Librarian for International Students

Pamela Bloom
Librarian Liaison with the Office of International Student Services (OISS)
e-mail:
phone: (212) 998-2618

Please note that although Pamela Bloom is the specialist in this area, all of the staff at Bobst are here to help you and would be happy to answer your questions. Feel free to stop by any of the reference desks (on the 1st, 6th, and 9th floors) to speak to the librarian on duty during reference hours. For a full list of librarians by subject specialty, go to Subject Specialists.

Glossary of Library Terminology

Provided by the American Library Association to clarify some of the vocabulary used to describe services and materials found in the library.

• Translations of English library terms into multiple languages
• Definitions of terms (in English)

How to Use Bobst Library

NYU's Bobst Library includes a collection of over three million books, journals, videos, CDs (and other audio recordings), scripts, dissertations, archival materials, etc. It is an "open stack" library, which means that after you find an item's call number in the online catalog, (BobCat), you need to go into the stacks (or aisles where the books are shelved) to get the book yourself. The first letter of a book's call number tells you on which floor the book is located. [insert call number chart] The books are organized by their subject matter, so if you find one book on your research topic, others are bound to be nearby.

NYU Library Tutorials

Links to online tutorials about how to find a book at the library, search databases for journal articles, use the Web effectively for research, etc.

Schedule of Library Instruction Classes

Lists dates, times, and registration information for all library instruction classes. Classes include Introduction to the Library, Research Strategies, Searching the Web, etc.

Ask-A-Librarian Online Reference Service

Submit a question via email at any time to our virtual reference service and a librarian will respond within 24 hours. For immediate online dialog with a librarian, use our "chat" service available from 1:00 to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

If you need an item that doesn't appear in BobCat, you can either speak to a reference librarian about getting a Metro Referral Card, or you can request an InterLibrary Loan.

English as a Second Language (ESL) Materials

Bobst Resources: How to find ESL materials in BobCat

• General (including Grammar, Reading & Writing): do a Phrase Search for the following

  Subject Heading English language -- Textbooks for foreign speakers

• Listening & Speaking: do a Phrase Search for the following

  Subject Heading English language -- Conversation and phrase books

• Pronunciation: do a Keyword Search for the following

  Subject Heading English AND pronunciation AND textbooks

WWW Resources

• Links of Interest to Students & Teachers of ESL

  Maintained by The Internet TESL Journal

• Online Directory of ESL Resources

  Compiled by the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, among others.

• Resources for English Language Learners

  Links to Web directories, guides, and collections for ESL learners. Maintained by Ohio University.

• Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe

  Well-annotated and maintained, containing links to all kinds of useful sites for ESL learners.

• Web Directories

  • About.com: ESL
  • Google: ESL
  • Yahoo: ESL

Language Dictionaries

Bobst Resources: How to find Language Dictionaries in BobCat

• For a dictionary with entries and definitions in the same language, do a Phrase Search for

  Subject Heading     "[Language X] language -- Dictionaries"
  Example: Subject Heading     Spanish language -- Dictionaries

• For a dictionary with entries and definitions in two different languages, do a Phrase Search for

  Subject Heading [Language X] language -- Dictionaries -- [Language Y]"
  Example: Subject Heading Spanish language -- Dictionaries -- English

WWW Resources

• Online Language Dictionaries

  From the Bobst Library's Virtual Reference Shelf. Provides links to online English and other language dictionaries. Note that the Merriam-Webster Dictionary includes online audio pronunciation aids.

• Online Picture Dictionary

  An illustrated online dictionary in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German. Useful for students of all ages.

• Longman Web Dictionary

  Includes contextual quotations, multilingual e-translation portal, crossword puzzles, and more.

Foreign Language Books/Videos/Audio-Recordings

Bobst Resources: How to find Foreign Language Books in BobCat

Books in Bobst Library are organized by their subject content, not by the language in which they are written. Therefore, all the books in any one language will not be found in one spot.

