Research Guides
    
  HSS4: Salman Rushdie
    
  Contact
   
 

Thomas Micchelli
Subject specialist film, video and art.
email: micche@cooper.edu
 
  Reference: 212-353-4186
     
 
 
  Library Web Site
 

http://www.cooper.edu/facilities/library/library.html (February 1, 2008).

   
 
Search Strategy

Recommended Search Strategy: Analyze your topic & Search with peripheral vision.
U.C. Berkeley Library.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Strategies.html (February 1, 2008).  

 
Citing sources

Sources: Their use and acknowledgement.
Dartmouth College.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Esources/index.html (February 1, 2008) .  

   
 
  Library Catalogs
    
  Use library catalogs to find books, journals and other materials in libraries. Library catalogs are not useful for finding specific articles from journals and newspapers. See the section below on Article Indexes for more information.
   
 
  • BobCat
    BobCat is the online catalog for the Cooper Union Library, NYU's Bobst Library, the New School libraries and several other libraries.

    To connect to BobCat from outside the Library, either:
      
    1. Start at the Cooper Union Library Web site
        and click on the Online Catalog / Connect to BobCat link are on the top left
      
                  OR
      
    2. Connect directly through a Web browser (http://www.bobcat.nyu.edu).
   
 
  • Other Library Catalogs
    Most library catalogs are available via the Internet. There are links on our Web site to many other catalogs. Follow the link on our Web site to Other Library Catalogs.
   
 
  • Library Union Catalogs
    A union catalog contains holdings information for more than one library. If the item you need is not available locally, you can search a union catalog to find out where it is available. With some notice, the Library may be able to borrow the material for you from another library. See the section below on Interlibrary Loan

    Our Library subscribes to the WorldCat database, with over 35 million records for materials in member libraries around the world. To connect to WorldCat, start at our Web site. Follow the links to Other Library Catalogs-WorldCat. You must be at a computer in the Cooper Union domain

    
  Remember: If a book is checked out at any of the consortium libraries, Cooper included, it is possible to place a hold on the book. This insures that the patron with the book checked out will not be able to renew it. Also, a recall can be placed if the book is due in more than two weeks. You will be notified via email, so make sure your patron record at Circulation has your most current email address.
   
 
  Other Libraries
    
 
  • Bobst Library -- NYU's main library. Part of our Library Consortium.
    70 Washington Square South
    http://library.nyu.edu/     (February 1, 2008).

  • Fogelman Library -- New School University. Part of our Library Consortium.
    65 Fifth Avenue, lower level (between 13th and 14th Streets)
    http://www.newschool.edu/library/fogelman.htm (February 1, 2008) .

    Your Cooper Union ID admits you to both Bobst and Folgelman and serves as your library card.
    Be sure you have a current validation sticker and register with the Cooper Union Library before going there.
    Cooper students may borrow books and use other materials.

  • Humanities & Social Sciences Library -- one of the Research Libraries of New York Public Library.
    Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street
    http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/index.htm    l (February 1, 2008).
      
    The Humanities & Social Sciences Library is open to the public, but you need an Access Card to use their books. All materials there may only be used at the Library. Most of the books are in closed stacks. You submit a call slip to the Information Desk and wait for them to retrieve the item. For information about the Access Card, see http://www.nypl.org/research/access.html (February 1, 2008) .
   
 
  Subject Encyclopedias  
   
  Subject encyclopedias provide specific information on your topic as well as bibliographies to aid you in your research.
 
