Compiled and maintained by Jamie Schmid, M.S.L.I.S.
Reference Librarian and English Liaison Librarian
Updated March 12, 2008

This guide identifies basic information resources at Pius XII Memorial Library. The materials are located in Pius XII Memorial Library or are available via the Web. The guide is not comprehensive; rather, it should be used as a starting point for visiting high school students.
 

Basic Library Tour and Tutorial

Browsing Aid to Library of Congress Classification

How to Read Call Numbers in an Academic Library (University System of Georgia)

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Sometimes choosing your topic feels like hardest part of writing your paper. Pius Library has resources that can help you find a great topic.

CQ Researcher [You will only be able to access CQ Researcher from within Pius Library.]
Each issue of this resource explores all sides of a "hot" current topic in some depth. Use it to find research topic ideas, refine a topic, or get background information on a topic.
Print Equivalent: Ref. H 35 .E35 - Index Table 1 in Reference Room on Level 1

Issues and Controversies on File
Ref. JK1 .I77 - Index Table 1 in Reference Room on Level 1
Twice monthly publication summarizing current issues and controversies in political, economic, social, and scientific areas.

Opposing Viewpoints Series - Each book is shelved with its subject.
Series of books presenting pro and con positions on various topics, i.e., animal experimentation, violence, genetic engineering, gangs, etc. Link from the title to see a list of many books in the series.

Taking Sides - Each book shelved with its subject.
Book series presenting pro/con positions on various topics. Link from the title to see a list of books in the series.

Editorials on File
Ref. D 839 .E3
Reprints editorials on selected topics from newspapers across the U.S.

Congressional Digest
JK 1 .C65 (Recent issues in Current Periodicals on Level 2)
Provides overviews of topics debated by the U.S. Congress.
 

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Another option is to browse the section of the Reference Collection that fits your topic. Consult the Browsing Aid to Library of Congress Classification to find the appropriate call numbers.

[You will only be able to access the databases listed below from within Pius Library.]

Gale Virtual Reference Library
This is a collection of over 400 reference books that are searchable together or title by title. Subjects covered include history, philosophy, religion, science, business, information & publishing, literature, law, medicine, education, technology, and biography.

Oxford Reference Online
There are currently over 180 reference titles available. Titles include many of the Oxford Companion to... series, subject dictionaries, foreign language dictionaries, and illustrations from the Visual English Dictionary. Another feature is timelines drawn from many of the sources.

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To find books in the Library use the Saint Louis University Libraries Catalog (which includes the holdings of all SLU Libraries).
[You can access the Saint Louis University Libraries Catalog from anywhere.]

Location Information

Click on the SLU Pius link in the LOCATION section of a book record to view a map and see where the book is located.
Note: SLU MCL = Medical Center Library. SLU Law = Omer Poos Law Library.

OR

Use this Location Guide to locate books in Pius Library. Fit your book's call number into the ranges on the guide to figure out which floor of the library to go to.

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Use library databases to find articles on your topic.
[You will only be able to access these databases from within Pius Library.]

Some databases include full text articles; others only include citations and you must find the journal in another library database or in print or microfilm in the Library.  Try searching the following databases:

Academic Search Premier
This multidisciplinary database provides indexing and abstracting for 8,040 journals with over 4,060 in full text.

JSTOR
This archival journal resource provides access to the full-text of over 500 journal titles. Note that the last 1 to 7 years of each journal are not available in this resource.

Project Muse
This electronic journal collection provides full-text access to nearly 300 scholarly journals.

LexisNexis Academic
Provides online access to full-text news sources (newspapers and magazines), international news, current and historical court cases, current codes, historical bill tracking (brief legislative histories) for State and the United States bills that have been passed, business, financial, and company information.

Search additional Subject Specific Databases.

Location Information

As with books, the call number determines the location of periodical publications in the library. There are four possible locations for each periodical title.

• Browsing Area/Cafe Libros (Level 1) - most current issue of high-interest publications such as Time, Newsweek, New York Times, etc.
• Current Issues (Level 2) - current year of most periodical publications received by the library.
• Circulating Book Stacks (Lewis Annex plus Levels 2-5) - back issues of most periodicals are bound with a hard cover and shelved with the books by call number. Use the Location Guide to figure out which floor to go to.
• Microfilm (Level 2) - back issues of most weekly and daily periodical publications are kept on microfilm, as are some volumes of other periodicals.

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