General Search tips:

• Note that even if a book or journal article is written in French often the Subject Headings, abstracts etc will be in English
• This means that if you want to be thorough in your search, don't limit your keywords to just French or just English: for best results try both French and English
• You can combine this into all one search, or do separate searches using English keywords and then another using the equivalent French keywords
  Example: écri* migrante* OR immigrants writing*  [ the * is used as a wildcard: this search will find all of the following forms écriture, écritures, écrivain, écrivains... as well as migrante, migrantes] 
• In general, don't worry about diacritics (accents), these are usually ignored in searches. 

Finding Books:

• Summon : the one-search box on the Library's home page. Look for a specific title, or use keywords to find books on a topic. Use the filters on the results page to refine your search results. For example you can limit to books (content filter) that are written in French (language filter)
  • Basic search or
  • Advanced search
• Library catalogue: You can also search directly in the catalogue
• University of Ottawa library: as a larger and bilingual university the U of O collection in French is much bigger than ours. You can borrow books from them using your Carleton Campus Card. Their E-books can be accessed on site at U of O only. 
• WorldCat is a database that lets you search the collections of thousands of libraries around the world: if a book exists, it's likely you can find it here. 

Free Full-Text E-book Collections:

There are many sources of free e-books. Sometimes we may have these listed in our catalogue, but often we do not. Depending on what you are looking for, some of these collections may be useful: 

• ARTFL Project: full text of many classic French books, also access to subscripton databases such as B.A.S.I.L.E (Base internationale de Littérature Électronique)
• Athena: textes français
• Gallica: Bibliothèque nationale de France (National Library of France). Hundreds of thousands of digitzed books, maps, journal articles...
• Bibliothèque et archives nationales (Quebec): Collection numérique
• Bibliothèque Universelle (ABU). Full-text of francophone works in the public domain since 1993.
• Scholars Portal Books: Thousands of full-text books in both French & English. Includes the major Canadian university presses such as the University of Toronto Press, the UBC Press, Les Presses de l'Université du Québec and McGill-Queen's University Press.
  To find books written in French:
  
   
• Erudit: Click on "livres et actes".  Currently a small collection, but growing
• CAIRN : Click on "Ouvrages collectifs" and "ouvrages de référence" (this includes many titles from the  "Que sais-je?" series )

Finding Journal Articles: 

Our subject or discipline specific databases may allow you to find sources you can't find through Summon. They also often include other features (search, sort, result display, download...) that Summon does not have. All will let you find journal articles. Some will include books or book chapters.

• Gale Literary Sources: Includes MLA International Bibliography (index to journal articles) plus a number of full-text resources such as: Dictionary of Literary Biography + Literature Criticism Online + Literature Resource Center (includes the Contemporary Authors series, Encyclopedia of Literature and many more)
• Cairn, Erudit, Persée, & Repère contain material written in French but that cover all subject areas, not just literature.
• Francis is a database available at the University of Ottawa only. It covers the humanities and social sciences. About 30% of the resources are in French and 40% are from European sources.

MLA Style 

The most common citation style used in literature is the MLA (Modern Language Association) style.  If you're not sure what style to use, check with your professor or T.A.

• Purdue Online Writing Lab: MLA Formatting & Style Guide. They give examples of all kinds of references, both how to cite within your text as well as how to format the bibliography. Also includes a sample paper 
• MLA Style Center : official MLA site, includes an FAQ and ability to post questions
• You can also just google: "how do I cite xxxx in mla", which will lead to reputable sites(look for.edu or other university web sites). Example: "how do I cite a video in MLA"

General Writing Help:

Ballenger, B. P. (2012). The curious researcher: a guide to writing research papers, 7th ed. 
Call Number: LB2369.B246 2012 see availability

Besnard, C. (2010). Apprivoiser l'écrit: techniques de l'écrit et stratégies d'auto-perfectionnement.
Also in print, Call Number: PC2420.B48 see availability

Bishop, G. & Haezewindt, B. (2005). Developing writing skills in French
Also in print, Call Number PC2420 .B54 2005 see availability

Graff, G. & Birkensteain, C. (2014). "They say / I say": the moves that matter in academic writing
Call Number PE1431.G73 2014 see availability

Harris, R. A. (2002). Using sources effectively: Strengthening your writing and avoiding plagiarism
Call Number: PN146.H37 2002 see availability

Northey, M. (2007). Making sense : a student's guide to research and writing, 5th ed. 
Call Number: LB2369.N67 2006 see availability

Pilote, C. (2012). Guide littéraire: analyse, plan, rédaction, procédeés, genres, courants.
Call Number: PC2420.P57 2012 see availability

Shields, M. (2010). Essay writing: a student's guide
Call Number: PE1471.S45 see availability