Library Exercise

Friday, February 6: Introduction to library resources (meet in Milner 164D)

Monday, February 9: Library exercise due. This library exercise is worth 15% of the grade for the Final Project. Although it is not required, I suggest you use this assignment as an opportunity to explore issues which you may find interesting to develop in the research paper.

If you need help with the correct format for citations, either consult a guide such as the Turabian or the MLA, or read "The Writing of a Historical Essay or Research Paper" which I have posted on the class web site.

1. Define a topic or research question related to some aspect of Mexican History:
2. Choose one of the items listed under "Reference Sources" on the library guide, or locate another reference source related to your topic. (Note: If you use a reference source that is not on the library guide, it must be a scholarly source. General encyclopedias cannot be used.) Look up your topic - or some aspect of your topic. Answer the following questions:
1. List the reference source used.
2. What topic did you look under?
3. Describe the information you found.
4. Was a bibliography included? If so, list the most useful item you found on the bibliography.
3. Find a scholarly book in Milner library on this topic. Give the complete citation and call number for the book.
4. List all the Library of Congress Subject Headings for this book (These are useful for finding similar books on the same topic).
5. List another book which shares a common Library of Congress Subject Heading with the first book. Also list the complete citation and call number. If the book is not available at Milner, list the library where it may be found.
6. Find a publication related to this same topic which is listed in the Handbook of Latin American Studies. Give a complete citation for that publication, as well as either the URL or volume and page number from the Handbook indicating where you found the citation.
7. If Milner Library has this publication, list the call number for it. Otherwise, indicate what you would do to access this publication.
8. Find an article related to this same topic which is listed in the Hispanic American Periodicals Index. Give a complete citation for that article, as well as the volume and page number from HAPI indicating where you found the citation.
9. If Milner Library has this publication, list the call number for it. Otherwise, indicate what you would do to access this publication.
10. Search for your topic or research question in any other periodical index (print or online) from the handout "Major Indexes and Abstracts." Give the name of the index and briefly explain why you chose that index. List a complete citation for a relevant item you found, as well as either the URL or volume and page number from the index indicating where you found the citation. (Note: Especially look for articles published in the journals listed on the library resources guide on Mexico.)
11. If Milner Library has this publication, list the call number for it. Otherwise, indicate what you would do to access this publication.
12. Find an item on the Internet related to your research topic. Give a complete citation for this item.
13. Describe the process you used to locate this item on the Internet.