Spanish American Seminar
(Senior Seminar)
Spanish 492

Spanish Research Guide	Library Web Site
Academic Resource Center	Ask a Librarian
Spanish 492 Syllabus (PDF file)

Search MLA International Bibliography

How to Find:
Books | Book Chapters | Journal Articles | Citing Sources

FINDING BOOKS

Using Catalogs to locate books:

1.) Ariadne - Kalamazoo College Library Catalog

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

2.) MeLCat Group of Libraries in Michigan

• 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

Other Places to Find Books:

Spanish Research Guide on Finding Books

See also: Library of Congress Classification...

Using Subject Headings and Descriptors

• Search by Keyword (use Boolean Logic) and look for Subject Headings in individual records.
• Find and Use Descriptors (Subject Headings)
• Use words from the Subject Headings in a Keyword search
• Some catalogs and databases let you click on the Subject Heading itself

Examples of Subject Headings:

• Spanish American Poetry
• Spanish Poetry
• Spanish Literature
• Spanish American Literature
• Latin American Literature
• Varo, Remedios

What's in the Reference Collection

Background Sources

• Latin American literature and its times, PQ7081 .M625 1999
• Cambridge history of Latin American literature, (Ref. PQ7081.A1 C35 1996 v.1-3)
• Contemporary literary criticism (Ref. PN771 .C59)
• Encyclopedia of Latin American literature, (Ref. PQ 7081.A1 E56 1997)
• Handbook of Latin American literature (Ref. PQ7081.A1 H36 1992)
• Latin American short story: an annotated guide to anthologies and criticism, Z1609.F4 B35 1992
• Latin American literature in the 20th century: a guide (Ref. PQ 7081 .L36 1986)
• Latin American literary authors: an annotated guide to bibliographies, (Ref. Z 1609.L7 Z82 1986 )
• Poetry criticism : excerpts from criticism of the works of the most significant and widely studied poets of world literature, (Ref. PN 1111 .P6 v.4)
• Twentieth-century poetry from Spanish America: an index to Spanish language and bilingual anthologies, (Ref. PQ 7082.P7 S6 1998)

Bibliographies

• Latin American literary authors: an annotated guide to bibliographies (Ref. Z 1609.L7 Z82 1986)
• Selective bibliography of bibliographies of Hispanic American literature (Ref. Z 1601.A2 B7x)

Don't forget to use bibliographies contained in reference books, annotated bibliographies, circulating books, and journal articles!

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Book Chapters

To find chapters in books, search in the four places listed above for finding books.

To find chapters within books, do a keyword search on your topic, whether your topic is an idea, a period of history, or a person. A keyword search will search multiple fields of the record for a book, such as title, author, contents, etc.

Example: remedios varo
Example: dada
Example: mexican revolution

In Ariadne, you can use a keyword search to find your topic specifically in the contents note field, where chapter titles are listed. To search the note field, your search would look like this:

Example: n:mexican revolution

If your topic is within the field of literature, you can also find book chapters in the MLA Bibliography (an index to the fields of language and literature).

MLA International Bibliography < about >
Produced by the Modern Language Association.
Critical works on literature and languages.
Covers publications from 1963 to the present.

In the MLA Bibliography, you can limit your search to book chapters by choosing "book article" in the Document Type Phrase option. You may also search for sources that are not in English by choosing the Language Phrase option "non-English" (you cannot specify Spanish, however).

Essay and General Literature Index < about >
Cites essays contained in anthologies and collections published in the United States, Great Britain and Canada.
Coverage spans the humanities and social sciences, including literary works, art history, drama, and film.

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FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES

See How to Find Journal Articles and Indexes and databases in Spanish

Spanish Journals available in our Library (print format)

To find journal articles in scholarly journals, you will need to look in two places: journal indexes and full text databases of scholarly journals.

