Information Literacy Resources: 11. Japanese E-Resources (H)

Japanese E-Resource Training Session

Instructors:

Sanae Isozumi, University of California, San Diego
Toshie Marra, University of California, Los Angeles

Subject of the Lesson

This lesson is designed to help the attendees become more effective searchers by acquainting them with a variety of Japanese electronic resources available for their research and work and the issues involved in searching. It particularly aims to help them develop a more critical stance toward the selection of resources particularly in 1) library and union catalogs of books and serials, 2) journal/magazine article databases, 3) newspaper article databases, 4) web sites, and 5) reference tools and others useful for conducting research in Japanese studies.

The session is designed to meet the following standards:

1. ACRL Information Literacy Standard Two
The information literate student accesses needed information effectively and efficiently.
2. Project SAILS Skill Sets:
   Skill Set 6: Constructing the Search
   Skill Set 7. Understanding Information Retrieval Systems
   Skill Set 10. Evaluating and Selecting Sources

Audience:

Faculty, students, and librarians specializing in Japanese studies and those who use Japanese resources for their non-Japanese studies research

Learning Objectives:

During this 2-hour workshop students will learn to:

• Identify types of resources and coverage of various Japanese electronic resources
• Search different databases using various techniques such as Romanization vs. original Japanese scripts searches and federated searches
• Understand the problems involved in Japanese name searches
• Select best resources for different purposes

Content Outline/Methods

1. Introduction to the session: the instructors and the audience introduce themselves to the group; the instructors give an outline of the session
2. How to find books and serials held at libraries: the instructor gives an overview of different databases, especially regarding the coverage, search techniques, and special features; the audience does hands-on with guided searching
3. How to find Japanese journal/magazine articles: the instructor gives an overview of different databases, especially regarding the coverage, search techniques, and special features; the audience does hands-on with guided searching
4. How to find Japanese newspaper articles: the instructor gives an overview of different types of resources including online and print sources, and indexes and full text sources; the audience does hands-on with guided searching
5. How to find Japanese web sites: the instructor introduces some useful databases; the audience does hands-on with guided searching
6. How to use reference tools and those useful for conducting research in Japanese studies: the instructors introduce some useful database; the audience does hands-on with guided searching
7. Introduction to several useful resources in different subject areas; the audience does hands-on with guided searching
8. Wrap-up: the audience completes an evaluation form