"A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas,
a place where history comes to life."
Norman Cousins
a place where history comes to life."
Norman Cousins
Subject Portal » History » Course Guides »
Hist 5B : United States from 1877 to the Present (SC)
finding books:
Tripod
To locate books at the Tri-College Libraries:
4. Finally, search by those subject headings.
1. Start with a KEYWORD search.
2. Look at relevant items.
3. Note the subject headings assigned to those items.
4. Finally, search by those subject headings.
4. Finally, search by those subject headings.
Once you identify books you would like to check out, write down the book title, location, and call number of the book. Then use the call number to find the book in McCabe Library.
- A-G call numbers are on the lower level of the library
- H-K call numbers are on the second floor of the library.
- L-Z call numbers are on the third floor of the library.
Request items located at Bryn Mawr or Haverford using the REQUEST button. These are usually delivered within 24 hours.
If all copies of a book in Tripod are checked out, use E-Z Borrow to request the book from a partner library. These books are delivered in 2-7 days.
deciphering the Library of Congress classification system:
Believe it or not, those letters at the beginning of call numbers actually mean something! Letters stand for general bodies of knowledge, called “classes”. Each class is further subdivided into more specific categories.
B – Philosophy, Psychology, Religion
C – Auxiliary Sciences of History
D – History of Africa, Asia, Europe & Oceania
E – History: America
F – History: America
G – Geography, Anthropology
H – Social Sciences
J – Political Science
K – Law
L – Education
M – Music, Books on Music
N – Fine Arts
P – Language and Literature
Q – Science
R – Medicine
S – Agriculture
T – Technology
U – Military Science
V – Naval Science
Z – Bibliography, Library Science
A – General Works
B – Philosophy, Psychology, Religion
C – Auxiliary Sciences of History
D – History of Africa, Asia, Europe & Oceania
E – History: America
F – History: America
G – Geography, Anthropology
H – Social Sciences
J – Political Science
K – Law
L – Education
M – Music, Books on Music
N – Fine Arts
P – Language and Literature
Q – Science
R – Medicine
S – Agriculture
T – Technology
U – Military Science
V – Naval Science
Z – Bibliography, Library Science
finding journal articles:
JSTOR
Provides full-text and page images from many of the top journals in most academic disciplines. Coverage is from the inception of the journal through three to five years ago.
Historical abstracts
Provider: EBSCO
Provides abstracts of journal articles, books, book reviews and dissertations that cover world history from 1450 to the present (excluding the U.S. and Canada which are covered in "America: History and Life"). Includes publications from 1953-present.
ProQuest Research Library
Provider: ProQuest
Provides citations and full-text magazine and journal articles in a wide variety of disciplines, both scholarly and popular in scope. Covers 1971-present.
getting the articles you've found:
In MLA, and indeed most databases that don't have the full-text of the article, there is a 
icon next to each citation. Click on it to find out if the article is available in full-text online from the campus where you are doing your research, to search Tripod for the journal in print, or to request the item through interlibrary loan. If does not appear in your database, use Tripod to search for the journal title in your citation.
icon next to each citation. Click on it to find out if the article is available in full-text online from the campus where you are doing your research, to search Tripod for the journal in print, or to request the item through interlibrary loan. If does not appear in your database, use Tripod to search for the journal title in your citation.If the journal is in print or online at one of the other two schools, you can request that the journal or article be sent to you. If a journal in not in Tripod, you can request the article using ILL. In both cases, follow the directions on the EZ-Borrow/ILL page
reference sources:
We have a large number of subject encyclopedias on various topics. You may be able to get some good background information easily by consulting them. Since your topics are so diverse, I've only included a few sample titles here. To look for reference titles on your own, do an Advanced Search in Tripod and limit your search to SC Reference Collections.
Encyclopedia of American social movements
assembling a bibliography, citing sources, avoiding plagiarism:
Swarthmore Libraries' research FAQs
Includes a guide to citation styles and instructions for using the EndNote citation software package.
guide to citing sources, from Duke University
This guide deals with the proper way to cite various kinds of sources, demonstrating all the major citation styles (MLA, Chicago, Turabian, APA). See the "Assembling a List of Works Cited" guide for help with putting together a bibliography.
citation, paraphrasing, and avoiding plagarism
A handout from the Writing Center, explaining how to avoid plagiarism and when citations are necessary.
getting more help:
Contact Information: Anne Garrison, agarris1, x8492
If you need research assistance, I am at the Reference desk on Tuesdays 3:00-5:00 and Thursday nights, 7:00-10:00. You can also make an appointment and meet with me in my office, which is on Level 1 of McCabe in the far southeast corner.