French Language & Culture

This and other research guides are on the ACC Library web page under
Research Guides & Tutorials: http://library.sunyacc.edu

Adirondack Community College, 640 Bay Road, Queensbury, NY 12804
(518) 743-2260

Books | Reference books | Articles | Web sites

At any point in your research, please consult a reference librarian. Librarians are available whenever the library is open at (518) 743-2200 ext. 2462. Library hours are listed on the ACC Library's home page: http://library.sunyacc.edu.

Finding Books:

To find books or multimedia items, search the ACC book catalog (ACC Library web page > Finding Books > Catalog):

• Reference books, on the library’s main floor, don’t leave the library, so are always available.
• Circulating books, on the upper level of the library, may be checked out for four weeks.
• Videos, DVDs and music CDs may be borrowed by faculty. Students may use equipment near the video/DVD shelves.

Search tip: Start with a keyword search. When you find an interesting book, look for the subject headings in the book's online description. Click on any that refine your search best. We recommend visiting the ACC Library's Research Guides & Tutorials page, which offers a narrated tutorial on searching the online catalog and two tutorials called "Research Steps," offering important search strategies. Here are some subject headings to consider using:

Reference Books:

Reference books, on the main floor, can help you select a research topic. They also offer quick background information and overviews on subjects.

Merriam-Webster's French-English Dictionary

Reference  PC 2640 .M48 2000

Cassell's French-English, English-French Dictionary = Dictionnaire Français-Anglais, Anglais-Franç

Reference PC 2640 .C3 1981

Dictionary Of 501 French Verbs, Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses.

Reference PC 2271 .K38 1970

NTC's dictionary of Canadian French

Reference PC 3637 .R62 1991

Here's circulating book you can borrow:

The Story of French (Circulating Collection PC 2075 .N33 2006)

Consult a reference librarian for additional reference and circulating books about France, its culture, art, food, and more.  

French language tapes & videos:

Audiobooks:

            The ACC Library owns a set of French language tapes. You may borrow them for 14 days. The audiobooks are located on the main floor of the ACC Library near the copy room.

            French:  the complete course I

            18 sound cassettes plus supplemental reading booklet; Pimsleur language programs

            Call Number:   Audiobook PC 2065 .F74 2001 14 day loan

 
DVDs:

Students can watch these using the DVD players in the library:

Hatzfeld, Rémi. Couleurs du français (DVD PC 3552 .M36 2004)
Caubère, Philippe.La Château de ma mère; My mother’s castle (DVD PN 1995.9 .M95 2002)

Pagnol, Marcel.La gloire de mon père; My father’s glory (DVD PN 1995.9 .M87 2002)

Videos:

            The video series below is located on the video shelves on the main floor. Students can watch them in the library using the TV/VCRs. Faculty members may borrow the videos to show in class.

            French in action       

            Annenberg/CPB Project; 13 videocassettes;  60 min. each 

            Call Number:   Video PC 2121 .F73 1987

Gale Virtual Reference Library:

You can search thousands of full-text chapters from more than 250 reference books published by Gale Cengage Learning. The ACC Library owns many of these books in printed format also. The Document Title search will search for your term in the chapter titles, giving you full-text chapters from the reference books. The content is the exactly the same as the original printed books. Thisis a subscription database, available from off-campus to ACC students, faculty and staff. Find this database with these links: ACC Library Web page > Finding Books > Reference > Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Among the books it searches are: Countries and their Cultures, Encyclopedia of Food & Culture, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Geo-Data: The World Geographical Encyclopedia, History Behind the Headlines: Origins of Conflicts Worldwide, Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy, Social Trends and Indicators USA, and many others.

Finding Articles:

Journal articles offer current and specific information and research. Search for journal articles by subject through any of the ACC Library's dozens of article databases. Many but not all offer full-text links to articles. (If needed, ask a reference librarian about finding an article though another database, print sources or interlibrary loan if it's not full-text.).

Article databases are subscription-only products. ACC students and faculty may search these from home by following screen directions. To get your ACC student username and password, see Lookup Account and Password on the Student Portal page. For a full list of journals ACC Library receives, see the online Periodicals at ACC list or check the card file at the Circulation Desk.

From the ACC Library Web page, go to Finding Articles. Then, choose either:

• General Databases to find articles on a current, popular or multidisciplinary topic and need a mix of newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals; or
• Subject Databases to find specialized articles on one subject only, such as business, science, literature, nursing, etc.

