Culture and Society in Victorian America
History 206

FINDING BOOKS

Using Catalogs to locate books:

1.) Ariadne

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Browse the shelves by Call Number

2.) MeLCat

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• About MeLCat

3.) WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Browse the shelves by Call Number
• Waldo Library: Hours and How to get to Western

4.) WorldCat and 5.) Interlibrary Loan

• Search by Keyword
• Find and Use Subject Headings
• Order item through Interlibrary Loan

Examples of Books available at 'K'

• Subject Heading: United States Social Life And Customs 1865 1918
• Subject Heading: Women United States History 19th Century
• Subject Heading: Popular Culture United States History 19th Century
• Subject Heading: United States Social Conditions 1865 1918
• Subject Heading: United States Politics And Government 19th Century

See also: Library of Congress Classification...
See the History Research Guide: Finding Books.

Western Michigan's Waldo Library - Hours and How to get to Western

FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES

What Journals does the Library Own?

• In paper - Check Ariadne - search on your discipline or subject area, and in Step 2, limit the location to "Periodicals"
  • Or - Search Ariadne for a specific journal - enter the journal title into the Ariadne Title Search
• Online - Check Online Journals at K - to find out what online journals the Library subscribes to

Which index includes the journal I'm looking for?

• Periodical titles in FirstSearch indexes and databases
• Ulrich's Periodicals Directory < about >

See Also the History Research guide Finding Articles on History.

See the History Research Guide: Using Indexes and Databases to help select an Index.

Advanced Search Help
Off-Campus Access to Licensed Resources

Online Indexes

America: History and Life < about >

Humanities Abstracts < about >

Periodical Abstracts < about >

Social Sciences Abstracts < about >

Print Indexes to 19th century and early 20th century periodical literature:

New York times index: "Prior series" 1851-1912 AI21 .N48, Reference Storage

Nineteenth century Readers' guide to periodical literature; 1890-1899,
with supplementary indexing, 1900-1922 AI3 .R22, Reference Storage

Readers' guide to periodical literature; v.1-52 1900-1992 AI3 .R227, Reference Storage

Poole's index to periodical literature; v.1-6 1802-1906 AI3 .P7, Reference Storage

Do you have access to a journal?  

1.) Ariadne (print)

• Title search on Title of the Journal to locate print journal

2.) Online Journals at K

• Title search on Title of the Journal to locate article in a Full Text Database

3.) WestCat - Western Michigan's catalog

• Title search on Title of the Journal
• Waldo Library - Hours and How to get to Western

4.) Interlibrary Loan

• Order item through Interlibrary Loan
  
• Use *only* when the journal is not available through Ariadne or Online Journals at K

Note: Don't forget to use Print and Online Bibliographies

WEB SITES

To find Web sites, use search engines and web indexes. See Finding Web Sites and Web Indexes and Directories.
See also Web Sites by Subject and Finding Web Sites on History.

WorldCat < about >
WorldCat contains bibliographic citations for high-quality Web sites on a variety of subjects. When you search WorldCat for Web sites, remember to check the box for "Internet Resources" in the section called "Limit type to". Sites are selected according to a collection development policy that emphasizes quality, authoritativeness, and durability.

Use these points to evaluate the credibility of Websites:

1. Accuracy
How reliable is the information? Are there editors and fact checkers?
2. Authority
What are the author's qualifications? Is the publisher reputable?
3. Objectivity
Is the author trying to sway opinion? Is the information free from bias?
4. Currency
Is the publication date indicated? Is the source up to date?
5. Coverage
Does the site cover the topic comprehensively, or are there information gaps?

Sites that provide guidance on evaluating Websites:

• Evaluating Web Resources
  Widener University Library
• Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
  Johns Hopkins University Library
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, or Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Resources
  New Mexico State University Library
• Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
  UCLA College Library

CITING YOUR SOURCES in the Chicago Style

Examples of Citations in the Chicago Style:

Book citation:

Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America.
	New York: A.A. Knopf, 1985.

Journal Citation:

Edwards, Justin D. "Henry James's 'Alien' New York: Gender and Race in the
	American Scene." American Studies International 36, no. 1 (1998): 66-80.

Chapter in a Book:

Schlereth, Thomas J. "Country Stores, County Fairs, and Mail-Order Catalogues:
	Consumption in Rural America." In Consuming Visions: Accumulation and Display
	of Goods in America, 1880-1920 edited by Simon J. Bronner, 251-300.
	New York: Norton, 1989.

Chicago Manual of Style
14th ed. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Reference, Z253 .U69 1993.

Chicago Style
From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.
See the The Chicago Manual of Style FAQ web site for citing electronic resources in the Chicago Style.

See: How to Cite Sources

See also Citing Sources for help in citing print and electronic resources in various bibliographic styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.)