• Catalog: use this to find books, periodical titles (NOT articles), reserve items, music,and movies owned by the Library. You may limit a search by language, year(s) of publication, type of material, etc. This may take a few seconds to load.

• Finding Primary and Secondary Sources:

  • Primary sources enable you to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period. The information and ideas were either created during the time period or created later by a participant or observer of the event being studied, for example:
  • Memoirs, diaries, letters, interviews, and other first-person accounts
  • Government documents
    • You might want to limit your search to Online material (listed under Quick Links) or to the Documents Without Shelves collection)
  • Newspaper articles
  • Paintings  

  Searching the Catalog for primary source material: 

  • Use the Advanced Search option

    *The Boolean search terms are built in for your use:

  • AND: you're commanding the system to search for material that addresses both terms you've entered
  • fpr example, progressive era and sources
  • OR: you're commanding the system to search for material on either of the search terms you have entered
  • NOT: you're commanding the system to search for material on the first term you have entered and to exclude any material on the second term you have entered
  • The catalog system will provide more focused results

OR

• Use the Command line/Boolean terms search option under Basic Search, e.g., "working class women" and sources

• Both these options allow you to enter additonal terms that will insure that your results will be primary source material, for example:
  • Use words like correspondence, memoir, letter, interview, autobiographies, or diaries to locate source material
  • Click on the Subjects, etc. tab on the top of a record to see the subject headings associated with that particular item. These linked subject headings will take you to other material on the same subject matter.

Searching the catalog for secondary source material:

• In Basic Search, use the keyword (default) setting for a basic search to find material, for example:
  • search for consumers and united states to locate a broad range of materials the library has on these keywords
  • Your results will come up ranked by relevance;, and you may then re-sort them by title, author, publish [=publication] date, or publish date descending (the  most recent items will be listed first)
  • When you find an appropriate title, click on the Subjects, etc. tab located at the top of a catalog record to see which Library of Congress subject headings are discussed in that particular book/DVD/periodical

  OR

• Search the catalog using Subject Browse if you know the relevant Library of Congress (LC) subject heading, for example:
  • United States--Politics and government--1933-1945
  • United States--Social Life and customs--1918-1945
  • [name of state]--Politics and government
  • Nineteen thirties
  • United States--History
    • --1901-1953
  • Depressions--1929
  • New Deal, 1933-1939
  • Consumers--United States--History

   Tips

1. Start with broad searches. It's much easier to discard too much rather than start with too little.
2. If you don't know the Subject Heading, use the Subjects, etc. tab located on the top of a catalog record to get to the headings. This will help you focus in on more relevant material.
3. You can "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record.

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• The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).

• Some useful materials for your projects: 

   Tips:

1. Use reference books to browse for project ideas and to get started on your research
2. Use the bibliographies at the end of articles, books, encyclopedias, and dictionaries to locate more material on your topic

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Find citations, abstracts, and/or full-text articles in periodicals (journals, newspapers, and magazines). In the databases which provide only citations or abstracts, click on the "check availability at Ramapo" link (terminology varies) to see whether we have access to the full text in print or through one of our other databases.

Some useful Databases for your projects:

1. Switch to the Advanced Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.Use Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) and Quotation Marks when running a search. For Example: "political science"and United States. Always check your Spelling if the database results are zero.
2. Use the Subject Terms or Thesaurus link, if available, to find the best terms to use in a database.

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• Interlibrary Loan: allows you to borrow a book or article that the George T. Potter library does not own. There is also a link from the Journal Finder page.
  • Find this link under Quick Links on the library's homepage

• Journal Finder: locate the full text of articles in specific periodicalss (journals, newspapers, magazines)to which we have access either in our print or microform collection or through a full-text database.
  • Find this link under Quick Links on the library's homepage Useful journals for your reserach to which we provide access via a database and/or print.
  • If you search for a journal to which we do not provide access, you will find a link to an Interlibrary Loan Request form for an article.

VI. Preparing Bibliographies

• Citing Sources (Duke University) for examples of the Chicago citation style. (Examples of APA, ASA, MLA, and Turabian citation styles are included as well.)
• Diana Hacker Online
• The Open Handbook Online ( by Ann Raimes with Maria Jerskey)
• Style handbooks are also kept on reserve at the Circulation Desk
• Always be consistent and follow the examples for the required style format

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Need more help? Visit or call the Reference Desk: 201.684.7574