You have access to over 37,000 printed books and 220,000 electronic books. 

 These books can give you an in-depth look at many topics on which you may want to write your paper.

To find books in the JSCC Library, use the online catalog.

Why use the JSCC Library resources?

a.  The materials found in the library are edited.

b.  The materials found in the library are often peer-reviewed.   (gone through by a panel of experts before being published)

c.  The JSCC Library pays for its resources and therefore these resources are usually not found through an Internet search.  Books, journal articles,etc. are protected by copyright and the JSCC Library by paying for these materials provides royalties to the authors.   These materials won't be found on the "free Internet".

The magazine and journal articles found through the electronic databases and the books in electronic format are password protected for those who access them from off-campus. 

By putting in your Netlogon (the way you access your eLearn course), you will gain access to these materials.

Magazine and Journal articles are excellent sources of information for your paper.  Here are several electronic databases in the JSCC Library that can help:

Evaluating Websites

All of the world's information is not available on the Web; some folks think it is. What is available on the Web's over one billion pages can be valuable or absolutely useless in your research. Unlike books, periodicals and newspapers, the Web has no editors or fact-checkers. Anyone can put anything on the Web. It could look impressive yet be wrong, outdated or offensive. It' important to be careful and think about the following as you surf the Web.

Authority and Accuracy

• Who wrote the Web page you are looking at?
• Is the person named an author or a Webmaster?
• What are the author's  credentials? Is s/he qualified to write on this topic?
• Does the document provide a way to contact the author (e-mail, phone number, address)?
• What is the purpose of the document? Why was it produced?
• What institution published the document? What is the domain (.edu, .gov, com, etc.)?

Bias/Objectivity

• What opinions (if any) are expressed by the author?
• Is the page a mask for advertising? Think of an infomercial you've seen on TV. Is this similar?
• Is the page objective? Are both sides of an issue addressed?
• How detailed is the information?

Currency and Coverage

• When was the page written? When was it placed on the Web? When was it revised?
• If the topic is timely, is the date recent? Are you looking at "stale" information?
• Are the links up-to-date? Are there "dead links?"
• Are sources credited?
• Is the site laid out clearly and logically with well-organized subsections?
• Is the writing style appropriate for the intended audience?
• Are there spelling or grammatical errors?
• Is the site easy to navigate?

If you have need of assistance in using the JSCC Library resources, please

a.  Contact the library through the librarian discussion forum through your online class

b.  Call the Library at 1-800-355-5722, ext. 615

c.  Use the online form on the JSCC Library web site

• Once you have chosen a topic, write down what appeals to you about the topic and on what aspects of the topic you may want to emphasize in the paper.
• Ask yourself: "What do I want to accomplish in the paper?"
• Write down key terms, ideas, people, dates, etc. dealing with the topic
• Try to outline the main points of the topic that you would like to develop.