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Information and resources for international students

A message from the University Librarian

Welcome to George Fox University libraries! 

George Fox University has two libraries:

  1. Newberg: "Murdock Learning Resource Center"
  2. Portland: "Portland Center Library"

On this page:


Glossaries of library terminology provided by the American Library Association


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Finding books and articles

Books

A library catalog contains information on all of the materials owned or subscribed to by the library.  You will need to use the catalog to find books.  The name of our catalog is FoxTrax.  Start searching Foxtrax by typing in a keyword.  When you are ready, there is more detailed information available on how to use the catalog.

When you find a book that you want, write down the "Call Number" so that you can find it in the book stacks (the aisles where the books are shelved).  All call numbers are from the Library of Congress Classification system and start with a letter or letters, for example, D or DA.  The stacks are arranged alphabetically so that you can locate the book with the call number.  The books are grouped together by subject so that when you find a book for your topic there could be other books on the same topic nearby.  At libraries in the United States, it is customary to go to the library stacks and to get the book for yourself.  If you cannot find a book, please ask a librarian to help you.

Articles

You will need to find scholarly articles to use to write your papers (please see our information on plagiarism).  The databases contain articles or information about articles.  Begin by going to the Subject Guides tab at the top of the library homepage.  Select your subject and you will find a list of the databases relevant to that subject.

Start searching the databases for articles by entering keywords in the search box.  There are many ways to search a database.  If you do not find what you are looking for ask a librarian for help.  There are also detailed tutorials available for the databases.

The library Website contains many other tools and resources.  A good place to go for more helpful information is the How do I...? section of the library's Website. 


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Avoiding plagiarism

When you write your papers you will use ideas or information from articles or books that have been written by other people.  If you show in your paper that the ideas or information belong to someone else then it is acceptable to use their written work.  It is wrong if you use someone else's article or book without showing in your paper that the ideas or information belong to them.  This is called plagiarism.  Plagiarism is stealing someone else's written work.  Students who plagiarize may be penalized or expelled from school.  Please read George Fox University's policy on academic honesty.  This is very important! 

You can avoid plagiarism by putting a citation in your paper.  A citation is information about the author and the book or article that they wrote.  There is a brief tutorial available on our website about citations.  There is more detailed information available on our website on how to avoid plagiarism and we also have resources available on how to cite articles.  If you need help writing your paper or writing a citation, contact Writing Services or go to the Academic Resource Center (on the second floor of the Murdock Learning Resource Center). 


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Getting help at the library

Librarians are information professionals with graduate degrees who are available to help you.  Here are some of the things that librarians can help you with:

  1. Finding information and resources
  2. Learning how to use the catalog
  3. Learning how to use the databases
  4. Learning how to do academic research
  5. Learning how to use the library

Many people feel uncomfortable asking a librarian for help.  We want you to ask for help when you need it!  We enjoy helping our students!  We are always available when the library is open and you can contact us at the reference desk, by phone, by email, and also by CHAT.  Email, phone, and chat links are available at "Ask us" on the library homepage.


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Dictionaries for the English language learner


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Encyclopedias

Global Reference Center
Britannica's Global Reference Center is the home of comprehensive online content in a variety of global languages, including Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.  Resources include:

  • Gran Enciclopedia Planeta
  • Enciclopedia Juvenil
  • Encyclopædia Universalis
  • Britannica Online Japan
  • Britannica Online Korea
  • Britannica Pocket Encyclopedia (Chinese)

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Links to helpful English language books at the library


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Library materials by language

The library offers materials in languages other than English.  You can use the catalog (FoxTrax) to find books, electronic books, and videos in Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, French, and German.

Links to library materials by language:

Chinese

Japanese

Spanish

Korean

French

German


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Database language features

Many of the databases offer interfaces (the layout of graphics and controls that allow you to use the database) in languages other than English.  The WorldCat catalog also offers an interface in multiple languages.  Learn more about the database and catalog language options that are available to you.


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Databases with reading level options

MAS-Ultra School Edition has full-text for more than 500 periodicals, 360 reference books, over 85,000 biographies, and more than 105,780 primary source documents. In the “Search options” you can select a “Lexile Reading Level”. The "850-1050" level is the easiest.

Middle Search Plus is a good place to start when you are researching current events. It contains full-text for nearly 140 titles. In the “Search options” you can select a “Lexile Reading Level”. The level "750-950" is the easiest.

Student Resource Center Gold covers the major subject areas and provides a premium selection of reference, thousands of full-text periodicals and newspapers, primary documents, creative works, and multimedia, including hours of video and audio clips and podcasts. Under the search box select the content level that you want: basic, intermediate, or advanced.


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Web resources


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