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History: HIST 110 - Bowman

Finding Books

Everything at Musselman Library

Books at Other Libraries

Finding Primary Sources in MUSCAT Plus

You can find a lot of primary sources inside published books and collections. You'll find these cataloged in MUSCAT Plus. Knowing how we apply subjects, or tags, to materials like this can make them easier to find. Additional primary sources may be found in Gettysburg College's Special Collections or our digital collections in GettDigital.

  • First try a KEYWORD search which searches all words in the titles, authors, subjects, and notes of MUSCAT Plus records. You can enter words in any order. This is the broadest search. Take note of Subject Headings, or tags, on promising titles. You can use some of the subheadings below as keywords.
    • For example, I could search: Thomas Jefferson AND correspondence. 
    • Or, as another example, I could search: Vietnam War AND personal narratives 
  • Next try a SUBJECT search with the subject headings from the keyword search. This searches only the subject fields of MUSCAT Plus records, and word order matters. Click on a subject of a book that looks good. (A librarian can help you find relevant subjects.)
  • Finally try an AUTHOR search to find original writings by person or documents published by a government or organization

Helpful Subheadings in Subjects

You'll see subjects, or tags, at the bottom of the record. They may look something like this: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.

If the book contains primary source material, we note that in the subject. Examine the end of the subject closely. The following subheadings will help you identify books and other materials that are or include primary sources.

-- diaries
-- correspondence
-- case studies
-- sources
-- documents
-- sermons
-- early works to  1800
-- early works to  1900

 -- photographs
-- posters
-- pictorial works
-- caricatures and cartoons		 -- personal narratives
-- interviews
-- anecdotes
-- underground literature

Finding Journal Articles

History Databases

General Databases

Background Information

Search Hundreds of Online Encyclopedias

The encyclopedias below are a small selection of the larger collection. They can be a great starting point for names, timelines, and the reference sections. To search across all of our online encyclopedias together, use Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Search in Specific Titles

Online Digital Collections

Citation

 

For help with citing in Chicago or Turabian style, see the library citation guide.

 

 

Subjects: History