MnPALS
Our library catalog. This link takes you into the "Basic Searches" screen where you can search by author, title, etc. The "Advanced Searches" option lets you limit by date, additional keywords, collection area, and so on. In your list of results, the Location column lists the call number--where the book is shelved. Note: Once you've located a book that looks interesting, browse the shelves around it. The Library of Congress classification system used in this library puts books on the same subject together.

A note about subject headings:
There are a number of ways of describing a particular ethnic or minority group, which can make searching a catalog or database tricky. The Library of Congress subject headings tend attempt to keep books under a topic under the same headings, so they are slow to change and don't always reflect current usage. For example, catalogers don't use "Latino" or "Latina" but rather "Hispanic;" not "Native Americans" but "Indians of North America." The subject headings listed at the bottom of a book record in the catalog can give you clues about which search terms will work best, or you can consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings list, red volumes shelved near the computer cluster on the main floor of the library (and online from the Library of Congress). Other databases may use other subject terms; be aware that you may have to reword a search to find what you need.

Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African-American Experience.2nd ed. 5 vols. New York: Oxford, 2005. (Ref DT14 .A37435 2005) A rich compendium of information about the African diaspora edited by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates.

Avakian, Monique. Atlas of Asian-American History. New York: Facts on Files, 2002. (Ref E184.O6 A89 2002) Provides a history of Asians in America focusing on the issues of immigration, migration and racial discrimination. Many photographs, pictures, maps and charts accompany the text. Focuses on major immigrant groups including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Asian-Indian, Filipino and Southeast Asian peoples.

Dictionary of American History. 3rd ed. 9 vols. New York: Scribner's, 2003. (Ref E 174 .D52 2003) An encyclopedia of political, cultural, social, economic, and military history in the United States. The ninth volume contains historical maps and primary documents.

Documents of American Indian Diplomacy: Treaties, Agreements, and Conventions, 1775-1979. 2 vols. Norman: University of Okahoma, 1999. (Ref KF 8202 1999) A collection of legal and diplomatic documents, including analysis and context. A remarkable collection that builds on Kappler's Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties (Ref KF8203 1972b).

Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States. 4 vols. Danbury: Grolier, 2005. (Ref E 184 .S75 E587 2005) Covers Latinos in the United states in over 650 essays that tackle topics from baseball to Zorro, significant places, groups of people, event, and more. The fourth volume includes significant primary source documents.

Encyclopedia of American Immigration. 4 vols. Armonk: Sharpe, 2000. (Ref JV 6465 .E53) Covers historical and contemporary issues in immigration policy, provides coverage of social and cultural issues and background on specific immigrant groups. The final section reproduces key legal documents from the US Constitution to recent immigration legislation and executive orders.

Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 vols. New York: Scribner's, 1993. (Ref HN 57 .E58 1993) Filling in the holes left in conventional political/biographical history sources, this set covers topics such as religion, class, gender, race, popular culture, regionalism, and every day life from pre-Columbian to modern times in lengthy and well-documented articles.

Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment. 4 vols. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002. (Ref HV 6017 .E524 2002) Covers a huge range of topics from crimes to policing to corrections in an accessible manner.

Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior. 4 vols. Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge, 2001. (Ref HV6017 .E53 2001) Covers history and theory, crime, sexual deviance, and self-destructive behaviors in substantial, scholarly essays.

Encyclopedia of Sociology. 2nd ed. 5 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1992. (Ref HM 17 .E5 2000) This set provides up-to-date and scholarly discussions of topics in the field such as class and race, ethnicity, economic sociology, and social structure. Each article is written by a specialist and all have excellent bibliographies.

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. 2nd ed. 3 vols. Detroit: Gale, 2000. (Ref E 184 .A1 G14 2000) Offers over 150 substantial essays on ethnic groups in the U. S., covering origins, circumstances of arrival, family, community, culture, economy, politics, and significant contributions. Each essay ends with a bibliography and contacts for further research.

Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale, 1998 (Ref E77 .G15 1998) Offers surveys of tribes, including history, migration, subsistence, modern history, and current issues. Use the index to locate nations that may have more than one name in use (e.g. Anishinabe / Ojibwe / Chippewa).

