I: Preparing to Do Research

Follow these general rules of thumb and your research in the library will be successful:

--Start your research as early as possible. That way if books are checked out you can get them when they come back, or look into borrowing the book from another library.

--Think carefully about ways of performing searches on various databases. Learn the rules which organize each specific database, and adjust your search accordingly.

--Make a list of several "key terms" which address your topic of research. Then refine this list as you search, until you find the best terms to enter into a database in order to find information about your topic. This is the most difficult thing about searching, so you may want to ask the Reference Librarian on duty to assist you.

--Be creative and search both from the specific to the general and the general to the specific (e.g., when looking for information about James Joyce, try Dublin literature as well as Irish literature, and stream-of-consciousness as well as modernism).

--Devise a reliable system for taking notes about what you find. Some people find keeping bibliographic entries on 3x5 index cards is helpful, and some even use different colors to indicate primary or secondary materials. Whatever system you use, be sure it includes all the standard bibliographic information: author, full title, place of publication, journal name, press, edition and volume numbers, and date. To see the sorts of information you will need for a bibliographic entry, see the guide to footnoting.

II: Useful Library Resources

Library Electronic Materials (available via the WWW from a campus IP or via a proxy account available from the library):

Ebsco Academic Search Premier provides a searchable database and (in many case) full-text delivery for a variety of academic journals and resources.

Infotrac Expanded Academic provides a searchable database and (in many case) full-text delivery for a variety of academic journals and resources.

Lexis/Nexis provides a searchable database and (in many case) full-text delivery for a variety of resources, including newspapers, magazines, and journals.

Current Contents Connect provides the Tables of Contents for a variety of scholarly journals over the past six months.

Ethnic NewsWatch provides full-text access to non-mainstream press around the world.

WorldCat provides access to online catalogs for the World's libraries, and can be limited to tell where a book is in the New York area.

Humanities Abstracts provides access to indexes of research in the Humanities (including History) with many full-texts available.

Social Science Abstracts provides access to indexes of research in the Social Sciences (related to History) with many full-texts available.

Modern Language Association (MLA) Bibliography provides an index of literary and cultural research with many full-texts available.

The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (commonly referred to as NUCMC, or "Nuk-muk") is now searchable online at The Library of Congress. This is an index of archival collections by topic, location, and personal name.

CD-ROMs (located in Reference Department on CD-ROM computer terminals):

America: History and Life (also available online via the CSI Library)

Use as a subject index for locating books, book reviews, and journal articles in American history by subject. Remember to look at the subject terms which come up during your search, recording them for creating new searches after you complete your present search.

Historical Abstracts (also available online via the CSI Library)

Use as America: History and Life above, but to find information about topics in world history, including European history.

You may also find other CD-ROM databases useful, such as the New York Times Online, Lexis/Nexis, etc. Do some exploring to see what kinds of information you can get from other databases.

Useful Reference Works for American History Projects:

This is a brief list of some interesting works on hand in the Reference Department of CSI's Library; there are many more!

The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia (CT 103.C26 1994)

Dictionary of American Biography, Comprehensive Index 1996 (E 176.D563 Index)

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, v.1-2 (E 184.A1 G14 1995)

Encylopedia of African-American Culture and History, v. 1-5 (E 185.E65 1996)

Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, v. 1-2 (E 185.86 .B542 1994)

The Penguin Dictionary of Contemporary American History (E 740.7.H64 1997)

Encyclopedia of the American West, v. 1-4 (F 591.E485 1996)

The Encyclopedia of New York City (F 128.3 .E75 1995)

Great Lives From History. American Women Series, v. 1-5 (HQ 1412.G74 1995)

Lissauer's Encyclopedia of Popular Music in America (ML 128.I5147 1996)

North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century (N 6503.N67 1995)

American Novelists since World War II. Fifth series (PS 379.A554 1996)

Women in the United States Military, 1901-1995: A Research Guide (UB 418.W65 F75 1996).

