Agriculture and Life Sciences

ALS 2984 Course Guide

CALS First Year Experience Resources

For your assignment in this course, you will be researching the life cycle of a gallon of milk.  As you start looking for resources and narrow down your topic, the College Librarians for CALS and the rest of Newman Library are here to help!  Take a few moments to browse through the resources listed below as a starting point for your research.  Don't forget to contact us if you have any other questions!

Navigating Newman Library

University Libraries at Virginia Tech has over 2.6 million books and over 700 databases--it's a big library!  Here are a few easy ways to become familiar with the library:

• Library Maps
• Take a tour of Newman Library on your own time
• Read more about beginning your research

Finding Books

Use the library catalog, Addison, to use keywords to search for books on your topic.  

Additionally, books for ALS 2984 have been placed on Reserve at Newman Library.  You can check these out for 2 hours at a time.  A few other suggestions for finding related books:

• Look up "Milk" in the Encyclopedia of Science & Technology
• Search our eBook collection for books like Milk:  A global history

Recommended Databases

Databases contain journal literature that can give you authoritative and current information on your topic.  We recommend using these databases for the ALS 2984 project:

• Academic Search Complete
• AGRICOLA
• Google Scholar

Evaluating Information

Not all information that you find will be good information; even library databases may give you irrelevant or outdated information!  Use the links below to sharpen your information evaluation skills:

• Evaluating different types of information
• Evaluating web information chart
• Evaluating resources tutorial

Citation Help

In order to use information legally and ethically, properly citing your sources is essential!  Use the resources listed below to help you determine when and how to cite your sources:

• Tips on avoiding plagiarism
• Citation and style manuals
• The OWL at Purdue
• Citation management software

Questions?

Schedule a one-on-one appointment with one of the CALS librarians if you have any other questions or concerns. Information for all College Librarians can be found here. Additionally, the 4th floor reference desk (Science & Technology Reference Desk) is staffed during normal library hours, if you have a question that needs immediate assistance.  You can drop in, or use our Ask a Librarian system for virtual service.  We look forward to seeing you in the library!