If you are looking for a specific book, do a Phrase Search for the title (in any language) or the author. If the title appears in a language other than English, the book is in the other language, unless the word "English" appears directly after the title.

If you are looking for books in a non-English language on a particular topic, you must do a Keyword Search (NOT a Phrase Search) for the subject heading you want, and then use the "Limit" button on the left-hand side of the screen to limit your search to only the books in the language you want.

Other Area Libraries with Foreign Language Book Collections

• Donnell Branch of NYPL: World Languages Collection

  Located at 20 W. 53rd St., this branch of the New York Public Library houses a collection of over 150,000 non-English language books available for borrowing.

• Mid-Manhattan Branch of NYPL

  Located at 455 5th Ave., this lending branch also holds many non-English books, including reference material such as encyclopedias.

Foreign & Non-English Language Periodicals

Periodicals (newspapers, journals, and magazines) at Bobst Library, like books, are organized by call number according to their subject matter. Most current periodicals (usually the last several issues) can be found on the 3rd Floor in the "Current Periodicals" section. There are two exceptions, however: current science periodicals are kept in the 9th floor Reference Room and current music periodicals are in the Avery Fisher Center (2nd floor). Once they are a little older, periodicals may be either be bound and shelved in the stacks under their call number (with books on the same subject matter) or converted into microform (LL2).

Bobst Resources: Finding Periodical Articles from and about Other Countries

The following are just a few of the Bobst databases that can be used to find articles in periodicals from and about other countries, as well as articles in languages other than English. All are available from the Bobst Databases page.

• Lexis-Nexis

  Full text. For news from sources in other countries, choose a "Guided News Search", select "World News" as the category, and then the region you are interested in for the news source. For news in a foreign language, choose a "Guided News Search", select "Non-English Language News" as the category, and then the language for the news source.

• CountryWatch

  Basic facts, maps, geographical and statistical information about almost any country. Includes a searchable archive of news articles from sources in the country.

• MLA Bibliography

  Citations only. Indexes scholarly articles on literature, linguistics, film, etc. Includes articles in many languages, and allows the user to conduct the search in different languages.

• Historical Abstracts

  Citations and abstracts only. Indexes scholarly historical research articles in many languages.

• WilsonOmni

  Some full text, some citations only. Indexes some foreign and foreign language periodicals.

WWW Resources: Foreign Newspapers available on the Web

• General: Regional and Global
• Middle East and Arabic Language
• African
• French Language
• German Language
• Italian Language
• Judaic and Hebrew Language

Writing & Citation Guides

In academic writing, it is important to acknowledge and document the authors' works which you have consulted and used in your own work. There are a number of different bibliographic styles for formatting citations (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.). Certain styles correspond to certain disciplines. The most important thing to remember is that your citation style must be consistent throughout a single paper.

Bobst Resources

• APA. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (Ref6 BF76.7.P83 2001)
• The Chicago Manual of Style. (Ref1 Z253.U69 1993)
• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. (Ref1 LB2369.G53 1999)
• MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing. (Ref1 PN147 .G444 1998)

WWW Resources

• Writing Guides

  Links to online writing guides. Particularly useful for updated information on citing electronic sources of all kinds.

• Noodle Tools

  Online citation aid. Provides both subscription and free aids for creating a bibliography or reference list in either MLA or APA format.

Grants, Scholarships, and Financial Aid

Bobst Resources

• Directory of Research Grants. (Ref1 Career LB2338.D5n 2002)
• Financial Aid for Research & Creative Activities Abroad. (Ref1 Career LB2237.2.F574 2002-2004)
• Worldwide Graduate Scholarship Directory. (Ref1 Career LB2337.2.D36 2000)
• Grants Register 2003. (Ref1 Career LB2338.G73 2002)

WWW Resources

• International Student Scholarships & Financial Aid

  Links to online resources giving information about scholarships, awards, grants, loans, and financial aid specifically for international students.