ILA 101: Extended definitions of topics related to Buddhism / Professor Watson (Fall 2005)

Below are listed library resources that will help you to locate extended definitions and cultural context regarding various topics related to Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Yoga and related ideas.

General tips (or tip, as it were)

• Spelling variations: when researching topics that draw heavily from translated or transliterated sources, be careful of variations in spelling. Such variations tend to follow certain trends that you will learn to identify with a little experience. For these topics, you may notice that H's come and go (dharana vs. darana), and double consonants are sometimes optional (dukkha vs. dukha).

Call numbers

Browsing the shelves is a simple, powerful method for finding materials on your topic. You can quickly evaluate the scope of a book by checking its table of contents, index and bibliography.

Hewes Library contains a relatively small collection of materials regarding non-Western religions. This makes browsing simpler and smarter still. The exact real estate you will want to survey depends upon your exact topic, but here are a few good places to start:

B	Philosophy. Pyschology. Religion
BL	Religions. Mythology. Rationalism
BL 1100 - 1295 BL 1300 - 1380	Hinduism Jainism
BQ	Buddhism
BQ 251 - 799 BQ 1001 - 1045 BQ 4911 - 5720 BQ 7001 - 9800	History Buddhist literature Practice of Buddhism. Forms of worship Modifications, schools, etc.

To see a brief outline of the entire Library of Congress classification system, click here.

Remember that these call numbers are in effect throughout the Library: whether you are looking for a book to check out, an encyclopedia to leaf through, or a video to watch, BQ always means Buddhism.

Reference resources in Hewes Library

Your assignment centers around locating definitions. So it is no surprise that you will be looking for dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference materials that are designed to explain a topic from the foundation up. You will find the resources below, among others, in the Reference Collection on the Main Level.

• Encyclopedia of religion (2d ed.; 15 vol.) REF BL 31. E46 2005
• The Harper Collins dictionary of religion REF BL 31. H37 1995
• The Hindu world (2 vol.) REF BL 1105. W34 1968
• The Shambhala encyclopedia of yoga REF BL 1238.52 F47 1997
• The Shambhala dictionary of Buddhism and Zen REF BQ 130. L492513 1991
• Historical dictionary of Buddhism REF BQ 130. P74 1993
• Zen dictionary REF BQ 9259. W6619 1992

Online resources

• Oxford Reference Online
  

  Oxford Reference Online is an online collection of over 100 dictionaries, companions and other reference works published by Oxford University Press. Many of the these works may be found in print form in Hewes Library's Reference Collection on the Main Level. You will also find that each work in ORO may be located and accessed via the Hewes Library Catalog.

  The two works in ORO that are most likely to be helpful for this assignment are:

  • A dictionary of Buddhism
  • The concise Oxford dictionary of world religions

Citing your sources

When citing sources, rule number one is: know what your professor wants. Know the preferred overal style (MLA, APA, ASA, etc.), what to do about electronic sources, how to organize your final bibliography, what to do about footnotes, endnotes, parenthetical citation, etc. The librarians will be hesitant to tell you what your professor wants.

In your section of ILA 101, Professor Watson is requiring MLA style. An abbreviated guide to MLA style may be found in your Bedford Handbook. For the full treatment, come to Hewes Library and look for:

• MLA handbook for writers of research papers (6th ed) RDY REF PE 1408. M64 2003

Human resources: your local librarians

Hopefully, the ideas and resources above will help you to get started in your research. If you have any questions, comments or difficulties, please contact a librarian at the Reference Desk: (309) 457-2301.