The American West

HIST 311 ; Prof. C. Meyer
Guide for finding sources at the George T. Potter Library
 

February 5, 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 Primary and Secondary Sources

• Primary sources enable researchers 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.

• Some examples of primary sources to study the history of the American West:
  •  Memoirs, diaries, letters, interviews, and other first-person accounts
  • Government documents
  • Newspaper articles
  • Paintings

• 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.

• Searching the catalog for primary source material :   

• Use the Advanced Search option
  • or
• Use the Command line / Boolean terms search option under Basic Search
• Both these options allow you to enter additonal terms that will insure that your results will be primary source material
• For example
  • in Advanced Search, enter american west and sources
  • in Command line / Boolean terms option, enter "american west " and sources
• Using words like correspondence, memoir, letter, interview, autobiographies, or diaries will help you to locate source material
• Click on the Related Records 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 "lewis and clark " or "national parks " to locate a broad range of materials the library has on these keywords
• Your results will come up ranked by relevance; you may then re-sort them by title, author, publish [=publication] date, or publish date descending
• 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 (LC) subject heading, for example:

• Northwest, Pacific--Discovery and exploration

• Indians of North America

  • may subdivide by various topics:
  • --Treaties
  • --Legal statutes, laws, etc.
  • --Politics and government
  • --Intellectual life
  • --Economic conditions
  • --Government relations

 

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.

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:

American Decades	Ref E169.1. A471977 2004
Annals of America	Ref E173 .A793 2003
Artists of the American West	Ref N6536.D38
Dictionary of the American West	Ref PE2970 .W4 B5 1993
Documents of American History	Ref E173 .D59 1988
Encyclopedia of the American West	Ref F591. E485 1996
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures:               The Pacific Region; The Rocky Mountain Region; The Southwest	Various call numbers
The Native North American Almanac	Ref E77 .N37 1994
The New Encyclopedia of the American West	Ref F591 .N46 1998
Atlases
Historical Atlas of the American West	Ref atlas tables G1381 .S1 B4 1989
Mapping America's Past	Ref atlas tables G1201 .S1 C3 1996
Rand McNally's Pioneer Atlas of the American West	Ref atlas tables G1380 .R35 1969

IV. Electronic Resources

• Some useful Databases for your projects:

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

Tips

1. Always switch to the Advanced Search page in a database. This will give you more control over your results.
2. Always use Boolean Operators-AND, OR, NOT and Quotation Marks when running a search. For Example: Indians and (United States or Canada) and Indians OR ("economic conditions" or "social conditions")
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.

 

• The Library of Congress: American Memory

  American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.

• National Archives and Records Administration

 

Check the following Subject Resources linked under United States Government:

• FirstGov

Check the following Subject Resources linked under Newspapers & Electronic Media

• Television News Archives: Vanderbilt University

 

• National Public Radio

Use Evaluating Websites to determine if a website is authoritative enough to use in your paper.

Useful Websites:

• The Multicultural American West: Washington State University

• Women Artists of the American West: Purdue University

• WestWeb Catherine Lavender, College of Staten Island, CUNY

• Old West James A. Janke; Dakota State University

• PBS: American Experience

American Experience and many other PBS programs are great sources of information.

•  Techniques for Evaluating American Indian Web Sites  Elaine M. Cubbins

• Index of Native American Resources on the Internet   Karen Strom

VI. Bibliographies and Annotated Bibliographies

• Use the Citing Websites and Print Sources for "Works Cited" citation style guidance
  • Follow the examples given for the Chicago citation style

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

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