Introduction to Doing Research with Library Resources

The Henry G. Bennett Memorial Library contains many resources to help in answers to simple questions to providing information for a report or research paper. This paper will outline the main tools that use can use to pinpoint the exact resources that you need. Here at the Henry G. Bennett Memorial Library there is much useful information that is available in many different locations in the library and also in many different formats. This document will hopefully point you in the right direction in locating the right materials for your project, report, or paper.

SIRSI ILINK CATALOG

REFERENCE COLLECTION

General Encyclopedias

• Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968 (R 903 D56)
• The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The Macmillan Company & The Free Press, 1967 (R 103 Emle)
• Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy. Greenwood Press, 1997. (R 180.3 En1e)
• Encyclopedia of the Confederacy. Simon and Schuster, 1993 (R 973.713 En3)
• Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. Macmillan Publishing Co., 1990 (R 940.5318 En1h)
• Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Roses. ABC-Clio, 2001 (R 942.04003 W12e)
• Encyclopedia of Romanticism: Culture in Britian, 1780s-1830s. Garland Publishing, 1992 (R 941 En1)
• Victoria Britan: An Encyclopedia. Garland Publishing, 1988 (R 941.081 V66)
• An Oxford Companion to The Romantic Age.Oxford University Press, 1999 (R 941.07 Ox2m)
• Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Britian: An Encyclopedia. MacMillan Publishing Company, 1987 (R 200.321 En1)
• Encyclopedia Britain. Macmillan Publishing Co., 1993. (R 941.003 G21e)
• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. McMillain Publishers Limited, 2001. (R 780.3 N42s2)
• Encyclopedia of Popular Music. MUZE UK, LTd., 1999 (R 781.6403 En1L3)
• Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History ABC-Clio, 2005 (R 940.3 W89T)
• Dictionary of the Middle Ages Thompson Gale, 2004 (R 909.07 D56S)
• Encyclopedia of European Social History Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. (R 306.09403 En1s)
• The GreenWood Encyclopedia of Daily Life: A Tour through History from Ancient Times to the Present Greenwood Press, 2004. (R 390 G85S)
• Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism Since 1450 Thompson Gale, 2007. (R 325.303 EN1B)
• History of World Trade since 1450 Thompson Gale, 2006. (R 382.09 H62m)
• Great Events from History: The Ancient World Prehistory-476 Salem Press, 2004. (R 930 G79C)
• Great Events from History: The Middle Ages 477-1453 Salem Press, 2005. (R 909.07 G79P)
• Great Events from History: The Renaissance 1454-1600 Salem Press, 2005. (R 940.21 G79M)
• Great Events from History: The 17th Century 1601-1700 Salem Press, 2006. (R 909.6 G79T)
• Great Events from History: The 18th Century 1701-1800 Salem Press, 2006. (R 909.7 G79P)
• Great Events from History: The 19th Century 1801-1900 Salem Press, 2007. (R 909.81 G79P)
• Encyclopedia of the Renaissance Sharles Scribner's Sons, 1999. (R 940.2103 En1g)
• Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment Oxford University Press, 2003. (R 940.25 EN1K)
• Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice 2nd ed. Macmillan Reference USA, 2002 (R e364.03 En1)

Biographies

• Great Lives from History: The Ancient World Prehistory-476 Salem Press, 2004. (R 930.0099 G79S)
• Great Lives from History: The Middle Ages 477-1453 Salem Press, 2005. (R 920.00902 G79W)
• Great Lives from History: The Renaissance & Early Modern Era 1454-1600 Salem Press, 2005. (R 920.009024 G79M)
• Great Lives from History: The 17th Century 1601-1700 Salem Press, 2006. (R 920.009 G79T)
• Great Lives from History: The 18th Century 1701-1800 Salem Press, 2006. (R 909.70922 G79P)
• Great Lives from History: The 19th Century 1801-1900 Salem Press, 2007. (R 909.70934 G79P)
• Dictionary of National Biography Oxford Univeristy Press, 1921-1986 (R 920.42 D56d)(biographies of British people)
• Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia Gale Group, 2001. (R 920.7203 W84c)
• Encyclopedia of World Biography2nd ed. McGraw-Hill, 1998-2002 (R 920.02 M17b2)
• Encyclopedia of World Biography Gale Research, 1998 (R 920.02 W17b2)

• Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) R 809.046 R45c Covers authors now living or who died after December 31, 1959.
• Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) R 809.04 T91 Covers authors who died between 1900 and 1959.
• Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism (NCLC) R 809.034 N62
• Literature Criticism from 1400-1800 (LC) R 809.03 L71
• Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism R 809 C56Ym Covers authors who died before 1400.
• Black Literature Criticism (BLC) R 809.889 B56Yd
• Poetry Criticism (PC) R 811 P751Yy
• Short Story Criticism R 809.3 Sh8Yh
• World Literature Criticism R 809 W89d

• Something About the Author R 928 So5a
• Contemporary Authors R 928 C74au

A periodical index is a publication that indexes the content of periodicals. There are many different periodical indexes, some general and some subject specific. One thing needs to be made clear: There is not any periodical index that indexes every single periodical being published today. So each index is selective in what periodicals it indexes. Periodical indexes tend to index the most important or most popular or most respected or well known periodicals.

PAPER PERIODICAL INDEXES

For many years periodical indexes were published in paper, like a book. They would usually come out every few months with an update, and then come out at the end of the year with an annual cumulation. Paper periodical indexes are cumbersome to use and take some take to look at every year, but they can contain information on many valuable articles written sometimes years ago, and paper indexes are valuable places to search for topics in music, drama, art, literature and history.

ONLINE PERIODICAL INDEXES

Why use online databases?

• It is much easier to use online databases, and you can search years of a database with one search
• You can also find the most recent articles on any topic because most online databases are updated daily or weekly

There is a disadvantage to online databases for those who are researching topics in history or literature

• Most online databases go back only to the 1990's or the 1980's, and so many potentially valuable articles in older magazines and journals can be missed if you search only in online databases.

Some Online Databases that the SE Library Has

1. Where the Databases are located
These databases are all to be found on the SE Library's Electronic Resources Page at: http://www.se.edu/lib/electres.htm

There is much useful information on the Internet, and much information that is of little value. So when finding material on the Internet, you need to be careful. Printed books and magazines and journals go through an evaluation process before they are published. It is not the case with material on the Internet. Anybody can put out material on the Internet and there is no editorial or evaluation process at all. So when deciding to use an Internet resource you need to look at the following: