SPSC Information Literacy Resource List

This page was created by the Transportation Library for students and instructors of the Northwestern University Center For Public Safety's School of Police Staff and Command.

Schedule of current and upcoming SPSC classes

SPSC Information Literacy Class Outline:

• Times are approximate and vary according to each instructional situation.
• Introduction: Review of handouts; goals of class, etc. (10 mins)
• Power Point Presentation-Information Literacy (on-going throughout the class).
• Introduction to concept of Information Literacy (10 mins).
• Demonstration of NUcat (10 mins) - Searching the catalog of the Northwestern University Libraries.
• Demonstration of TRAN (10 mins) - Searching for articles indexed in TRANweb
• Demonstration of NCJRS (10mins) - Connecting to and searching the NCJRS document database.
• Break (10 mins)
• Review and demonstration of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice e-resources (60 minutes).
• Break (10 mins)
• Locating Materials Locally (30 mins) - How to find research materials in local libraries and order materials from the Transportation Library (Offsite classes only).
• Evaluating information.(10-15 mins)
• Search Strategy exercise (30-40mins, depending on size of class)
• Library Tour, after class, is optional (20 mins).

Handouts for Onsite and Offsite Classes:

• Information Literacy Class Outline
  
• Transportation Library, General Information -- description of the Transportation Library; desk hours; and scope of collection.
• Searching NUcat and TRAN for Law Enforcement Materials -- where to look for books, reports, journal articles, and conference papers; how to use NUcat and TRAN; using Transportation Library subject headings; search examples.
• Developing a Research Topic
  
• Information Literacy Outline - Highlighted
• Listing of local library resources by site (see below).
• Library Orientation (How to write a research paper - Power Point presention)

Local Library Resources:

These handouts are NOT included in the blue SPSC binder. Choose the appropriate listing for your site below:

• Denver Area, Colorado
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Seattle, Washington
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Champaign, Illinois
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Farmington Hills, Michigan
• Fort Dix, New Jersey
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Dyer, Indiana
• Boise, Idaho
• Columbus, Ohio
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Rockford, Illinois
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Bismarck, North Dakota
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Cleveland, Ohio
  

Reference Service For Currently Enrolled SPSC students only:

Contact Kay Geary, Reference Librarian for the Transportation Library of Northwestern University for reference assistance, at:
m-geary@northwestern.edu.

Information Literacy (Power Point Presentation)

You must have Microsoft Power Point version 97 or higher installed on your machine to view these slide shows.

Links to Library Resources

• NU Transportation Library -- home page
• Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice e-resources -- electronic databases
• NUcatWeb -- The online catalog of the Northwestern University Libraries, including the Transportation Library.
• TRANweb -- An index of articles in the Transportation Library's periodicals collection, covering law enforcement.
• NCJRS Document Database -- A Web-accessible database containing summaries of criminal justice literature, government reports, journal articles, books, and more.