Lake Forest College Library

Reference books

Reference books provide background information and short bibliographies.

Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy (print)

Location: REF B51 .R68 1998

Credo Reference--Philosophy and Psychology (online)

John Stuart Mill

(image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Locating books

Use the online catalog to find books in the Lake Forest Library and even 70+ other academic libraries in Illinois.

Find books on philosophy by searching for your terms in Any Word. After you find a good book, look at its subject headings. Click on the most appropriate one to generate a subject search. Look through the list of subdivisions, which include bibliography, sources, historiography, etc.
If you are focusing on commentary on a person, search that person as a SUBJECT.
If we have an available copy of the book you want, write down the call number and retrieve the book downstairs. Browse the shelves in that area to find more books on the same topic.
To search for books from other libraries, click on "I-Share Catalog." When you find a book you want, click "request" and enter the 14-digit barcode number from the back of your ID card.

Databases for finding journal articles

Use databases to find articles from journals on your topic.

Philosopher's Index: Scholarly articles on philosophy; limit your search to English language
Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost): A good place to start - popular and scholarly articles on general topics
JSTOR: Full-text academic journals
Project Muse: Full-text academic journals
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe: Contains full-text news articles, as well as legal research
Includes the New York Times in full-text
Alternative Press Index: Articles from non-mainstream journals on political, cultural and social change
Useful for getting an alternative perspective on a topic
Call x5074 for the password
Current Contents: Research from current issues of scholarly research journals in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities

Other Databases

Retrieving an actual article through a database that contains some or no full-text articles:

If there is an HTML or PDF full text link right in the database you have searched in, click on the link, which will open up a window with the article. Then print or, in some cases, email or save the article.

If there is not a full-text link right there, this database does not have the full text of the article. HOWEVER, you may still be able to access the article, even by just a few clicks. Click on "Find It--Lake Forest College." The article may be

in another database that the Library has. If the window that opens says it is ("Full text available via…"), click on "Go" to open a new window containing the article.
in a print copy of the journal that the Library owns. If the window that opens says it might be ("Holdings in…"), click on "Go" to open a new window containing the journal's Library catalog entry to see if the Library owns the print version of the appropriate issue.
obtainable through interlibrary loan. If the window that opens says it might be ["Request document via Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad)"], click on "Go" to open a new window that allows you to request the item.

Websites


Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Philosophy Pages
EpistemeLinks: For Philosophy Resources on the Internet
Meta-Encyclopedia of Philosophy
InfoUSA list of Think Tanks
Salon's DAOU Report on blogs (You may need to watch an ad first)

Other resources to help you

Hacker's A Pocket Syle Manual and its accompanying website

Lake Forest College Statement on Honesty and Plagiarism

Lake Forest Student Handbook

Citation Guides for Online Sources

Refworks: Your Online Personal Database and Bibliography Creator

Evaluating Websites webpage

Your professors, the Writing Center, the librarians