Latin American Literature Since 1910

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

September 20, 2007

Leigh Keller

lkeller1@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, journal 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 latin american literature to locate a broad range of materials the library has on those keywords OR
      • search for Pablo Neruda as a keyword. This will get materials both authored by and about him.

    • Search the catalog using Subject Browse feature ONLY if you know the Library of Congress Subject Headings
    • For example:

        • Latin American Literature

        Latin American Literature History and Criticism

        Authors, Latin American

    • 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.
  • Search other New Jersey College and University Libraries here

      

    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.

    Top of page

    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:
      • Materpieces of Latino Literature Ref PQ7081.A1 M29 1994
      Modern Latin American Literature Ref PQ 7081.F63 1975
      Latin American Literature and Its Times Ref PQ 7081.M625 1999
      Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature Ref PQ7081.A1 E56 1997
      Latin American History: a guide to the literature in English Ref Z1601.H853
      Latin American Writers Ref PQ 7081.A1 L37 1989
      Resources for Latin American Studies Ref Z1610.G671977
      Modern Latin-American Fiction Writers-First and Second Series Ref PQ 7082.N7 M55
     

       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

    Top of page

    V. Finding Articles (Databases)

    Some useful Databases for your projects:

    Humanities Index A bibliographic database where periodical coverage includes some of the best-known scholarly journals and numerous lesser-known but important specialized magazines.
    Literature Resource Center Provides many full-text articles about authors and their works.
    MLA Bibliography Premier database for searching authors, their works, and criticism. Searches can be performed for Spanish language articles. This database is included in Literature Resource Center.
    JSTOR Comprised of the full-text of more than 500 academic journals.
    Academic Search Premier A multidisciplinary database that contains many full-text articles. May also limit to scholary (peer-reviewed) journals.

    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: democracy and (realist or realism) nd critique 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.

    Top of page

    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.

     

    • 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
     

    Top of page

    VII. Preparing Bibliographies

    • Citing Sources (Duke University) for examples of APA, ASA, Chicago, MLA, and Turabian citation styles
    • 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

    Top of page

    VIII. Web Sources

    • ARL Latin Americanist Research Resources: Core components of the database include: I.Latin American Periodicals Tables of Contents (LAPTOC): provides article titles from the tables of contents over 800 periodicals published in Latin America and the Caribbean. They cover all fields and are searchable by article title keyword, author, journal title, country, and date.
    • CLASE: Citas Latinoamericanas en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades: CLASE is a social sciences and humanities database created in 1975 at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). It contains more than 200,000 citations to articles, essays, book reviews, statistics and other documents published in over 1,300 Latin American and Caribbean periodicals.
    • HLAS: Handbook of Latin American Studies: Bibliography of works on Latin America selected by scholars and edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress. The sources include books, journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers.

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

    •  
    | George T. Potter Library |
    | 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah NJ 07430 | (201) 684-7575 |

    Design by Tibor Csokasi and Jon Jon Chua; Sketch Provided by Jon Jon Chua
    		 Please send your suggestions and comments to:
    Liz Siecke