[For additional materials, see CSIL Reference List, compiled by librarian Linda Roccos.]

Key journals to consult:

American Historical Review (journal of the American Historical Association)

Journal of American History (journal of the Organization of American Historians)

Environmental History (and predecessor journals Environmental History Review and Forest & Conservation History) (journal of the American Society for Environmental History and of the Forest Conservation Society)

American Quarterly (journal of the American Studies Association)

Reviews in American History (comparative book reviews)

Online Card Catalogs:

Starting Points (from class website): http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/library.html

CSI Library Website: http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/

Telnet/WWW addresses:

The New York Public Library:

CATNYP (CATalog of The New York Public Library): http://catnyp.nypl.org/

or Telnet to NYPLGATE.NYPL.ORG port 23

(On WWW, type telnet://NYPLGATE.NYPL.ORG:23 into the Location Line)

Enter nypl at the login prompt.

The New York Public Library Branch Libraries:

The Branch Libraries Online catalog (LEO via the Web) at http://www.nypl.org/branch/

The Staten Island Branch Libraries Online catalog at http://www.nypl.org/branch/

or Telnet to telnet://nyplgate.nypl.org, and at the login prompt type: leo

New York University (NYU) Libraries:

The NYU Libraries Homepage: http://www.nyu.edu/library/

The NYU Libraries Online catalog: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/cat.htm

Columbia University Libraries:

Columbia University Libraries Homepage: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/

Columbia University Libraries Online catalog at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/clio.html

The State University of New York at Stonybrook (SUNY-Stonybrook) Libraries:

The SUNY-Stonybrook Libraries Gateway at http://www.sunysb.edu/library/

The SUNY-Stonybrook Libraries Online catalog at http://webpac.cc.sunysb.edu/webpac-bin/wgbroker?090518151737012+-access+top.sbccstar

Metropolitan Museum of Art Library:

Metropolitan Museum of Art Homepage: http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp

Metropolitan Museum of Art Library Online catalog at http://library.metmuseum.org/

New York Botanical Garden Library:

Metropolitan Museum of Art Homepage: http://www.nybg.org/

New York Botanical Garden LuEsther T. Mertz Library: http://www.nybg.org/bsci/libr/

New York Botanical Garden LuEsther T. Mertz Library Online catalog at http://librisc.nybg.org/screens/opacmenu.html

Rutgers University Libraries:

Rutgers University Libraries Homepage: http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/

Rutgers University Libraries Online catalog at http://www.iris.rutgers.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/VVW7Jnydl9/34570312/60/3

Princeton University Libraries:

Princeton University Libraries Homepage: http://libweb.princeton.edu:2003/

Princeton University Libraries Online catalog at http://infoshare1.princeton.edu:2003/catalogs/princeton.html

Cornell University Libraries:

Cornell University Libraries Homepage: http://campusgw.library.cornell.edu/

Cornell University Libraries Online catalog at http://catalog.library.cornell.edu/

The Library of Congress:

The Library of Congress's Online catalog at http://lcweb.loc.gov/catalog/

The Library of Congress's Z39.50 Gateway at http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/

The University of Colorado Library:

Telnet to libraries.colorado.edu port 23

(On WWW, type telnet://libraries.colorado.edu:23 into the Location Line)

The University of California Library System (MELVYL):

Telnet to telnet to MELVYL.UCOP.EDU port 23

(On WWW, type telnet://MELVYL.UCOP.EDU:23/ into the Location Line)

Library Staff:

Don't forget the most important research resource in the library--the librarians! Librarians are well-educated research professionals, and are also members of the College of Staten Island faculty. Just like your professors, librarians are here to help you learn. Don't forget to ask librarians at the Reference Desk for help with your research if you cannot find what you are looking for. In addition, several times each semester the Library staff organize library workshops to help students learn how to use the resources at CSI. Don't miss this vital opportunity to learn from those who know the library best.