LibGuides: History Primary Resources: Find Books

Find Books

1) Create a list of keywords that relate to your topic. Determine broad AND narrow (specific) keywords for your topic.

2) If you need to find more keywords look a thesaurus, or perhaps an encyclopedia article (see previous tab "Background Resources")

3) Search via keywords (do not type sentences - Do not type a, the, etc.)

4) Use boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT.

AND - all results will have ALL words (If you type: Sports AND Ethics - all results will include BOTH words
OR - results will contain EITHER one word OR another
NOT - results will NOT contain a particular word

- Use to access main catalog

- Limit search by collection (TMC, Reference, Maps, etc.)

- Do a more indepth search with more fields: ISBN, call number, etc..

When searching the catalog for primary documents, perform a SUBJECT search. Subject search terms for primary documents included:

Correspondence -- ex. Nuns and Ireland and Correspondence

Sources -- ex. "Civil Rights" and Sources

Interviews -- ex. Authors, Spanish and interviews

Description -- ex. Quebec and Description

Archives -- ex. Picasso and Archives

Personal narratives -- ex."Iraq War" and Personal and Narratives

Maps -- ex. Japan and Civilization and Maps

Speeches -- ex. Lincoln and Speeches

Looking for eBooks? Refine your results on the left to "Available Online"

Item not available @ Cortland? Use Interlibrary Loan!

Library of Congress Call Number Ranges for Subject related Browsing on the 2nd Floor:

D History (General)
DA Great Britain
DAW Central Europe
DB Austria, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
DC France, Andorra, Monaco
DD Germany
DE Greco-Roman World
DF Greece
DG Italy, Malta
DH Low Countries, Benelux Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg)
DJ Netherlands (Holland)
DJK Eastern Europe (General)
DK Russia, Soviet Union, Former Soviet Republics, Poland (Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia [country], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
DL Northern Europe, Scandinavia
DP Spain, Portugal
DQ Switzerland
DR Balkan Peninsula (Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Albania, Yugoslavia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia)
DS Asia
DT Africa
DU Oceania (South Seas, Australia) (New Zealand, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Hawaiian Islands, Samoan Islands, New Guinea)
E America, United States (complete LCCS, American History)
F United States (local), British America, Dutch America, French America, Latin America, Spanish America

Need to find the right subject headings? Use the Library of Congress Subject Headings list!