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First Year Seminar: American Indians

INTD 101; Prof. D. Stark

October 16  , 2006

Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library

Susan B. Kurzmann

skurzman@ramapo.edu

Project SAILS

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

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

• First-Year Seminar Page  Information on library research for all FYS classes

• Library Research in a Nutshell  Brief guide to beginning your research

• Course Reserve  Need either Ramapo ID (R#) or barcode (provided by the library)

• Q&A New Jersey  Reference assistance when there is no reference librarian available

II.  Avoiding Plagiarism

•        Academic Integrity

•       Use Citing Sources for examples of "In-Text Citations" and "Works Cited"

  (Style handbooks are located at the circulation desk)

III. Finding Books at the 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.

• Search the catalog using Keywords to find material
  • For example: search for "wounded knee " or "native americans " to locate a broad range of material and look for ideas for your project

 

               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 Related Records 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. Can "virtually" browse the shelves by clicking on the call number in a record

 

OR

• Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature if you know the relevant Library of Congress (LC) subject heading, for example:
  • Indians of North America
  • Navajo Indians--Social life and customs

IV. Electronic Resources

• Some useful Databases for finding articles:

• Choose database you would like to search
  • By subject

OR

• By using the alphabetic list: Title Directory (A-Z)

• Journal Finder : determine if a journal is available full-text online, in print in the library, or available on microfilm

 V.  Reference Material on American Indians

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

(Atlas) Mapping America's Past	Ref atlas tables G1201 .S1 C3 1996
Dictionary of the American Indian	Ref E77 .S84
Documents of American Indian Diplomacy	Ref KF8202 1999
The Gale Encyclopedia of Natie American Tribes	Ref E77 .G15 1998
Guide to Research on North American Indians	Ref E77 .Z99 H57
Handbook of North American Indians	Ref E76.2 .H36
Native America in the Twentieth Century	Ref E76.2 .N36 1994
Native North American Almanac: A Reference Work on Native North Americans in the United States and Canada	Ref E77 .N37 1994
Native Peoples A to Z	Ref E58 .N38 2000

VI.  Websites

• Subject Resources
  • History: The Library of Congress: American Memory
  • Newspapers & Electronic Media: Television News Archives: Vanderbilt University; National Public Radio

• Use Techniques for Evaluating American Indian Web Sites  by Elaine M. Cubbins to determine if the site is authoritative enough to use in your paper, or use the library's link to Evaluating Websites

• There are many websites devoted to American Indian research, for example:
  • Index of Native American Resources on the Internet: Karen Strom
  • Native American Sites and Home of the American Indian Library Association Web Page: Lisa A. Mitten
  • National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
  • NativeWeb: Resources for Indigenous Cultures around the World
    

VII. Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan: allows students to borrow a book or article that the Potter library does not own. There is a link from the Journal Finder page.

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