Look for citations and articles:

• Gather citations with Indexes (MLA Bibliography for Literature) and Databases
  • Search by Keyword (use Boolean Logic)
  • Find and Use Subject Headings (also called Descriptors)
  • Limit by Language and/or Year
  • Limit by Document Type to find articles only
• Search for articles in Indexes and full text databases
• Find citations with Bibliographies in books and articles

Do you have access to a journal?  

1.) Ariadne (print)

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

2.) Electronic Journal Finder (online)

• 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, Electronic Journals, or WestCat.

All Indexes and databases listed alphabetically
Off-Campus Access to Licensed Resources

Is a particular journal covered in a specific Index?

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory Online < about >
Which journals are in which FirstSearch databases

Journal Indexes:

MLA International Bibliography < about >
Critical works on literature and languages.
Covers publications from 1963 to the present.

Essay and General Literature Index < about >

Handbook of Latin American Studies Online (1935- ) < about >

Art Abstracts < about >
Arts & Humanities Search < about >
Humanities Abstracts < about >
Handbook of Latin American Studies < about >
Essay and General Literature Index < about >

America: History and Life < about >
History of the United States and Canada from prehistory to present.
Historical Abstracts < about >
History of the world from 1450 to present (excluding United States and Canada).

Full Text Databases, only scholarly journals:

JSTOR < about >
Topics in JSTOR relevant to your project: History, Language & Literature, Latin American Studies.
ProjectMUSE < about >
Topics in ProjectMUSE relevant to your project: Art, History, Language, Latin American Studies, Literature.

Full Text Databases, a mix of scholarly and popular sources:
Alphabetical List of Full-Text Sources

ProQuest Research Library < about >To search *only* scholarly sources, check the box that says
"Show articles from peer reviewed publications only."
Expanded Academic ASAP < about >
General Reference Center Gold < about >
LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe < about >
Wilson Select Full Text < about >

Types of Periodicals

Scholarly Journals (Latin American Research Review)

• Authors are scholars or researchers in their fields.
• Authors cite their sources in footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies.
• Individual issues have little or no advertising.
• Articles must go through a peer-review process.
• Articles usually report original scholarly research.
• Most illustrations are charts, figures, or graphs.
• Authors use the specialized language or jargon of the discipline.

Popular Magazines (Atlantic Monthly)

• Authors are freelance writers or magazine staff members.
• Authors may mention sources, but rarely cite them in notes or bibliographies.
• Individual issues contain many advertisements.
• There is no peer review process. Articles are reviewed by editors or publishers.
• Illustrations are numerous and colorful.
• Articles are meant to inform and entertain an educated audience.
• Language is written for the general adult audience (no specialized jargon).

Is it Scholarly? Look it up in Ulrich's Online!

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory Online < about >
Look for section called "Document Type"
Document Type MUST say "Academic/Scholarly Publication" to be considered scholarly!

Recap:

Does It Exist?

Is It Available to Me?

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When evaluating sources (all types of sources!), pay attention to:

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?

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CITING YOUR SOURCES in the MLA style

ALWAYS check the style manual!! DO NOT rely on other guides!

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers.
6th ed., New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
(Ref. LB2369 .G53 2003 )

For Help, See: How to Cite Sources

• MLA Style From The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.
• MLA Style From the Modern Language Association (MLA).
  (you must follow the links for MLA style).
• MLA Style Form Guide from the Ohio State University Libraries
• Using MLA Style to Cite and Document Sources
  (includes information on citing electronic sources)

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

Examples:

Book citation:

Reader, Avid, and Perma Bound. A Comprehensve History of
	Books and Bookmaking in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo: City Press, 1933.

Journal Citation:

Hornet, Kay. "Kalamazoo's Inspirational College Mascots." Jivin' in the Hive 26.3
	(1999) : 21-35.

Chapter in a Book:

Seashore, Shelly. "Bathing Cap Use in Kalamazoo, Michigan." Sand, Soil,
	and Toil: Beaches in the American Midwest. Ed. Ivana Suntann and Misty C. Weed. Chicago: Flaming Dune Publications, 1998. 234-267.

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