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Photo of Francisco Peredo, Mexican counsel, by a 1920 Chicago Daily News photographer, now part of the Chicago History Museum collections and reproduced in the Library of Congress American Memory collection [reproduction number DN-0072641] |
Finding Books
Reference books are good for getting background information on topics and for finding
bibliographies -- lists of relevant books and articles. Looking through reference books may help you define your topic more clearly and help
you focus in on what interests you about your topic the most.
Online Reference Books:
Virtual Reference Library, which includes New Americans: A Guide to Immigration Since 1965
Print Reference Books:
The following are some of the relevant reference titles available. Browse the call number range REF E184 for some additional ones.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas REF E 184 .S75097 2005
Dictionary of Mexican-American History REF E 184 .M5 M453
Encyclopedia of Chicago REF F 548.3 .E53 2004
Other Books
Use our Online Catalog and the I-Share Catalog to locate circulating books, other reference books, government documents, and audiovisual items. You will need the 14-digit barcode from your student ID to order books through I-Share.
Books or government documents that can't be found in I-Share can often be obtained through ILLiad.Searching for Articles in Databases
Some useful databases to start with for journal articles:
Academic Search Premier (citations and some full-text for articles across a range of disciplines)Project Muse (full-text of scholarly articles across a range of disciplines)
JSTOR (full-text of scholarly articles across a range of disciplines)
America: History and Life (citations and some full-text of scholarly articles on American or Canadian history)
for newspaper articles:
Chicago Tribune (full-text, 1985 to the present)Chicago Tribune (Historical, full-text, 1849-1985)
Illinois Newspapers (full-text)
(Academic) Lexis-Nexis (full-text, ~1980 to the present) for U.S. and international newspapers
Retrieving an actual article through a database that contains some or no full-text articles:
If there is an HTML or PDF full text link right in the database you have searched in, click on the link, which will open up a window with the article. Then print or, in some cases, email or save the article.
If there is not a full-text link right there, this database does not have the full text of the article. HOWEVER, you may still be able to access the article, even by just a few clicks. Click on "Find It--Lake Forest College." The article may be- in another database that the Library has. If the window that opens has a "Full text may be available via" link, click on it to see if the Library has the full-text of the article in another database.
- in a print copy of the journal that the Library owns. If the window that opens has a "May be owned in print..." link, click on it to open a new window containing the journal's Library catalog entry to see if the Library owns the print version of the appropriate issue.
- obtainable through interlibrary loan. If the window that opens has a "Request article via Interlibrary Loan (ILLiad)" link, click on it to open a new window that allows you to request the item.
For additional databases and articles, go to the Library's list of Databases. For passwords, call the reference desk at x5074.
Finding additional book or journal article citations:
Google Scholar
Relevant Web Sites
Companion website to Diana Hacker's A Pocket Style ManualLake Forest College Student Handbook
Lake Forest College Statement on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Sometimes useful information can be found on the Internet using a search engine such as Google. Be sure to evaluate any resulting website carefully. Be sure to evaluate any resulting website carefully. Read the content of the website thoughtfully. Consider--among other characteristics--authority (the authors of the website and their qualifications), objectivity, accuracy, currency, and presentation.