HIST 30 History of Mexico
1. Library Catalog - Find Books and Media
The Library Catalog is a database of books, media and course reserves located in the library's collection. To find resources in the library by subject, you will need a call number which is based on the Dewey Decimal Classification System and leads you to the specific item on the shelf. To find the call number, use the library catalog. (http://library.pasadena.edu/vwebv/searchBasic)
Basic Search
Use the Basic Search to look for an item using keyword anywhere or in a specific field (eg. title field or subject field).
To find information about a person, use Basic Search within Subject Browse (select from the drop down menu).
To find information on a topic, you can use your keyword search results to identify library subject headings or you can select the Subject tab and type in a library subject heading.
Subject headings:
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Related headings and subheadings (Narrower, Broader and See also)
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To search for a title you have two options: 1. select title from the drop down menu (to search by title keyword) or 2. select title browse from the drop down menu, to search by exact title wording. (Skip the first word of the title if it is an article, e.g. 'a', 'an' or 'the').
To search by author, select the Author tab, then type in the author's last name, first name, e.g. 'Carrasco, David'.
Advanced Search
Advanced Search is used to combine topics, select search fields, and use other limitors to narrow a search. You may want to search for an item using part of a title and selecting the title field from the drop down menu. Another option is to search by ISBN.
To search by keyword, type in the words you want to search for then select from the menu whether you want to search for all of these, any of these (e.g., Mexico or Spain), or as a phrase (e.g., colonial period).
Examples:
Search for: Aztecs [ |
Search for: Olmecs [ |
2. Reference Books
Basically, there are two kinds of reference books: general resources, which are broad in scope and deal with all fields; and specialized resources, which deal with specific disciplines such as the history of Mexico. The titles cited below are only a representative sample of many specialized reference books that are available in the library.
Specialized Encyclopedias
These book can be found on the 2nd (main) floor of the library in the south west section of the reference collection.
- Encyclopedia of Mexico REF 930.003 E 1 (2 vols.)
- Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America REF 972.01 A 2
- Early Civilizations in the Americas REF 972.01 B 4
- Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures REF 972.01 O 1 (3 vols.)
- Encyclopedia of Archaeology REF 930.103 E 3 (3 vols.)
3. Databases and Indexes - Find Articles
To access databases from the main library page, look for Browse Databases by Name | by Subject (http://www.pasadena.edu/library/dbsubject.htm)
- Use Proquest, a database, to find periodical articles (newspapers, magazines & journals)
- Daily Life Online is another database which can be searched by region and time period for articles about family life, political & economic life, religion & beliefs, and other topics.
- Use Discovering Collection to do a history search or person search for biographical and events information.
- The Encyclopedia Britannica Online is a good starting place to get an overview of your topic and will often lead you to good Internet sources (look for "The Web's Best Sites" link).
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To browse or search to see if the library has a subscription to a particular magazine, newspaper, or journal title use the Periodical Title List. (http://dv2dw2vb3l.search.serialssolutions.com/)
4. Resources on the World Wide Web
Finding reliable information on the web can be difficult.
Use the Librarians' Index to the Internet www.lii.org (Mexico history section) or see recommended websites below.
- Ancient Mesoamerican Civilizations
- http://www.angelfire.com/ca/humanorigins/index.html
- Ancient Mexico
- http://www.ancientmexico.com/
last updated: 06/19/2009 by P. Johnson revision #3
