Francophone Studies : Reference Sources

Reference sources include:

• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Bibliographies
• Directories
• Handbooks

Find a book on your topic

1. Use the Books tab on the Libraries Webpage.
2. In the search box, type the your keywords.
• You don't need to use punctuation marks or capitals.
3. Select Anywhere from the drop-down menu below the search box.
4. Click Search.
5. Notice the list on the left of the screen of ways to refine your results.
6. Click the titles of items in the result list that fit your topic best.
• To help you choose, consider the following:
  • Title of item: does it seem relevant to your topic?
  • Name of author: is it someone in the field you recognize?
  • Date of publication: how current is the book? (A book about medicine from the 1970s will be way out of date!)
• To find more books like this one,
  • Click the book's title to open the record.
  • Scroll down to the heading Subjects.
  • Click a subject that is relevant to your topic. A list of similar subjects displays.
  • Click the one you're interested in to see all the books at UW-Madison related to that subject.
7. Write down the book's location and call number.
• You'll need both to find it on the shelf!
8. Go to the appropriate library and pick up the book.
   • To find your call number on the shelves, ask a librarian for help or find a stack guide when you arrive.