Library Guides: Library and Information Studies: Welcome

LIS Guide Authors

Danica E. White
LIS Selector, interested in Undergraduate Research and Student Engagement Librarianship
(DEW5422@psu.edu or 814-865-1030)

Dawn Amsberry
Interested in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Librarianship
(DUA4@psu.edu or 814-863-5093)

Bernadette A. Lear
Interested in the History of Librarianship, and Social Sciences/Education Librarianship
(BAL19@psu.edu or 717-948-6360)

Welcome!

Welcome to Penn State's Library and Information Studies (LIS) LibGuide! This guide was created as an information hub for academic library professionals and employees. Here you can access print and electronic resources relevant to libraries and librarianship. Below are the most commonly-used databases for LIS. Use the tabs on the left to find books, journals, professional organizations, historical sources, and other items.

If you'd like to recommend additions/revisions to this guide, or items for University Libraries to purchase, please contact the LIS selector, Danica E. White.

Start Here

Library & Information Science Abstracts (LISA) This link opens in a new window
Abstracts and indexes over 500 periodicals. Covers 1969 to present.
Identifies articles on librarianship, information science, and related fields. Includes many related areas such as publishing, and applications of information technology in specific fields. The database abstracts over 550 periodicals from more than 60 countries and in over 20 different languages.
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) This link opens in a new window
Abstracts and indexes more than 500 journals, books, research reports, and proceedings Covers back to the 1960s for some titles.
LISTA indexes more than 560 core journals, nearly 50 priority journals, and nearly 125 selective journals, as well as books, research reports and proceedings. Indexed titles include the /PaLA Bulletin/, newsletter of the Pennsylvania Library Association, from 2007-date. General coverage in the database extends back as far as the mid-1960s.
Library Literature & Information Science (PSU access will expire on December 31, 2023.) This link opens in a new window
Abstracts and indexes journals and other items published since 1984.
Library Literature is an index to journal articles, books, pamphlets, and theses on library and information science published since December 1984. It also indexes editorials that appear as regular features in library science journals, along with book reviews that appear as part of review articles. One can search Library Literature by author, title, subject, or words anywhere in the indexed items records. Searches can be limited by the language or the publication year of the sources. Help screens are available for each function of the database.

To Focus or Expand Your Search

ERIC (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Especially helpful for information about libraries/reading in colleges and schools.
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) is the major database for education literature, sponsored by the U.S. Department. of Education. The same database content is available on many platforms.
PsycINFO (via ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Contains many studies of college students' behaviors, cognition, learning, and emotions.
PsycINFO provides access to international literature in psychology and related disciplines. Unrivaled in its depth of psychological coverage and respected worldwide for its high quality, the database is enriched with literature from an array of disciplines related to psychology such as psychiatry, education, business, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, law, linguistics, and social work. Nearly all records contain nonevaluative summaries, and all records from 1967 to the present are indexed using the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms.
MLA International Bibliography (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Useful for information on the history of libraries/books/reading, as well as the teaching of literacy skills.
The MLA International Bibliography contains more than 1.7 million records for books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Essential for studies of media effects on viewers.
CMMC incorporates CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other journals to create a research and reference resource of unprecedented scope and depth in the communication and mass media fields.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Helpful for exploring management topics in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors.
An essential article database for business research providing the full text for more than 2,000 periodicals, including about 1,000 scholarly journals. Covers virtually all disciplines in business and economics, including: accounting, economics, econometrics, finance, marketing, management, MIS, QMM and supply chain management.
ACM Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Contains useful material on the design/engineering of digital resources and systems.
Full text of every article ever published by ACM.