teaches, teaching, etc..

• Examples:  "death penalty"  "gun control"  "special education"  "cold war"

• Boolean logic refers to the relationship among search terms.  It consists of three operators: OR, AND, and NOT.

• OR broadens a search.  It retrieves records with AT LEAST ONE term present.  The more synonymous terms you combine, the more records you retrieve.

• Example:  college or university retrieves records that contain college, university, or both terms

• AND narrows a search.  It retrieves records with BOTH terms present.  The more terms you combine, the fewer records you retrieve.

• Example:  poverty and crime retrieves records that contain both poverty and crime, not records with just one or the other

• NOT narrows a search.  It retrieves records with ONLY ONE term present.  Be careful when you use NOT.  The term you want may be present in documents that also contain the word you wish to avoid.

• Example:  cats not dogs retrieves records that contain cats and excludes records that contain dogs, and also those that contain cats and dogs

• Boolean logic can appear in databases in three ways.  It can involve full boolean with use of the operators.  It can be implied with keyword searching.  It can also be imbedded in predetermined language on a template or menu.

• Full boolean uses OR, AND, NOT, and parentheses to force the order of processing.  Parentheses keep semantically-related terms together as a logical unit.

• Example:  (international or global) and finance retrieves records that contain international, global, or both terms, then combines that result with records that also contain finance

• Implied boolean uses symbols to represent boolean operators.  The absence of symbols is also significant, as the space between keywords defaults to either OR or AND.  This has become a defacto standard.  Many resources that traditionally defaulted to OR are now defaulting to AND.

• Example:  cats felines could imply cats OR felines or cats AND felines.  Read online HELP screens and guides to be sure.
• Example:  +dyslexia +adults implies AND and retrieves records with BOTH terms present.
• Example:  warfare -biological implies NOT and retrieves records with warfare and excludes records that contain biological, and also those that contain warfare and biological
• Examples:  criminal forensic +psychology could retrieve criminal OR forensic or criminal AND forensic (read online HELP screens and guides to be sure) AND combines that result with records that also contain psychology

• Predetermined boolean uses a search template or menu from which you can choose boolean operators, usually with substitute language.

• Example:  Any of these words/Can contain the words/Should contain the words - means OR
• Example:  All of these words/Must contain the words - means AND
• Example:  Must not contain the words/Should not contain the words - means NOT

• If available (read online HELP screens and guides to be sure), use a proximity operator (NEAR, etc.) to express an AND relationship between your terms.  This will guarantee that your terms are found close to each other in the full text of the sources found.  The closer your terms are placed, the more likely the search results will be relevant.

• Examples:  "poverty near crime"  "dyslexia near adults"

• Example:  TITLE:acupuncture will produce fewer results than searching acupuncture as a keyword.

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To identify more books and media, use proprietary and public domain Bibliographies & Indexes.  Proprietary resources also appear in the Books & Media (Library Catalog) and on the  Proprietary Databases and  eBooks lists.  The index records you retrieve will have a citation and abstract, but no books or media to print or view.  To obtain those books and media, use the Books & Media (Library Catalog).  (For information on items available in the libraries, consult the material on Reference & Reserve, Nonprint Material, and The Circulating Collection.)
 

• The catalog is an online index that can be searched by many elements, including author, title, subject, and words.  It also notates required Library Catalog Course Reserves.  (For information on online course reserve material, consult the material on  EReserves.)  Before you submit your search terms, take a few minutes to read the online HELP screens so your queries will be constructed properly.  You should know that in an author search, the last name must be typed first, and that in a word search, you can use boolean operators.  To learn more about boolean logic, consult the previous material on Search Techniques.  When doing subject searches, use Library of Congress Subject Headings and Medical Subject Headings when possible.  These controlled vocabularies are helpful when you do not have specific items in mind, and when you want to know all that is available on a topic.

• The records you retrieve may tell you which library owns the item and whether it is Reference & Reserve, Nonprint Material, or in The Circulating Collection.  These records will provide the classification or call number which tells you where the item is located on the shelf.  You will find items classified according to LC (Library of Congress) and NLM (National Library of  Medicine).  To find items similar to the ones you retrieved, click on one or more subjects provided at the bottom of each record.  You can also browse through similar items by clicking on the call number.  You will often be able to limit your search results by language, material type (videorecording, ebooks, etc.), and year of publication.

• The records you retrieve may provide a link to a resource on the Web.  If you are using the catalog from a Touro computer, you will be able to link to all the proprietary and public domain Web resources that your search retrieves.  If you are using an off-campus computer, you will be able to link to all public domain resource; proprietary resources, however, require a remote Login & Password.

To broaden your search to all or selected proprietary and some public domain ebooks, etheses, and ejournal databases, use the eBooks & eJournals (Central Search).  To learn about ejournals and ejournal databases, consult the material on Finding Journal Articles.  To learn about documentary material not commercially published (etheses, etc.), consult the material on Finding Gray Literature.
 