 
20th Century Literature
             

          Location

  

Call Number

  

Title
         
Cooper
   REF PN41 .C64   The Concise encyclopedia of modern world literature
NYU Bobst
   REF1 PN41 .C64    
       
          NYU Bobst
   REF1 PN451 .S4   Who's who in twentieth-century literature
       
 NYU Bobst
   REF1 PN771 .C58
  Contemporary authors
       
NYU Bobst
 

REF1 PN771 .E5 1981

   Encyclopedia of world literature in the 20th century
       

NYU Bobst

   REF1 PN771 .R5      

Twentieth century writing: a reader's guide to contemporary literature

       
Pakistan
         
NYU Bobst
       REF1 DS376.8 .E53 2006   The encyclopedia of Pakistan
         
India
         
NYU Bobst
   REF1 DS405 .B482 2006   Encyclopaedia of Indian events & dates
         
NYU Bobst
       REF1 DS405 .E556 2006   Encyclopedia of India
         
Islam
         
Cooper
   REF BP40 .E525 2004   Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world
NYU Bobst
   REF1 BP40 .E525 2004    
         
NYU Bobst
       REF1 BP40 .E526 2008   Encyclopedia of Islamic civilisation and religion
       
NYU Bobst
   REF1 BP40 .N49 2002   A concise encyclopedia of Islam
       
NYU Bobst
   REF1 DS35.53 .I86 2004   The Islamic world : past and present
       
Iran
         
NYU Web
       Internet DS253 .E53   Encyclopaedia Iranica [electronic resource]
       
NYU Bobst
   REF1 DS253 .E565   Encyclopedia of Iran and Islam
         
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Article Indexes
    
 

You will find more recent information in periodicals than in books. Periodicals include magazines, journals, newspapers and conference proceedings. To find periodical articles, use an article index. For historical articles, you will need to go to print indexes.

Finding the complete articles is another matter. Many of the indexes listed below will give you only citations to the articles, but not the actual text. To find the complete article, search BobCat for the journal title to find out if one of our consortium libraries has the journal you need. Pay close attention to the date ranges of issues held by each library to find out if the specific issue you need is available.

The Library now provides off-campus database access from our Web site. Make sure that your Library record is clear, with fines of no more than $5. If you have problems accessing these databases, stop by the Library and the staff will check into your problem.
    
   
  Indexes in The Cooper Union Library
  The Cooper Union Library subscribes to many different article indexes, some electronic and some in print. See our Web site under Article Indexes for a complete list of the databases. The following should be particularly useful for this course:
     
  • JSTOR Arts & Sciences III
    Focused on the arts and humanities, the Arts & Sciences III Collection contains 150 journal titles. The collection makes available additional journals in language and literature, as well as important titles in the fields of music, film studies, folklore, performing arts, religion, and the history and study of art and architecture.  
      
  • The New York Times
    In addition to its online resources, the CU Library has a complete run of The Times on microfilm, with more recent months on paper.

    The Historical New York Times
    Full text in PDF format images (photos, etc.). Dates: 1851-2004.

    The New York Times Archive
    Full text current and archived articles, directly from The New York Times Web site.
      
  • National Newspaper Index
    Front-to-back indexing of the Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal from 1979 to the present; national and international news stories written by the staff writers of The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times from 1982 to the present. Citations only.
      
  • Custom Newspapers
    Over 150 full text newspapers, national and international. starting from 1996.
      
  • New York State Newspapers
    Full text from major New York State newspapers including The New York Times (most recent 365 days), the New York Post (2000- ), and the New York Observer (2001- ). Others included are the Buffalo News (1996- ), Journal News (Westchester, 1999- ), Post-Standard (Syracuse, 1996- ), Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, 1999- ), and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (1999- ).
      
  • Readers' Guide Abstracts
    Covers popular magazines and The New York Times. (See also more info on The New York Times above.) Updated monthly, starts with 1983. Includes some full text.
      
  • Humanities Abstracts
    Covers core periodicals in disciplines such as language and literature, archaeology, area studies, classical studies, folklore, history, journalism and communications, religion and theology, and philosophy. Updated monthly, starts with 1984. Availability: campuswide (from our Web site). Includes some full text.
      
    For articles published from 1974-1983, use the printed Humanities Index. For articles published from 1968-1974, use the printed Social Sciences & Humanities Index. Availability: on the Library's main floor in the Index collection, located before the beginning of the Reference stacks, shelved alphabetically by title.
      
  • Art Abstracts
    Starting date: 1984 (1994 for abstracts). Corresponds to the printed Art Index. Covers over 400 leading publications, including periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins. Includes bibliographies, notices of competitions and awards, exhibition listings and reviews. Includes some full text.
      
