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Evaluating Internet Sources: Home

A guide to evaluating websites for quality

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Hours

Spring 2024 Hours (starting January 21)

  • Mondays-Thursdays: 8am-8pm
  • Fridays: 8am-4:30pm
  • Saturdays: 1pm-4:30pm
  • Sundays: 1pm-8pm

Glossary of Library Terms

  • Abstract
    A short summary. Most articles in library databases have an abstract. Reading it will help you understand what the article is about and if you would like to use it in your research.
  • Call number
    A series of numbers and letters that tell you where a book is located in the library. Staley Library uses the Library of Congress classification system, which arranges books by their subject.
  • Find It!
    The hyperlinked Find It! text is seen in our library databases and the WorldCat online catalog. Clicking on this text will help you locate the electronic full text of articles, print copies of articles, or request an article or WorldCat book through the ILLiad system.
  • Full text
    The entire article. Many of the articles in library databases are available in full text in either HTML or PDF format.
  • I-Share  
    A service to get books from 90 academic and research libraries in Illinois. Accessible through Millikin Library Discovery.
  • ILLiad
    A service that Staley Library uses for interlibrary loan. Use your ILLiad account to manage requests for articles and non-I-Share books. You'll find a link to ILLiad in your myMillikin account, under the "Academics" menu.
  • Interlibrary loan
    A system for getting library materials, such as books and articles, from libraries other than Staley Library.
  • Keywords
    Significant words and phrases used to describe your research question or subject. Use them as search terms in databases, catalogs, and search engines.
  • Library database
    A way to access articles (and sometimes audio, video, & images). Library databases provide access to scholarly materials that you cannot find on the open web through search engines like Google or Bing.
  • Library catalog
    A tool to find print and electronic materials (books, audio/video, scores, journals) at Staley Library. Use Millikin Library Discovery to access the library catalog.
  • Millikin Library Discovery
    Millikin Library Discovery is a tool for searching all of our books, audio/video recordings, and electronic periodicals, plus a large portion of articles available through our subscription databases.
  • Periodical
    A publication that comes out at regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.). We often divide this general term into terms for more specific types of periodicals, such as: newspapers, magazines, trade or professional periodical, and scholarly, academic, refereed, or peer-reviewed journal.
  • Subject terms
    Terms used to classify what the article or book is about. Use the subject terms in Millikin Library Discovery or in the library databases to find more sources on your topic.
  • WorldCat
    An online catalog that searches public libraries and out-of-state (outside Illinois) libraries. Attempt to find your items through I-Share first, before using WorldCat.

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