Among the General Databases are:
● EBSCO's Academic Search Premier: Over 8000 journals; about half are full-text.
● JSTOR: full-text; 117 journals covering the arts, sciences and social sciences.
● New York Times: Current (1980-present) and historical editions (1851-2003).
● WilsonSelectPlus: Completely full-text; 1+ million articles from 1400 journals.
● New York State Newspapers: includes New York Times full-text.
● Opposing Viewpoints, CQ Researcher, more.

The ACC Library subscribes to L'Express International news magazine.

Web sites:

Here are some recommended Web sites. Of the billions of Web sites in the world, these are more appropriate for college-level research.

French Search Engines/Search Engines in French:

Excite http://www.excite.fr/

Google http://www.google.fr/

Wanadoo http://www.wanadoo.fr/  

A French search engine.

Yahoo!  France http://fr.yahoo.com/

Yahoo! In French!  If you use Yahoo!, the look will be familiar.

Other French Web sites:

BBC - Languages - Learn French http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/

Just a spectacular site: The beginner's section is chock full of games and media.   Bon chance!

BBC - Schools - French http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryfrench/hello/cartoon_flash.shtml

For kids, but you might enjoy the stress-free learning environment.

Le Grand Dictionnaire http://www.granddictionnaire.com/btml/fra/r_motclef/index800_1.asp

From the Quebec government; from the Office Quebecois de la Langue Francaise.

Little Explorers: French Dictionary http://www.enchantedlearning.com/french/

A dictionary for children, but the hypertext features make the site a sophisticated learning tool.

Mrs. Seeley's Weblinks http://www.hlcs.org/Schools/HighSchool/Homework/Seeley/

By ACC adjunct professor and high school French teacher Maryann Seeley.

France in America http://international.loc.gov/intldl/fiahtml/
Bilingual digital library developed by Library of Congress and Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Covers history of French presence in North America from 16th-19th century. Full-text books, maps, prints, more.

Recess! French Games http://french.about.com/library/begin/fun/bl-gameindex.htm

All kinds of games to help you learn French.

Super French Websites http://www.uni.edu/becker/french31.html

Everything French. A huge index to all kinds of sites having to do with the language and people of France.

Verb Conjugation http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL/forms_unrest/inflect.query.html

This handy tool conjugates French verbs in the present tense.  Go ahead - type in the infinitive of a French verb. 

Radio Lingua Network http://www.radiolingua.com
Beginners' Spanish and French offered in an informal way, through podcasts. This site is particularly helpful for tourists.

French Tourism      http://www.paris.org/
"Online Since 14 July 1994, This Is The Original Paris Web Site."

French Business & Economy site    www.lesechos.fr

The Louvre http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en
Magnificent Website of a remarkable museum.

Paris Metro Information http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Paris_metro.shtml

Informative introduction to the Paris Metro system.

Tennessee Bob's Famous French Links, 2nd Edition  http://www.utm.edu/departments/french/french.html
from University of Tennessee. General site for everything French, maintained by a Professor French, Tennessee Bob Peckham.

Join the Team (French sports) www.lequipe.fr   

For French culture in the United States, see:

French Culture: http://www.frenchculture.org/

From the Cultural Services Office to the Embassy of France in the United States, covering art, books, cinema, education, music, performing arts, TV and radio.

            French News Media Sites:

            Television: http://www.m6.fr/  

Television news: www.france2.fr

            Le Figaro: www.lefigaro.fr

L'Express: http://www.lexpress.presse.fr/info/

A French magazine online - not for beginners.

            Le Monde: www.lemonde.fr

            New Observer: www.nouvelobservateur.com

Telerama: www.telerama.fr

Covers French television, movies, books, music, art, more. The Europeans believe that words that end in "rama" are cool.

            Radio Station: www.radio-france.fr

For more information:

Consult a reference librarian at any point in your research. You may also want to see other online ACC Library research guides.

To research travel to individual countries, also see these ACC Library research guides:

            Finding Information on Travel & Tourism - lists books and article databases for travel research

            Finding Travel Information on the Web - lists excellent Web sites for travel. Includes links to Country Studies, World Factbook, currency converters, health advisories, travel warnings, and much more.

            Finding Information on Art and Artists. - brings you to specific art research at the ACC Library as well as Web sites and databases.

                                                                                           Composed 11/05/BDA; updated July 2008