Database Structure: Database- Record-Field
Highlights: Library Guides
Guide 13: MLA International Bilbliography on CD- ROM
the MLA International Bibliography on CD-ROM ?
The MLA(Modern Language Association) International Bibliography
on CD-ROM is an electronic database which consist of bibliographic
citations pertaining to language and literature.From the database
one can retrieve bibliographic citations to book and journal articles
on a particular topic.The Modern Language Association also produces
a print version of the index, also tilted MLA International Bibliography.
The print version is shelved in the reference Library (Ref Z7006.M64
the Book or Article
The MLA Database is only a tool that tells one what books and journals
contain articles on one's subject of interest.Once relevant citations
are retrieved, check to see if the library subscribes to the journal
or owns the book .The card catalogs(up to 1997) and LIUCAT(1980-present)
lists the books the library owns. The book, LIU Library Periodicals(located
near the CD-ROM terminals ,the card catalogs, and on the 4th floor),
is an alphabetical listing of the library 's journal holdings.
If the library
does not own the book or journal fill out an interlibrary loan(ILL)
form at the desk in the Reference Library.The library will obtain
the book or article from another Library and notify you when it
- Over 3000
- Books, working
papers, proceedings, bibliographies
Database Structure: Database- Record-Field
The database is where the records are contained.The modern Language
Association Bibliography is one of eleven database available to
library users.To start the MLA database choose "F)MLA International
Bibliography (Literature and Languages)" from the "CD-ROM Network
Application" menu.If the CD-ROM Network Applications menu is not
on the screen Select Quit from the commands menu or press
Ctrl, Alt,and Delete simultaneously.This will restart
the computer from the main menu.
The record is primarily a bibliographic citation for a particular
article or book.The record is broken down into specific fields.
The fields which make up the records are the basic components of
a bibliographic citation and other descriptive information about
the article or book.The most critical fields in detteremining the
usefulness of a record are:
- TI : (title)
- AU: (author)
When conducting a database search the objective is to retrieve a
mininmum number of records which contain the desired information
in the appropiate context.Below are searching techniques which allow
one to construct and narrow a search to avoid scrolling through
hundreds of irrelevant records.
searching techniques are covered here.If hundreds of records are
retrieved and one cannot think of a way to narrow the search consult
a Reference Librarian..Reference Librarians are available to
teach students, faculty and staff how to retrieve information using
all of the library's resources.
When terms are entered into the computer, the computer will search
for the term in the AU, TI, SO, and DE fields of the records, and
retrieve all of the records, and retrieve all of the recoprds in
which the terms appear, no matter what the context.
records from the database , at the Find: line, type in a
search term and press Enter.A search term can be a single
or several word term which describes the subject .
merchant of venice
Find: marxist criticism
Find: caribbean women
Boolean searching allows one to combine search terms using the boolean
operator "and","or",and "not".
This way one can be as specific as possible and eliminate inappropiate
records.The computer will retrieve records in which all of the search
terms appear. For example :
hemingway and short story and men
Find: merchant of venice
and shylock not theatrical production
Find: caribbean women and
(femini* or sexis* or patriarch*)
By putting an asterick(*) on the trunk of a partial spelling
the computer will search for the root of the word with its various
endings. An example of the various endings to the following term
may include character, characters, chracterization, feminist, feminism,
femini* and character* and english literature
Field specific searching allows one to search by a specific field
in the record. The computer will only retrieve records in which
the term appears in the fields indicated. This is a way in which
one can control the context in which the terms(s) appears, and eliminate
field specific search by typing the command "in" following
the term and indicating what field (i.e AU, TI, DE, SO )
the computer should look for the term in.For example:
deconstruction* in de and derrida in de
Find: carb-h* in au and african
american women in de
Find: Signifying monkey in
One can also
search by publication year. This is useful if one is looking
for an article published in a certain year, by a particular author.
One can also search a range of years.
in au and py = 1990
Find:culler in au and literary
theory in de and py=1990-1996
and On-screen Instructions
The menu commands
are located at the bottom of the screen. These commands allow one
to change screens and excute particular functions(i.e.,print).
READ THE SCREEN
Most databases use the natural language commands , meaning the commands
should be self explanatory and do what they say.The most common
sets of menu commands are:
Below the row(s)
of menu commands there are additional instructions related
to the command that is highlighted in gray, or what is currently
on the screen.
a menu command:
1)press the yellow letter that the command begins with
space bar to move the gray bar to the desired command and
For an explanation
of a menu command:
1)press the space bar to move the gray bar to the desired
command and press F1(help).
2) just try
it, be creative, and experiment.