Religious Studies Resources
The Lancer Library Subject Resources: Religious Studies
The library has online information, reference books and circulating books that are useful for religion assignments.
Online Databases
Both the Encyclopedia of Religion and The New Catholic Encyclopedia are available online as part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library (Gale). Origins is also available for important Catholic documents.
Reference Books and Magazines
The New Catholic Encyclopedia, R282.03 N42, is in the reference section along with Bible Concordances, Bible dictionaries, Bible atlases and Biblical commentaries. Origins is available in print along with other major Catholic magazines such as America, Commonweal, U.S. Catholic and National Catholic Reporter.
Circulating Books
Copies of the Catholic Youth Bible and the Catechism are available for checkout. Also available are books discussing the moral issues studied in various religion classes, plus books on all the major religions of the world.
Remember, you can also find books at your local public libraries after all our books are checked out! Lastly, if you are having trouble finding information, what should you do? Ask us for help! Ask any of the librarians for help finding information or for citing your sources so you can avoid the dreaded PLAGIARISM!
The Lancer Library Subject Resources: Religious Studies: Life Issues
Databases
Special Note - To access the Databases from home, see the librarians for the list of usernames and passwords.
Galenet – available from the Library’s database webpage. There are a variety of databases available. The best for this assignment are: General Reference Center, Expanded Academic ASAP, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, and Health and Wellness Resource Center:
General Reference and Expanded Academic have magazines and newspaper articles. They contain so many articles on subjects such as abortion that they have divided, or narrowed, the subject into categories (“Subdivisions”). One of these categories is Ethical Aspects, which is very useful for these topics. Some topics, such as abortion, also include the category Religious Aspects.
Opposing Viewpoints contains essays presenting both pro and con arguments on these subjects, and Health & Wellness Resource Center has popular and medical magazines as well as medical reference books. It is particularly good for finding the exact medical definition of these topics. To access any of these databases, click on the database name, then enter the subject you are interested in researching. All databases will search for subjects such as abortion, euthanasia, mercy killing, cloning, in-vitro fertilization and human reproductive technology.
CQ Researcher – available from the Library’s database webpage. Use the same terms as in Galenet to search this database. Notice that this is a weekly magazine with entire issues devoted to some of these topics. When you bring up an issue, the summary or abstract, will be displayed first. Click on PDF at the top of the page for the entire issue.
Books
Yes, they’re still useful for these topics! Check the library’s catalog computer on the circulation desk for books on all these subjects. Enter a subject or keyword, write down the call number and check the shelves.
Remember, you can also find books at your local public libraries after all our books are checked out! Lastly, if you are having trouble finding information, what should you do? Ask us for help! Ask any of the librarians for help finding information or for citing your sources so you can avoid the dreaded PLAGIARISM!
The Lancer Library Subject Resources: Religious Studies: Saints and Well-known People in Church History
Reference Books
- Butlers Lives of the Saints. R 920 B97. Probably more than you wanted to know about Saints, both well-known and obscure.
- Encyclopedia of World Biography. R 920 E. Most of the people you need will have at least a short article in this. Well-known Saints are included.
- New Catholic Encyclopedia. R 031 N42e. Includes many of the people you need. Well-known people and Saints are in any standard encyclopedia. (Standard encyclopedias are in the R 031’s.)
- American National Biography. R920.073 Am3. The Americans you need will be in this set.
Circulating Books
Look in the 920’s for books on several Saints. Many well-known saints will be found here. There are also some on several well-known people.
Biography section – located under the windows facing the quad. Look alphabetically by the name of the person, or use the computerized book catalog and look up a person by name. Biographies are available on almost all the well-known Saints and many well-known people. Some people will also be found in the history section (900’s.) For instance, Sir Thomas More is in books on English history.
Using the Internet
From the library’s reference sources and sites webpage, click on the Saints & Angels (Catholic Online) link under the Religion heading, then click on Saints Index, and look for the saint you are interested in. Or, use any large search engine, such as AltaVista, and enter any name.
Many open Internet sites are available. Search by the person’s name, or try going to Catholic Information Network.
Be careful when using the open Internet, as some sites are not reliable. Remember anybody can put anything on the Web. It is a good idea to check the bottom of a site to look for the author. Most have a links to check their credentials.
Databases
Special Note - To access the Databases from home, see the librarians for the list of usernames and passwords.
Use the Galenet Database or the Proquest Database for current magazine articles about well-known people.
Access the Student Resource Center - Gold by going through Galenet.
Remember, you can also find books at your local public libraries after all our books are checked out! Lastly, if you are having trouble finding information, what should you do? Ask us for help! Ask any of the librarians for help finding information or for citing your sources so you can avoid the dreaded PLAGIARISM!
