Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple, Librarian > EN209 The Bible As Literature

MC Library Catalog: Go into MC Library Catalog and change the search engine setting to "Keyword Boolean." Create a search expression that consists of keywords (tend to be nouns), the Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), punctuation (parenthesis used with OR, quotations marks for phrases), and perhaps the truncation symbol (question mark):

"minor prophets"

bible AND encyclopedia

bible AND concordance

women AND bible

judith AND apocrypha

"herod the great"

Call Number Browse in MC Library Catalog: Change the search engine setting to "Call Number Browse" and, referring to the chart in the next section (green font in section 1C, below) enter the beginning range of the call number section that you want to scan. For example, to browse the section containing books on "Men, Women, Children of the Bible" enter "bs569" and click "Search."

Browse the Shelves: For books on the Bible, go to these sections of the call numbers:

BS 192.2 A1 1964 G3	The Anchor Bible
BS 410-680	Works About the Bible
BS 535-537	Bible as Literature
BS 546-558	Bible Stories
BS 569-580	Men, Women, Children of the Bible
BS 701-1830	Old Testament
BS 1901-2970	New Testament

Request Book From Another Campus: Go into MC Library Catalog and use the REQUEST ITEM button (pictured at right).
Renew Books Online: Go into MC Library Catalog and use the MY ACCOUNT button (pictured at right).

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Online:

Encyclopedia Britannica

In addition to the Encyclopedia Britannica, includes links to Web pages and selected articles.

Encyclopedia Of Religion

A 15-volume set. Use link labeled "eTable of Contents" to drill down.

CREDO reference: Religion

This link will take to you to a collection of 11 different online encyclopedias and dictionaries that cover a range of religions and religious topics.

Browse the Shelves: To browse the reference section for encyclopedias, use these sets of call numbers:

BL	Religion, General
BM	Judaism
BR	Christianity
BS	The Bible

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Start Here: Here are a few good places to start your search for articles on Bible characters:

JSTOR     *** best bet! ***

A collection of archived scholarly journal articles. NOTE: Go to Advanced Search and (1) enter name of Bible character and set to "full-text"; (2) limity "Type" to articles; and (3) limit "Disciplines/Journals" to Religion.

Project MUSE

Excellent coverage of all the humanities.

SAGE Premier

Excellent coverage of all the humanities.

Academic OneFile

Covers all subject areas.

Expanded Academic ASAP

Covers all subject areas.

Search Expressions: Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:

"minor prophets"

bible AND "old testament" AND jonah

habakkuk

"new testament" AND (women OR feminism)

Sorting Results and Printing: Results can be sorted by date or relevance. To print, use the button within the database.

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Google Scholar: Go to scholar.google.com and set "Scholar Preferences" to "Montgomery College." If you have borrowing privileges at another institution that is also registered with Google Scholar, enter the name of that school as well. Enter your search expression or search terms. If there is an article from a scholarly journal that is available on the web or if there is a scholarly article that is in our collection it will be flagged in the results list -- look for "Full Text @ My MC Library" (we have the article online) or "Resources @ My Library" (we currently receive the journal online, but probably not this particular article).

Recommended Sites

King James & Revised Standard Versions of the Bible: Old Testament, New Testament, Apocrypha

(University of Virginia's Electronic Text Center)

Understanding the Bible

Textbook for this class. (Stephen L. Harris)

The Ancient Hebrews

An overview of the history, culture, and religion of the ancient Hebrews. (Richard Hooker)

The Hebrew Scriptures

Lots of information about the Old Testament. (privately maintained)

Hebrew Scriptures

Started by the Religion Department at a major university, this site is now privately maintained. (Prof. Mahlon H. Smith)

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Israel

Affords access to primary source texts. (Fordham University)

World Literature Online

Take the quiz on Hebrew Scripture.

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The library has six-page handouts on both the MLA Works Cited Page and the APA Reference List.

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