Foreign Languages

Books are the best source for indepth information when you really need to know a subject in and out. Typical books are structured in such a way as to lead you from little knowledge about a subject to a more thorough understanding; this cannot usually be said for web resources or articles. Scholarly articles are typically written by and for experts in a field and so cannot be easily understood by someone that is not familiar with the jargon of that area. Web resources are often the best option for up to date information, but usually do not provide any in depth examination of the information.

Books & Multimedia

1. Browse to the Library's Home Page and click on Advanced Search link in the Resources box.
    
2. Look below the search boxes to the "Limit to" options. One of the options is Language:  Click on the slide down menu to select a Foreign Language.
    
3. Once the language is set to French you may put any english keywords into the search boxes that fit your topic, or Foreign Language words for the title.

Think of the best keywords to enter and be ready to change them as you pursue your topic. Try using a subject encyclopedia or dictionary for specialized terminology. Get ideas for new keywords by carefully examining the subject fields in your first results.

Try these search features:

• Use quotes to search for phrases (example: "spanish language”)
   
• Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to broaden or narrow your search (example: language AND grammar)
   
• Use truncation (example: arab* will retrieve arab, arabic, arabian)
   
• Sort results by date or relevance
   
• Browse subject headings