Modernism and its Discontents:

Central Europe in the Age of Total War

HIST 356

Prof. M. Riff
Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library
 

February 6, 2007

Susan B. Kurzmann

skurzman@ramapo.edu

 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), 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 avante-garde or nationalism and germany to locate a broad range of materials the library has on these keywords
    • Use quotation marks around a multi-word phrase so that the system will treat it as a single term, i.e., "weimar republic"
    • When you find an appropriate title, click on the Related Records tab located at the top of the 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:
    • Germany--History--1918-1933
    • Europe--Politics and government--1918-1945
    • [Name of country]

      see breakdown of topics for each country

    • Avante-garde (Aesthetics)
    • Art and revolutions--Europe
    • Art and society--Europe

OR

  • Go to Advanced Search
    • The Boolean search terms are built in for your use:
      • AND: you are commanding the system to search for material on both terms you've entered
      • OR: you are commanding the system to search for meaterial on either of the search terms you have entered
      • NOT: you are 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

   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.

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III. Reference Material

  • The reference stacks are located on the 3rd floor (this is also the library's entrance).
  • Some useful materials for your projects: 
Latin America
Art in World History (voume 2)   

Ref  N5300 .H674 2004

Chronology of European History, 15,000 B.C. to 1997

(volume 4)

Ref  D11 .C57 1997

Dictionary of 20th Century European History

Ref  D419 .T74 1997

Documents on International Affairs

Ref D442.S82

Encyclopedia of 20th-Century Architecture Ref NA680.E495 2004

The Encyclopedia of Arms Control and Disarmament

Ref JX1974.E57 1993
Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe: From the Congress of Vienna to the Fall of Communism Ref  DJK6 .E53 2000
Encyclopedia of European Social History from 1350 to 2000 Ref  HN373 .E63 2001
The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the    Holocaust

Ref DS135.E8 E45 2001

Encyclopedia of the Interwar Years: From 1919 to 1939 Ref  D727 .G745 2000
Encyclopedia of the Third Reich

Ref  DD256.5 .G76313 1991

European Political Facts, 1918-73            

Ref  JN12 .C64 1978

International Historical Statistics: Europe, 1750-2000 Ref  HA1107 .M5 2003
Modern Germany: An Encyclopedia of People, History, and Culture, 1871-1990

Ref  DD14 .M64 1998

A World in Turmoil: An Integrated Chronology of the Holocaust and World War II Ref  D804.3 .E34 1991
 

   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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IV. Finding Articles (Databases)

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:

JSTOR

Full text of more than 500 academic journals

Historical Abstracts

   

Includes abstracts of articles and reviews in scholarly publications.

TIP: If only an abstract is listed, click on the Primary Catalog link to see if the full text of the article is available in our collection in print or through another database.

Historic New York Times Full text of The New York Times from 1851 through 2003
Lexis-Nexis

Full-text database that covers top news, general news topics, news transcripts, foreign language news sources, and legal news.

TIP: Retrieve radio and television transcripts

See also:  
Humanities Index

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

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

TIP: May limit search to Peer Reviewed [articles]

Academic Search Premier

and

Expanded Academic ASAP

Multidisciplinary databases that contain many full-text articles and citations.

TIP: When only a citation/abstract is listed, 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.

Social Science Journals

Contains many full-text articles.

TIP: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.

TIP: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.Use Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT) and Quotation Marks when running a search. For Example: democracy or "political science"and europe. 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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V.  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.
    • 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.
 

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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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VII. Websites
 

  • Check Subject Resources links under History

  • Check Subject Resources links under Countries

Library of Congress Country Studies

  • 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 for your research:

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

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

  •  
 
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