Reference Collection | Catalogs
Indexes and Databases | Internet Resources | Interlibrary Loan | Citation Guides

Specialized Encyclopedias and Handbooks:

Language, Linguistics, Communication:

The Encyclopedia of language and linguistics 14v. [RR P29 .E48 2006]

International encyclopedia of linguistics 4v. [RR P29 .I58 2003]

The handbook of linguistics [RR P121 .H324 2001]

The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language [PE1072 .C68 2003]

Encyclopedia of communication and information 3v. [RR P87.5 .E53 2002]

Encyclopedia of media and politics [RR P95.82.U6 E47 2007]

Media and politics in America: a reference handbook [RR P95.82.U6 S74 2002]

Compendium of the world's languages 2v. [RR P371 .C36 2000]

The Cambridge history of the English language 6v. [RR PE1072 .C36 1992]

A few useful dictionaries:

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) 20v. plus 3 volumes of Additions Series [RR PE1625.087 1989] Entries outline the history of a given word, from the date of its introduction to the present. Entries illustrate how meaning, pronunciation, and use have evolved over time. A good portion of each entry consists of examples of use over the centuries and includes references to the actual publications.

OED Online
Contains the complete text of the 20-volume Second Edition and its 3-volume Additions Series.

Morris Dictionary of word and phrase origins [RR PE1580 .M6 1977]

Sports talk: a dictionary of sports metaphors [RR PE1689 .P27 1989]

The Facts On File dictionary of foreign words and phrases [RR PE1670 .M26 2002]

The Oxford dictionary of modern slang [RR PE3721 .O94 2005]

The Oxford dictionary of pronunciation for current English [RR PE1137 .U66 2001]

Catalogs

Bridge catalogs resources available at St. Olaf and Carleton libraries. Use Bridge to search for books and periodicals, but not chapters within books or articles within periodicals.

• Use a Keyword search if you do not know the subject or you wish to combine more than one idea, e.g.["ethic* AND (computer* OR internet)] Use asterisk (*) to search various endings (e.g. "ethic*" will retrieve "ethic, ethics, ethical," etc.)
• Once you have found a key reference, explore the subject by clicking on the link in the catalog.
• Use the limiting option to search for different types of material (e.g. videos, DVDs, government documents), or specific publication dates.

You may request materials housed at Carleton directly from Bridge by clicking on the button.

WorldCat is a union catalog for libraries around the world, including most libraries in the United States. You may request materials from WorldCat through Interlibrary Loan, just remember to plan ahead!

Interdisciplinary (all include language and linguistics journals):

Academic Search Premier
A multidisciplinary database with access to over 8040 scholarly and popular publications, many in full-text. Covers 1975 to present.

JSTOR --An index to and full text of select, academic journals.

Project Muse -- An index to and full text of journals published by Johns Hopkins University Press and other scholarly publishers.

Subject-specific:

Language/Linguistics/Communication:

MLA International Bibliography -- The major index to literature journals. Also covers dissertations, proceedings, and articles in books. Subjects include literature, folklore, languages, and linguistics. Covers publications produced fom 1963 to present.

Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts -- Covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Complete coverage is given to various fields of linguistics including descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical and geographical linguistics.

Communication Abstracts -- A comprehensive source of information about communication-related publications on a world-wide scale.

Psychology:

PsycINFO -- provides access to international literature in psychology and related disciplines.

Sociology:

Sociological Abstracts -- An index to 2600 sociology journals plus book abstracts and review citations. Covers 1963-present.

Education:

ERIC -- An index to education journals, plus curricular material and reports gathered by the US Department of Education.

Newspapers:

LexisNexis Academic
Excellent source for full-text articles in national and international newspapers. Provides access to a wide range of news, business, legal, and reference information.

ProQuest Newsstand Complete
Full-text and abstracted newspapers, including New York Times (1999-) and Wall Street Journal (1984- ).

Remember to evaluate each site critically for authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage.

Based on "Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask." UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops. 7Jan. 2005. 14 Feb. 2005. <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html>, and "Evaluating Web Sites." The Ohio State Univeristy Libraries. 14 Feb. 2005. <http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/>

A few good directories that evaluate web contents:

Librarians' Index to the Internet -- "A searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 14,000 Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users of public libraries."

Infomine: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections -- "A virtual library of Internet resources relevant to faculty, students, and research staff."

The Scout Report Archives -- "A searchable and browseable database containing critical annotations of carefully selected Internet sites and mailing lists."

Use alexa.com service to glean more information about a Web site, including traffic ranking, statistics, and other pages that link to it.

Any item not owned by St. Olaf or Carleton may be ordered through Interlibrary Loan(ILL) provided you allow enough time (a week on average).