Get Help From A Librarian
Hi, I am Yoli Bergstrom-Lynch. I am a Research and Instruction Librarian here at CT State Manchester and I'm here to support all your research needs. I wear many hats but my most important one is as your librarian.
Here are just some of things I can help you with:
- Working on a research paper and have no idea what you want to write about? I can help you land on a topic
- Need help finding scholarly articles, books, or data? I can help with that!
- Not sure what kind of information you need, where to look, and/or how to use it? These are all things I can help you with too
- Not sure how to cite your sources or use citation management tools like Zotero or ZBib (or you’ve never heard of either of those things – both of which are lifesavers and pure magic), reach out and I will show you!
If you would like to work directly with me, you can schedule a one-on-one research appointment in-person or virtually.
Research assistance is also provided by myself and the other librarians on staff during library hours. You can stop by the reference desk to get help or you can:
- Call the Reference Desk during library hours. Call 860.512.2883.
- Ask a Librarian via our chat system during library hours
- Email or text us a question
Best Bet Databases for Scholarly Resources
- Bloom's Literature This link opens in a new window Bloom's Literature contains a wide range of reference essays and scholarly criticism examining great authors and their works throughout history, as well as full-length videos of classic plays and films. Bloom's Literature includes a Literary Classics eBook shelf containing the full contents of more than 1,000 classic works of literature, and also includes a Shakespeare Center which houses in one convenient location a treasure trove of content on all things Shakespeare.
- Literature Criticism This link opens in a new window Explore the most extensive compilation of literary commentary available. Includes analysis from book excerpts, periodicals, and more. Includes Contemporary Literary Criticism, Children's Literature Review, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Drama Criticism, Literature Criticism (1400-1800), 19th Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Short Story Criticism, 20th Century Literary Criticism.
- Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window Find up-to-date biographies, overviews, full-text criticisms, audio interviews, and reviews on writers from all eras. Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography, Something About the Author.
- MagillOnLiterature Plus This link opens in a new window Contains biographical essays that reflect extended coverage of the 2,500 most studied authors and include up-to-date lists of each author’s principal works and current secondary bibliographies. More than 8,500 writers of fiction, poetry, drama, and essays are featured. There are more than 400 comprehensive essays on specific literary genres, themes and settings round out the collection. A cross-referenced glossary of terms is also included to provide definitive explanations of more than 1,800 literary words and phrases.
- JSTOR Archival Journal & Primary Source Collection This link opens in a new window The JSTOR Archival Journals and Primary Sources Collection contains all licensed JSTOR archival journals and primary sources content in a single collection, including Archive Journal Collections and thematic collections; specifically, it includes Arts & Sciences I – XV, Business IV, Hebrew Journals, Ireland, Jewish Studies, Life Sciences, Public Health, Lives of Literature, Security Studies, and Sustainability journal collections. It also contains four primary source collections, 19th Century British Pamphlets, World Heritage Sites: Africa, Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa, and Global Plants. This collection contains 2,877 high quality academic journals from across a wide range of disciplines and hundreds of thousands of primary source items.
- In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window Built on a foundation of more than 640,000 biographical entries, Gale In Context: Biography covers international figures from all time periods and areas of study. The database also includes full-text articles from nearly 250 periodicals. Search for people based on one or more personal facts such as birth and death years and places, nationality, ethnicity, occupation or gender, or combine criteria to create highly-targeted custom search results.
- MLA Handbook Plus This link opens in a new window Access the new ninth edition of the MLA Handbook online through the library. Browse or search the book online, get citation examples, view sample papers. This resource also includes the MLA Style 101 tutorial, MLA Guide to Digital Literacy and MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Academic Search Complete is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. Indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,400 journals.
- JSTOR Archival Journal & Primary Source Collection This link opens in a new window The JSTOR Archival Journals and Primary Sources Collection contains all licensed JSTOR archival journals and primary sources content in a single collection, including Archive Journal Collections and thematic collections; specifically, it includes Arts & Sciences I – XV, Business IV, Hebrew Journals, Ireland, Jewish Studies, Life Sciences, Public Health, Lives of Literature, Security Studies, and Sustainability journal collections. It also contains four primary source collections, 19th Century British Pamphlets, World Heritage Sites: Africa, Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa, and Global Plants. This collection contains 2,877 high quality academic journals from across a wide range of disciplines and hundreds of thousands of primary source items.
