HIST 100: Inventing the West (Hendley)

Chicago Manual of Style                                                      Under Databases on library web site        

           AND

Ref Z 253 U69 (print)

A short library guide to the most commonly cited examples is available online under Citing Sources on the library web site.

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and                           Ref LB 2369 T8 2018

  Dissertations (Turabian)

**Click on Advanced Search under Search Everything (Library Discovery Service)

Select Library Catalog link at the top of the search screen. This is an index to the collections of Milne Library.

Any Field will search for keywords in fields of the item record, including author, title, subject, and contents.  Use drop-down menu to search for a specific field such as Author, Title, Subject.  Use drop-down menu under Material Type to choose Books.  Click on Search toward the bottom of the screen.

Keyword vs. Subject Searching

Keywords are words that come to mind when you think about your topic. When you search for keywords, these words are matched with those in all fields of the records for information sources.  These fields are, among others, the author, title, place of publication, and description.  Any record with keywords searched will automatically appear in the results list as a match. 

For example, if you search for “New York,” your results will include books with New York in the title as well as books published in New York.  Keyword searches are broad in nature and are often good places to start until you determine the appropriate or authoritative subject(s) for your topic. 

Subjects or Subject Headings (sometimes called Descriptors) are specific terms assigned to an information source based upon the content of the item.  Libraries often use the Library of Congress Subject Headings, which standardize subjects in order to deliver consistent results.  By limiting a search to the Subject field, and entering the assigned Subject into the search box, you will get results that include only those records for information sources assigned that Subject.  Many information sources have multiple Subjects that increase the user’s ability to find these sources.

For example, searching for the keywords “medieval women” in any field can lead to results in which the keywords appear in the title and the description on the record for information sources.  On these records, however, the assigned Subject is “Women—History—Middle Ages, 500-1500.”  By searching for this Subject, you get results listing all information sources for which the content is medieval women. 

Using a combination of keywords and subjects can offer the advantages of both types of searching in terms of your results.

Search Tips

• Use the asterisk to truncate and search for variations of a word, including plural forms

Example:  myth* searches for myth(s), mythology, mythologies, mythological

• Use quotation marks to search for a phrase rather than individual words

Example:  “middle ages”

**Sign in with your SUNY Oneonta username and password to get complete results and to request items from other SUNY libraries through Interlibrary Loan (Resource Sharing).

You can limit your results to those Held by Milne Library or Available Online (limiters on the left of results list).

For electronic books:

            1.  Click on the title of the book

2.  Under View Online—Full text availability, link to any database listed and then to the  

     full text of the book

 For print books in Milne Library:

1.   Note the availability status.

2.   Go to Get It! and select Request Item for Remote Check Out.

3.   The item will be checked out to you, and you will be notified by e-mail when it is

      available for pick up.  Pick-up location is in the Argo Tea lobby.

4.   Library items can be returned at any time through the book drops either on the exterior 

      of the Milne Library building (to the right of the main front entrance) or next to the rear

      entrance of the library.

5.   Returned items will be quarantined for three days.

**Virtual Browse (at the bottom of selected records for print books) gives information about books on the shelf near the selected book title, which can also be useful, since like titles are classed together.

If you are having trouble finding materials on your topic in the Milne Library, or if the books you want are checked out or are missing, you can request books from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).  You cannot request an electronic book from another library on interlibrary loan.  The Interlibrary Loan link is located on the library web site.  However, the book might also be available in print, which you can request on Interlibrary Loan.  Registration on the library web site is necessary to submit requests.

For academic research, it is often important to use peer-reviewed (or refereed) journals rather than popular magazines. Peer review is the process by which a journal article is evaluated by experts in the field. An example of a peer-reviewed journal is the Renaissance Quarterly. An example of a popular magazine is People.

All of the following databases are listed alphabetically by title on the library web site under Databases.

Selected Databases Covering Many Subjects, Including History

Gender Studies

History

Locating the full text of an article in electronic form:

If there is no full text with the citation for an article in a database, the full text of the article might be available in another database. Try searching for the journal title in the Journals tab on the library web site.  Follow link(s) to listed database(s).  If the article is unavailable in any database, request the article through the Interlibrary Loan link either in the database record or on the library’s web site.

Locating the full text in print or microform:

If the periodical issue is listed as available only in print or microfilm, the article will not be accessible until the library reopens.

Requesting an article on Interlibrary Loan:

If the article is not available at Milne Library in any form, request the article through the link Interlibrary Loan either on the library web site or in the database record for the article.  Registration on the library web site is necessary to submit requests.  Complete the appropriate request form and submit.

• Use the Journals tab at the top of the library home page.
• Enter the title of the journal or magazine, for example, Past and Present, in the search box.  The title of the periodical, if available, will appear at the top of the results list.  Click on the title of the periodical.

• If the title is available in a database, link to the appropriate database where you can search for the article needed.  Check dates of coverage to determine if full text for the needed article is available. 

• If the title is available in print or microfilm, it is unavailable until the library reopens.

Mary Lynn Bensen (MaryL.Bensen@oneonta.edu)
Milne Library, SUNY Oneonta
September 2020