Contemporary Latin America

HIST 283; Prof. C. Carreras
Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library
 

September 19, 2008

Susan B. Kurzmann

skurzman@ramapo.edu

x7199

 I. Library Homepage: http://library.ramapo.edu

  • Provides access to the catalog (OPAC), databases, interlibrary loan forms, etc.
     

II. Finding Books at the George T. Potter Library

  • Catalog: use this to find books, periodical titles (NOT articles), government documents, 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.
  • Use the Basic Search to find material using Keywords
    • For example: search for "colonial mexico" or colonial and mexico to locate a broad range of materials the library has on these keywords
    • When you find an appropriate title, click on the Related Records 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 feature if you know the relevant Library of Congress subject heading
  • For example:
    • Guatemala--History
    • United States--Foreign relations--Brazil
    • Brazil--Foreign relations--United States
    • Brazil--Strategic aspects

OR

  • Go to Advanced Search
    • The Boolean search terms ("operators") are built in for your use:
      • AND: you're telling the system to search for material that addresses both terms you've entered
      • OR: you're telling the system to search for material on either of the search terms you have entered
      • NOT: you're telling the system to search for material on the first term you've entered and to exclude any material on the second term you've entered
      • The catalog system will provide more focused results

   Tips

  1. Start with broad searches. It is 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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IV. Reference Material

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

Some useful materials for your projects: 

Cambridge History of Latin America Ref F1410.C1834 1984
The Companion to Hispanic Studies Ref CB226 2002b
*Encyclopedia of Latin American History and         Culture Ref F1406.E53 1996
Encyclopedia of Mexico Ref F1210.E63 1997
Latin America and the Caribbean: A Continental Overview of Environmental Issues Ref GE160.L29 H55 2004
Latin American and the Caribbean: Guide to Research Sources Ref Ref F1408.Z99 L35
Latin America and the United States: A Documentary History Ref F1418.L354 2000

The Latin American Historical Dictionaries series: Hsitorical Dictionary of...(Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, etc.)

Various call numbers
Bibliograpies  
G. K. Hall Bibliographic Guide to Latin American Studies Ref F1408 .Z99 B494 2002
   
Handbook of Latin American Studies

Print copy: Ref Z1605 .H23

Reference Materials on Latin America in English Ref F1408.Z99 W89
 

   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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V. Finding Articles (Databases)

Some useful Databases for your projects:

JSTOR

Comprised of the full-text of more than 500 academic journals

Historical Abstracts

OR

America: History and Life

Historical Abstracts:

History of the world from 1450 to the present (excludes the United States and Canada)

America: History and Life:

History of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.

Both are abstract databases of scholarly material.

*Click on Fulltext or Primary Catalog links to see if we have access to the full text of the article through another database or in print in our collection.

*Use the CLIO Notes to locate basic information about the event/time period.

Academic Search Premier

Multidisciplinary database that contains many full-text articles and citations.

*When only a citation is indexed, click on the Check availability at Ramapo link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection in print or through another database.

See also:  
Humanities Index

A bibliographic database that cites articles from English-language periodicals.

*Click on WilsonLink to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection in print or through another database.

*May limit search to Peer Reviewed [articles]

Social Science Journals

Contains many full-text articles.

*When the result is only a citation or abstract, click on Find a copy to see if the full text of hte article is available in our collectin in print or through another database.

*May limit search to Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed

Scholarly/Peer Reviewed/Refereed articles have been reviewed by a selected panel of experts in the discipline covered by that journal. Many of the databases allow you to limit your search to these articles.

    Tips

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

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VI.  Interlibrary Loan and Journal Finder

  • 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.

    Useful journals for your reserach:

    • Hispanic American Historical Review
    • Latin Amerian Research Review
    • NACLA
    • Find this link under Quick Links on the library's homepage
 

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VII. Preparing Bibliographies

  • Citing Sources (Duke University) for examples of APA, ASA, Chicago, MLA, and Turabian citation styles
  • Diana Hacker Online
  • 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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VIII. Web Sources

  • For Internet searching, access the library's link to Evaluating Websites to determine if the site is authoritative enough to use in your paper.

      Useful Websites

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

OR

Use QandA NJ, a 24/7 virtual chat with a reference librarian.

 
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