Introduction to library resources in Education
For basic information on Baldwin Library policies and procedures, see the brochure “Introduction to Baldwin Library.” Or call the library main desk at 1-229-391-4990. Or e-mail us at asklib@abac.edu.
Looking for information about teaching and learning? Ideas for lesson preparation or assessment? Statistics on educational attainment in the United States – or somewhere else? You will find the majority of the educational information you need will be contained in the journal literature. However, there are plenty of book resources for you to investigate. This handout is meant to serve as an introduction to the Education Literature. For specific questions or advice on a particular assignment, we would be very pleased to help you at the Reference Desk. Just ask!
Books
The Library of Congress call numbers for Educational resources will begin with the letter L.
It may be worth your time to browse the appropriate sections in the Reference Collection as well as the Main Collection upstairs. This is especially true if you have only a vague idea of an idea for a project or are looking for inspiration. Do remember that Education is a very “faddish” discipline. What was very cutting edge in the educational literature 15 years ago, may be very passé now, or, at the very least, be called by a different name. Unless you are interested in the history of Education, try to keep your resources less than 10 years old, and preferably, less than 5.
When using GIL (our on-line catalog) to find books you are not sure of the titles of, make sure you are looking at SUBJECTS rather than TITLES. You will find more material this way.
Don’t ignore the e-books!!! GIL gives you access to a number of digital books through NetLibrary. You will find these e- books by searching GIL, in the same way as you do looking for print books. To read these books off campus, you must set up a NetLibrary account while you are on campus.
GILExpress will let you request books that ABAC does not own from other University System of Georgia libraries. Interested? Ask one of the library staff for help.
Databases
GALILEO, Georgia’s Virtual Library, gives ABAC students access to many different research databases from every discipline. Often, the most difficult problem is choosing the best resources for your research interest. We often suggest these for education scholars. Find them by clicking on the Social Sciences tab 
and then choosing Education. If you find an article citation and no full text, you may request the article from one of the librarians using a process called Interlibrary Loan. This will take somewhere between 3 and 14 working days, usually. You may also choose to submit an ILL request electronically by using the form.
These are the databases you may find most useful.
Academic Search Complete Find this on the GALILEO main page. It is a very large database and contains many citations and full text articles on many aspects of education.
The Professional Development Collection is designed for professional educators and provides a highly specialized collection of nearly 550 high quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. This database also contains more than 200 educational reports.
ERIC (at EBSCOhost) – This is the Educational Resources Information Center database, which covers all aspects of education and educational research. This database is produced by the office of Educational Research and Improvement at the US Department of Education. This version of the database includes the searchable Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, which will help you quickly determine the words that ERIC uses to describe your topic. This will help you get the most relevant information out of the database.
TIP: Search the Professional Development Collection and ERIC at the same time! Click the 
just above the search box and then check both databases in the list.
Web Resources -- Google will bury you with junk … try these first!
INFOMINE: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections
Keep your searches simple here – “Lesson plans” , “Special Education”, “K-12” , “Adult Education” will get you some relevant results.
Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
Some good stuff here – but Kathy is also marketing her books and other products.
Revised 8/07
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