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Almost
all of the resources described are accessed through the links on the OSU
Libraries’ homepage:
OSCAR
is the OSU Libraries’ online catalog. Use
it to find records of library materials of any kind (books, audio and
videocassettes, maps, etc.) located in the Libraries’ collections.
Individual records in OSCAR show the location of the item (which OSU
library has it), the Library of Congress call number for the item (where it is
located on the shelf), and, most important, whether it can be checked out.
If the status bar shows the designation “AVAILABLE”, any user at any
of the OSU libraries can request it. The
designation for the Newark Campus Library in OSCAR is NWK.
Searching
OSCAR:
The
lower half of the screen for a WORDS search provides detailed instructions for
doing advanced searches.
OhioLINK
is the network of 80+ college, university, community and technical college
libraries (plus the State Library of Ohio) to which OSU belongs.
There is a link to its central catalog on the Libraries’ homepage; all
students, faculty and staff at member institutions may request materials in the
same way that they can order items in OSCAR.
OhioLINK also provides access to many reference databases such as
periodical indexes, online encyclopedias, and other information sources.
Also, it sponsors a statewide document delivery service that allows users
to request copies of periodical articles and other materials that their own
institution does not own.
Searching
OhioLINK:
The
WORDS search option in OhioLINK has a screen with the same sorts of directions
as the OSCAR directions described above.
Periodical
Indexes give
citations to specific articles in magazines, professional journals, and
sometimes to other sorts of information such as chapters in books or Ph.D.
dissertations. Increasing numbers
of the online indexes have links to the full text of the articles cited; the
article can be printed from the record in the index.
The NWK library does not charge for articles printed in this way. Many of the indexes in the list below exist in both hard copy
and online format; those in the list will be the most generally useful for
advanced students of history.
America:
History and Life: The primary source of citations to articles that deal with the history
and culture of the United States and Canada. Indexes over 2,000 journals. Also
abstracts Ph.D. dissertations and is a major source of reviews of books on
American history. It is an online
source; we have hard copy covering 1972-1999. It has full text links.
Arts &
Humanities Citation Index: Citations to articles in over 1,000 professional journals.
Cites many articles written in languages other than English;
a limit to English may be applied when searching. It is online only, and has full-text links.
Book Review
Digest: A
major source of book reviews. It is
online; we have hard copy from 1905-1995. It
has full text links.
Book Review
Index:
Another source of book reviews; does not duplicate coverage in Digest.
It is in hard copy only.
Essay &
General Literature Index: Indexes information sources such as short articles and essays which are
found in collections; use it by finding citations and then locating
source. Coverage includes both
social sciences and humanities. Online
and hard copy.
Historical
Abstracts: This
database indexes and abstracts journals, etc. useful for world history; it is
not useful for United States or Canadian history except for articles that are
comparative in nature, and for book reviews.
Online; full text links.
Humanities
Abstracts:
Indexes and abstracts contents of 400+ journals; coverage of modern and
classical literature, folklore, the visual and performing arts, history,
archaeology and philosophy. Useful
for book reviews. Online and hard
copy; full-text links.
Index to
American Periodicals: Indexes 18th and 19th century magazines and
journals. This index corresponds
with the full text microfilm sets owned by OSU: American Periodicals Series
I; American Periodical Series II. A
tremendous information tool for finding primary sources. Online.
Index to
English Literary Periodicals: Indexes over 300 journals published in England in
the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries; for
articles--from a British perspective--on topics from the American colonies and
revolution through the industrial revolution up to the brink of the first World
War. OSU owns the complete set of
microfilms. Online.
Newspaper
Abstracts:
Indexes and abstracts articles from 27 major newspapers.
A potential source of articles about contemporary authors, book reviews,
and essays about historical topics. Online.
Periodical
Abstracts:
Citations and abstracts from over 1,000 magazines and journals.
Source of book reviews, articles about culture and society.
Online; full text.
The
Gateway to Information: A
massive multi-subject guide to books (generally reference), periodical indexes
and abstracts, both hard copy and online, and reviewed websites.
The link to the Gateway is on the Libraries’ homepage.
A Few Tips: The reference collection-
The Library of Congress designations for history are as follows: CT for biography, E and F for the history of the Western Hemisphere. E is specifically American history. Reference books dealing with those aspects of history will be found in those areas, and do not neglect HC for economic history and HD for the history of industry and labor history.
Shelving of history and biography-
In the LC system, biographies of historical figures are found in the related general subject areas; there are biographies of Samuel Gompers, George Meany and Walter Reuther in HD; military biographies will be found in U and V.
Using all available resources-
Smaller
public libraries are less useful to serious researchers, while large public
libraries (Cleveland Public Library, Columbus Metropolitan Library) are research
institutions in every sense of the word. However, members of even the smallest Ohio public libraries
have access to research databases subscribed to by OPLIN (the Ohio Public
Libraries’ Information Network). Use your public library card to access the
OPLIN databases using this URL:
04/09/02