Handbook of Hispanic Culture in the United States. 4 vols. Houston: Arte Publico, 1993. (Ref E184.S75 H365 1993) A survey of art, history, sociology, and anthropology of Hispanic Americans. Articles are lengthy and well-illustrated.

Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. 4 vols. New York: Oxford, 1995. (Ref DS 35.53 .O95 1995) Covers countries of the Islamic world and topics related to Islamic religion, history, and culture. Articles are lengthy and scholarly as well as up-to-date.

Databases for articles and other materials offer references to publications that may or may not be in this library; some databases offer full text of articles and others simply citations. There are in-depth databases that cover publications in a particular field and others that are interdisciplinary. Databases can be accessed from a drop-down list on the library's main page; descriptions can be found here.

Academic Search Premier
Searches both general magazines and scholarly journals on a wide variety of topics. Some are full text; others are merely citations to things that have been published. One way to limit a search is to check the "scholarly (peer reviewed) journals" box to exclude popular magazines from your search.

Lexis/Nexis
A group of databases strong in news coverage, business, and legal information. Within the "guided search" option there is also an "Ethnic News" option as part of the "General News" category.

Use the Web with care

Libraries often pay for services through the web; these aren't indexed in search engines Some "free" sites for magazines and newspapers charge for using their archives; library databases offer them at no charge. Some questions are easier to answer through the web than others. If it has to do with current events, the law, opinions, computers, popular culture, commercial products, organizations, or government affairs, the web offers a lot; if you're looking for research or scholarship, you aren't as likely to find what you want (though in some fields that is changing). Not everyone wants to give their research away for free.

Planning a search

• Think about what you need and which key words might describe it
• Think about what organizations or government entities might provide information on your topic
• Use what you find to refine your search (such as the name of an organization, a government agency, a site that everyone is linking to)
• Use selective directories if you have a broad topic (Search engines work best for narrow topics or specific facts.)
• Use an appropriate database if you aren't finding quality material

Use clues in the URLs to assess potential sources

• edu = higher education (usually in the US)
• gov = federal government
• k12 = primary or secondary school
• com = company (often personal sites, too)
• org = organization
• net = network
• country abbreviations: ca (Canada); au (Australia); uk (United Kingdom) jp (Japan); se (Sweden) . . .

Be prepared to

• shorten a URL to get to a root page by deleting everything after the first /
• follow links to find out about the page's author or sponsoring agency

Evaluate!

• Who is the author? Why should you trust him/her?
• Where does the site come from? An organization? An individual? Which country?
• When was it put together? Is it frequently updated?
• What does it say? Does it make sense? Does it back up its claims?
• Why is it there? What is the author's purpose in presenting this information and does that purpose suggest a particular bias?

Finding Web sites

In addition to general search engines, use these selective Web directories to find useful sites:

Infomine - a database of scholarly Web sites maintained at the University of California

Librarians' Index to the Internet - a more general guide to valuable Web sources, also based in California

Scout Archives - maintained at the University of Wisconsin

World Wide Web Virtual Library - the original Web directory

Here are some specialized Web sites that may be of particular interest for your researched essays.

African American Digital Archives - from Howard University, collects links to primary source material at Howard and elsewhere.

Hmong Center - a Web site for the Hmong Cultural and Resource Center in St. Paul. Includes cultural information, a virtual museum, publications and events, and information for refugees and resettlement.

NativeWeb: Resources for Indigenous Cultures Around the World - a rich site for information on native peoples, particularly strong for Native North American, but global in scope; includes cultural, historical, educational, and current affairs information.

Pew Hispanic Center: Chronicling Latinos Diverse Experience in a Changing America - based at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication. Includes the text of several reports, as well as information on demographics, economics, labor, immigration, education, health, and Latinos in the military.

We can order books and articles from other libraries if you need something we don't have. For more information, visit the interlibrary loan page.

Citing Your Sources -- Includes basic models for MLA, APA, and Chicago citations as well as a link to a more detailed online guide and sample papers. If you're confused about whether you should cite a source or not, take a look at this explanation of plagiarism from the Purdue Online Writing Lab.