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To identify more articles, use proprietary and public domain Bibliographies & Indexes.  Proprietary resources also appear in the Books & Media (Library Catalog) and on the  Proprietary Databases list.  A few public domain public domain ejournal databases also appear in the Books & Media (Library Catalog).  The index records you retrieve will have a citation and abstract, but no article to print.  To obtain those articles, use the  eJournals page (see above).  (For information on journals available in the libraries, consult the material on The Print Journal Collection.)
 

• Full-text databases and online indexes can be searched by many elements, including author, title, subject, and keyword.  Each resource has its own unique interface (search software).  Before you begin using a new resource, take a few minutes to review any online HELP screens and guides so your queries will be constructed properly.  You may often be able to refine your search query by using  truncation, phrases in quotation, boolean logic, and field searching.  To learn more about these methods, consult the previous material on Search Techniques.  When doing subject searches, look for an online thesaurus.  These controlled vocabularies are helpful when you do not have specific items in mind, and when you want to know all that is available on a topic.

• If you are using online resources from a Touro computer, you will be able to link to all the proprietary and public domain Web resources that your search retrieves.  If you are using an off-campus computer, you will be able to link to all public domain Web resources; proprietary resources, however, require a remote Login & Password.

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• Full-text databases and online indexes can be searched by many elements, including author, title, subject, and keyword.  Each resource has its own unique interface (search software).  Before you begin using a new resource, take a few minutes to review any online HELP screens and guides so your queries will be constructed properly.  You may often be able to refine your search query by using  truncation, phrases in quotation, boolean logic, and field searching.  To learn more about these methods, consult the previous material on Search Techniques.  When doing subject searches, look for an online thesaurus.  These controlled vocabularies are helpful when you do not have specific items in mind, and when you want to know all that is available on a topic.

• If you are using online resources from a Touro computer, you will be able to link to all the proprietary and public domain Web resources that your search retrieves.  If you are using an off-campus computer, you will be able to link to all public domain Web resources; proprietary resources, however, require a remote Login & Password.

To broaden your search to all or selected proprietary and some public domain gray literature, use the eBooks & eJournals (Central Search).  To learn about physical items (books and media) and in the collections and resources on the Web (ebooks, etc.), consult the material on Finding Books & Media.  To learn about ejournals and ejournal databases, consult the material on Finding Journal Articles.
 

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• There are two basic types of subject directories.  Academic and professional directories are created and maintained by subject experts to support the needs of researchers.  Commercial directories and portals cater to the general public and compete for traffic.  Be sure to use the type of directory that appropriately meets your needs.

• Subject directories differ significantly in selectivity.  Try to read the policies of the directories you visit.  This can be a challenge since not all directories disclose their policies nor the names and qualifications of their site reviewers.  This is especially true of commercial directories.

• Many people bypass subject directories and go straight to search engines.  However, remember that academic and professional directories contain carefully chosen and annotated links.  Do not overlook them when searching for quality on the Web.

• Our Web & Search Sites directory has lists of general and subject-specific subject directories.

• There are three components to search engines.  Programs called wanderers, crawlers, robots, worms, spiders, etc., traverse the Web from link to link, identifying and reading pages.  Indexes or databases have copies of Web pages gathered by the programs.  Search engine interfaces or software enable users to query the indexes and usually return results in relevancy ranked order.

• Search engines do not involve selection criteria.  However, evaluation can be applied to the ranking of results.

• When you use a search engine, you will have a better chance of success if you understand some fundamental search techniques.  These techniques include the use of truncation, phrases in quotation, Boolean logic, and field searching.  Read the previous material on Search Techniques and how to apply them.

• Our Web & Search Sites directory has lists of general and subject-specific search engines.

• Deep Web content consists of two types of information.  Databases created by programs (Access, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, etc.) contain information stored in tables that is accesible only by query.  Non-textual files (graphical files, software, Portable Document Format [PDF], Musical Instrument Digital Interface [MIDI], etc.) that can be accessed directly.  Many search engines (AltaVista, HotBot, Lycos, etc.) have separate search options for locating these files.  Others (Google, etc.) integrate them into their general search service.

• Topical coverage on the deep Web is extremely varied and fluid as the number of databases proliferate.  When dealing with the deep Web, remember that many databases are searchable from their own sites.  Good subject directories will link to these sites and search engines will find them.  Once you connect to these sites, you can search their databases.

• Our Web & Search Sites directory lists deep Web tools on its subject directory and search engine pages.

• UC Berkeley Library - Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial

• Pandia Search Central
• SearchEngineWatch
• Search Engine Showdown

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Comprehensiveness - What is the depth of the information presented? Does it cover a time period, specific topic, claim to be inclusive?  Use additional print and electronic or online sources as support.

Currency - Is material up to date?  Check the date on the page to see when it was updated.

Links - Are the links relevant and appropriate?  Do not assume that linked sites are the best available.  Look for additional sites to be sure.
 

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• When you log in to this resource the first time, take a few minutes read "Information for New Users," then go to "Electronic Reserves & Reserve Pages" and search for material by course, department, instructor, or document.

• If you are using a Touro computer, you will be able to link to EReserves.  If you are using an off-campus computer, you will be able to use EReserves with a remote Login & Password.

There is a link to EReserves in Blackboard courses that require online course material.