  • Art Index Retrospective
    1929-1984. Covers the earlier years of Art Index. Citations only.
      
  • ArticleFirst
    Index to articles from thousands of journals, covering a wide range of subjects. Updated daily, starts with 1990. Includes some full text.
  • Wilson Select Plus
    Full text articles from indexes such as Social Sciences Index, Humanities Index, and Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. Updated weekly, starts with 1994.
       
  • EBSCOhost Masterfile Select
    Full text from over 750 periodicals, some including images; indexing and abstracts for over 2,000 periodicals covering nearly all subjects. Starting dates and update frequencies vary.
    
  Indexes and Other Resources in NYU's Bobst Library
  Because the Cooper Union Library focuses most of our acquisitions money on supporting the degree-granting programs of the three Schools at Cooper Union, we have depended heavily on the consortial arrangements between Cooper Union and both New York University and the New School, including Parsons.
  
To use the consortium libraries, you need to have a Cooper Union ID with a valid sticker. To borrow material, make sure that you don't owe over $5 in fines or have any other blocks on your record. Stop by the Circulation desk if you are unsure.
    
 

The General and Humanities Reference Center is located on the first floor of Bobst Library and houses basic indexes, encyclopedias, dictionaries, bibliographies, directories, and handbooks. You can also find specialized humanities reference materials for fine arts, history, literature, linguistics, performing arts, philosophy, religion, and selected music resources.

See the Bobst Library Web site for a complete listing of databases with descriptions, including Middle East Literature and Middle East Studies:
http://library.nyu.edu/collections/find_articles.html (February 11, 2008)

There is also a Study Guide to Middle East Studies available:
http://library.nyu.edu/mideast/ (February 11, 2008)
  The following databases are available at computers in the Reference department on the ground floor of the Bobst Library.
   
 

JSTOR
Complete subscription.

Modern Language Association (MLA) Bibliography Online
Starting date: 1963. Updated quarterly (but can lag as much as two years behind).
Indexes journal articles (except book reviews), books, collections and festschriften, audiovisual materials, reference works, conference papers and proceedings on literature, language, linguistics, folklore and film. Print counterpart: MLA International Bibliography, 1921 to present.
    
 
 

Beyond Google
  Google is a wonderful thing. However, general Internet search engines are not always the best tools for research. For instance, when looking for an overview of a topic, searching Google will probably produce an overwhelming number of hits.
    
 
  • The Invisible Web
    http://invisible-web.net/ (February 7, 2007).
    General search engines are not able to retrieve all Web pages.
      
  • Specialized Subject Directories
    See our Web site under Internet Resources--Internet Subject Guides and Information, for example the Librarians' Index to the Internet (www.lii.org) (February 7, 2007).

  • Databases That are Not Free
    All information is not freely available. Many databases are available only for subscription fees (such as those mentioned above in the Article Databases section). Most libraries subscribe to many fee-based databases.

  • Experts
    Sometimes the best sources of information are actual people -- individuals you go to school with, work with, your teachers, or experts you identify in the media or on the Internet. Talk to them (or email them, or use Internet chat)
    
 
  Evaluating Internet Resources
 
    
 
  Interlibrary Loan and Referral Services  
  If the item you want is not available at one of our consortium libraries, we can often locate a copy of the item. If it is at another library in New York City, we will give you a referral card to gain access to that library. If it is outside of the city, we will request an interlibrary loan or a photocopy of the article. Here are the steps to follow, once you identify an item you need:
  
 
1. Search BobCat for the book or journal title.
2. If it's not in BobCat, try searching in the New York Public Library catalogs or talk to one of our librarians.
3. If it's not in the NYPL system either try searching in the WorldCat database or talk to one of our librarians.
4. If you do find the item in WorldCat, talk to one of our librarians about getting a referral card or an interlibrary loan. If not, he or she might find something that you have missed and will have access to other databases to continue the search.
   
 
          
  Last updated February 12, 2008 (8pm)