Searching Strategies
Specific to Broad
Say you are interested in reading accounts from men who served on U-boats. You would want to search for books with primary source materials about:
German submarines
Sailors, Naval
World War I
World War II
Try a variety of terms. Look to see how the catalog or database lists the subject.
Related, Relevant Terms
Don't expect that one search will bring up everything that is relevant. Suppose you were interested in the history of birth control. All of these subjects might be of interest:
birth control
contraception
human reproductive technology
abortion
Names
Do you know names of individuals, organizations, or other bodies involved in the issue? Use the names as search terms.
More Tips
There's a really nice description of primary sources and ways to find them in, The Information-Literate Historian
Thomas Cooper Library, Reference Dept. D16.2 P71 2006 (pages 92-135)
Primary Source Material Collections in University Libraries
- Educational Films (Thomas Cooper Library, level 3)
- Government Information, Microforms, and Newspapers (Thomas Cooper Library, level 5)
- Map Library (Thomas Cooper Library, level 5)
- Music Library
- Newsfilm Library
- Rare Books and Special Collections
- South Carolina Political Collections
- South Caroliniana Library
- Center for Research LibrariesWe are a member of the consortium and can obtain materials through Interlibrary Loan. CRL has a strong collection of publications from the ethnic press in the US, foreign newspapers and other primary source materials.
Digital Collections
Libraries and museums may have digitized primary source materials. Great ways to identify virtual collections include:
- USC University Libraries Digital Collections
- South Carolina Digital LibraryFind digitized sources from libraries and museums in South Carolina.
- WorldCatDid you used to search OAIster? All those listings of materials in digital repositories are now a part of WorldCat. Freely available version linked to here.
Reference Department |
 Thomas Cooper Library Reference Department Links: Profile & Guides |
Loading...
