Library Website Virtual Tour

Guides and Instruction

This section of the Web site has many valuable features. Some of the more popular ones are:

LIBGUIDES - if you are looking for a class handout or subject guide, you will be able to find it on this web page.

Citing Sources - All students need to understand and master the citation style of their disciplines. These pages give many examples of how to cite information taken from books, articles from print journals, articles from online databases or CD-ROM databases, Web sites, and so on. The examples cover both the MLA Style (Modern Language Association) and the APA style (American Psychological Association).

Controversial Topics series - this page is a listing of several helpful series of books that feature the pro & con position of many "hot" topics. The "Opposing Viewpoint" and "Current Controversies" series have small essays specifically written to support a position; the "Reference Handbook" series presents overviews and chronologies associated with different issues (for example, "Family Violence"). All of these books are available on the 2nd floor Reference Room and copies of most are available for loan on the 3rd and 4th floors.

The Research Paper - Written by two librarians here at Rio Hondo College, this handbook will help you to understand and apply good research skills. It includes a step-by-step description of the 10 steps to a great research paper, from how to choose your topic wisely to how to finish with a good bibliography or Works Cited page. The 20-page handbook can be downloaded and printed.

Internet Guides page includes  information About Search Engines, About Web Resources, Evaluating Websites in Power Point and html formats as well as the link to a Library Website Virtual.

About Search Engines -  Robots (spiders) troll the billions of pages on the Web for the search terms you type into the search box. No one evaluates the results you get from a search engine - except YOU! You typically retrieve huge amounts of irrelevant "hits" along with some worthwhile results. 

Search engines seem to come in and go out of favor. To keep on top of the search engine industry, and to find which engines are "hot" - we recommend that you visit Search Engine Showdown.

What else do you need to search the Web? You need to know about what has been called "The Invisible Web." The Invisible Web site FAQ states that "The Invisible Web consists of searchable information resources whose contents cannot be indexed by traditional search engines. These include databases, archived material, and interactive tools such as calculators and dictionaries. Since these resources are embedded within thousands of individual Web sites, they are not "visible" to the search engines of today." You can visit the Invisible Web site by clicking here.

About Web directories & portals - we recommend using a Web directory when you want to quickly find some authoritative Web sites because these directories have human editors who actually view and evaluate Web sites with regard to a number of important criteria, such as accuracy, authority, coverage, currency and objectivity.

Not sure about the differences between an online database and a web site? This helpful page explains all!

Web directories offer a categorical approach to the information on the Web. You normally start with a broad category in which you hope your topic belongs, and then click on more specific categories as you make your way to your topic. Most directories also have a Search function as well. Two examples of subject directories are the Librarian's Index to the Internet and the Open Directory Project.

Now on to Subject Guides