Library Resources for AAAS 100, Section 002 : Blacks in the Twentieth Century
Spring 2008

Sylvia Nyana, Social Sciences Librarian
Office: 2nd Floor Paterno Library
san17@psu.edu
814-865-8864

University Libraries
www.libraries.psu.edu

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Short Research/Debate Papers | Indexes and Databases | Statistics | Government Documents | Web Resources | Book Review Sources | Indexes and Databases (books reviews) | Selected Websites (book reviews) | Citing Your Work

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SHORT RESEARCH/DEBATE PAPERS (Known Topics)

a. Identify keywords, synonyms and related words

1) Use identified keywords to search for Encyclopedias, Dictionaries and Other Reference Works in Print and Online (provide background information and overviews of topics, cited works — a good starting point for your topic):

• Gale Virtual Reference Library
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
• Oxford African American Center
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
• American women civil rights activists : bio-bibliographies of 68 leaders, 1825-1992 (print)
• Encyclopedia of African-American civil rights: from emancipation to the present (print)
• Historical dictionary of the civil rights movement (print)

2) Use identified keywords to search for books and other materials in the CAT http://alias.libraries.psu.edu/eresources/CAT. Go to the Advanced Search, enter keyword and limit your search by format, year, library, etc..

3) Indexes and Databases (available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu

• America: History and Life
• Sage Race Relations Abstracts
• JSTOR
• American National Biography
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index
• Sociological Abstracts
• Project Muse
• Historical Abstracts

Polling Databases

• Gallup Brain
• iPoll
• National Journal, click "Poll Track"

4) Statistics

• Lexis/Nexis Statistical
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
• Social Sciences Statistics and Data http://www.libraries.psu.edu/socialsciences/socscistats/index.htm

Note: Contact Stephen Woods, Social Sciences Librarian and subject specialist for statistics for additional help.

5) Government Documents

• Lexis/Nexis Congressional
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
• Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu

Note: Contact Stephen Woods, Social Sciences Librarian and subject specialist for Government for additional help.

6) Web Resources

• African American Studies Collection [Social Sciences Library Web site]
  http://www.libraries.psu.edu/socialsciences/afram/index.htm
• African-American in the Twentieth Century [Long Island University/C.W. Post Campus Web site]
  http://www.liu.edu/cwis/CWP/library/african/2000/century.htm
• Civil rights organizations at About.com
  http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/organizations/Civil_Rights_Organizations.htm
• The Library of Congress : American Memory
  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
• Race-based charges FY 1992-present [EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) Web site]
  http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/race.html
• African-American in the Twentieth Century [Long Island University/C.W. Post Campus Web site]
  http://www.liu.edu/cwis/CWP/library/african/2000/century.htm

BOOK REVIEW SOURCES

• Book Reviews (University Libraries)
  http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/format/bookreviews.htm
• Book Review Index (1965-present)
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
  Indexes reviews in over 200 English-language journals. Includes fiction, non-fiction, and children's books. Does not include abstracts, but covers more sources than Book Review Digest.
• LexisNexis Academic
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
  Dates of coverage vary depending on individual titles; the majority date from the early 1990s. Full-text of newspapers and magazines. Select "News" then drop down window "Select Sources" to look for "book, movie, music, play, and video reviews".

Indexes/Databases (Book Reviews)

• America: History and Life
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
  The index includes citations to book reviews which appear in scholarly journals. Enter keyword from title, and limit your search to Book Review.
• JSTOR
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
  JSTOR contains the full text of back issues for a variety of scholarly disciplines. To search for book reviews, choose the Advanced Search option, check the Review box and search by title, author or keywords.
• LexisNexis Academic
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
  To search for book reviews, choose News and then select Book, movie, music and play reviews and enter the author or title of the book.
• New York Review of Books
  available through the Libraries' "Electronic Resources" Databases By Title (A-Z List) http://www.libraries.psu.edu
  The online archive provides the full text of articles, searchable by date, author, keyword, and other fields.

SELECTED WEB SITES

• A Concise Guide to Writing a Critical Book Review (University of Alberta Libraries)
  http://www.library.ualberta.ca/guides/bookreview/index.cfm
• Writing a Review (The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
  http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/review.html
• AcqWeb's Directory of Book Reviews on the Web
  http://www.acqweb.org/bookrev.html
• Booklist [American Library Association]
  http://archive.ala.org/booklist/
• Publishers Weekly
  http://www.publishersweekly.com/
• Library Journal
  http://www.libraryjournal.com/
• Choice [Association of College & Research Libraries]
  http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/choice/home.cfm

CITING YOUR WORK

Information Literacy & YOU
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/infolit/andyou/infoyou.htm