- Science Reference Center This link opens in a new window Topics covered include biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environmental science, health & medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science & society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife. Science Reference Center provides full text for hundreds of science magazines, journals, reference books and high-quality videos. The database also contains science experiments, curriculum-aligned lesson plans, and a vast image collection.
- Statista This link opens in a new window Use Statista for immediate access to over one million statistics and facts. Statista is an online platform specialized in market and consumer data, which offers statistics and reports, market insights, consumer insights and company insights in German, English, Spanish and French. Additional modules include Company Insights, Ecommerce Insights, Consumer Insights. The reports, charts, infographics, and statistics found in the database can be viewed online or downloaded.
- SAGE Data This link opens in a new window A universe of data at your fingertips. Sage Data provides access to billions of statistical datasets across 16 topical areas, including Business, Education, Health, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Government and Politics, and more. Results can be compared and viewed in customizable tables, maps, rankings, and charts. Views also include descriptive summaries of the datasets and data sources. Sources include public, private/commercial, and nongovernmental organizations, as well as Woods & Poole Economics, Inc.
- Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window Communication & Mass Media Complete provides the most robust, quality research solution in areas related to communication and mass media. CMMC incorporates the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other journals in communication, mass media, and other closely-related fields of study to create a research and reference resource of unprecedented scope and depth encompassing the breadth of the communication discipline.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Academic Search Complete is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. Indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,400 journals.
- TOPICsearch This link opens in a new window Current events database for social, political, and economic issues, scientific discoveries, and more. Full text sources include international and regional newspapers, periodicals, biographies, public opinion polls, book reviews, pamphlets, and government information.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Credo Reference is a general knowledge database providing articles, images, charts, maps and other materials on thousands of topics. With 750+ searchable, full-text titles, Credo Reference places particular emphasis on subject encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and reference handbooks. Also included are more than 1,100 short reference videos, more than 475,000 high-resolution art images, photographs, and maps across all subject areas.
- Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new window Featuring a dynamic design and a wealth of features, Issues & Controversies helps researchers understand today's crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture. Issues and Controversies provides up-to-date, in-depth and objective information on prominent and hotly debated issues. It combines objective analysis with clear explanations of opposing points of view. Chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, bibliographies and contact information augment the balanced, accurate coverage of current and historical events.
- In Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window Opposing Viewpoints offers material to support differing views to help develop critical thinking skills on thousands of current social topics in the forms of primary source documents, statistics, websites and multimedia. Find overviews, news, and opinions on hundreds of today's important social issues, including racism, capital punishment, global warming, and voting rights with reference sources, newspaper and magazine articles, scholarly journals, court cases, government documents, viewpoints, maps, images, audio, video and websites.
- In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window Built on a foundation of more than 640,000 biographical entries, Gale In Context: Biography covers international figures from all time periods and areas of study. The database also includes full-text articles from nearly 250 periodicals. Search for people based on one or more personal facts such as birth and death years and places, nationality, ethnicity, occupation or gender, or combine criteria to create highly-targeted custom search results.
- History Reference Center This link opens in a new window Full text for more than 1,990 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books from leading history publishers. Covering both U.S. and world history topics, History Reference Center is a full-text database featuring historical reference books, magazines, journals and thousands of primary source documents.
- In Context: US History This link opens in a new window Gale in Context: U.S. History is an online experience for those seeking contextual information on hundreds of the most significant people, events and topics in U.S. History. Topics range from the arrival of Vikings in North America all to the way to the first stirrings of the American Revolution and on through the Civil Rights movement, 9/11, and the War on Terror. Content includes reference works, millions of news and periodical articles, and more than 5,000 rare and vital primary source documents that range from slave journals to presidential papers.
- Newspaper Source Plus This link opens in a new window Provides cover-to-cover full text for 45 U.S. & international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for 389 regional (U.S.) newspapers, including the New Haven Register and New London Day. It includes newswires, news magazines, television and radio transcripts, news video clips, and more. It is updated daily with the most recent news. Wire sources include the Associated Press (AP), CNN Wire, PR Wire, UPI (United Press International), and Xinhua (China). Television and radio news transcript sources include ABC News (United States), ABC (Australia), CBC (Canada), CBS News, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, FOX News, MSNBC, NPR, and PBS.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Academic Search Complete is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. Indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,400 journals.
- JSTOR Archival Journal & Primary Source Collection This link opens in a new window The JSTOR Archival Journals and Primary Sources Collection contains all licensed JSTOR archival journals and primary sources content in a single collection, including Archive Journal Collections and thematic collections; specifically, it includes Arts & Sciences I – XV, Business IV, Hebrew Journals, Ireland, Jewish Studies, Life Sciences, Public Health, Lives of Literature, Security Studies, and Sustainability journal collections. It also contains four primary source collections, 19th Century British Pamphlets, World Heritage Sites: Africa, Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa, and Global Plants. This collection contains 2,877 high quality academic journals from across a wide range of disciplines and hundreds of thousands of primary source items.
- Films On Demand This link opens in a new window A streaming video service that provides access to over 38,000 instructional and documentary videos from producers such as Films for the Humanities & Sciences, HBO, CNBC News, ABC News, PBS, BBC, Cengage Learning, Meridian, and others.
- Kanopy BASE Collection This link opens in a new window A collection of over 10,000 educational and feature films and documentaries in the Kanopy BASE collection range from core curricular subjects like Race and Class Studies, Sociology and Education, to subjects that cater to the whole student like Mental Health, Psychology and Health and Fitness. Many films on Kanopy—including from iconic suppliers like the BBC, NEON, Samuel Goldwyn Films, HISTORY, A&E, First Run Features Kino Lorber and IFC Films—are unavailable elsewhere.
- SAGE Skills Student Success This link opens in a new window SAGE Skills: Student Success empowers students to learn the practical academic and personal skills needed to thrive during their time in higher education and beyond. Dynamic multimedia modules focus on foundational skills across academic writing, critical thinking, information literacy, intercultural awareness, study strategies, and more.
- Professional Development Collection This link opens in a new window Professional Development Collection is a highly specialized full-text database designed for professional educators, librarians and education researchers. It provides full-text access to more than 500 quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. In addition to full text, Professional Development Collection also indexes and abstracts more than 900 journals.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook For hundreds of different types of jobs, the Occupational Outlook Handbook tells you the training and education needed, earnings, expected job prospects, what workers do on the job, and working conditions. In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State, and more. You can also view frequently asked questions about the Handbook.
- LinkedIn Learning LinkedIn Learning provides access to over 15,000 courses and tutorials on technology, software, online pedagogy, business, and more. Register using your MCC email address
- Peterson's Test and Career Prep This link opens in a new window Gale Presents Petersons Test and Career Prep provides you with standardized exam preparation, including practice tests, eBooks and online courses. Exams types include professional, civil service and military exams. Career prep includes professional career videos, an occupational database and career library, military crosswalks, citizenship, math, science, reading, writing skills and job search powered by Indeed.com. Access to Visual CV Resume Creator is also included.Please Note: an account is required to access this resource and save your progress in the prep material. An email address is not required, but highly recommended, to create an account.
- In Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window Opposing Viewpoints offers material to support differing views to help develop critical thinking skills on thousands of current social topics in the forms of primary source documents, statistics, websites and multimedia. Find overviews, news, and opinions on hundreds of today's important social issues, including racism, capital punishment, global warming, and voting rights with reference sources, newspaper and magazine articles, scholarly journals, court cases, government documents, viewpoints, maps, images, audio, video and websites.
- Issues & Controversies This link opens in a new window Featuring a dynamic design and a wealth of features, Issues & Controversies helps researchers understand today's crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture. Issues and Controversies provides up-to-date, in-depth and objective information on prominent and hotly debated issues. It combines objective analysis with clear explanations of opposing points of view. Chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, bibliographies and contact information augment the balanced, accurate coverage of current and historical events.