Contact Corliss
- Corliss Lee
- Office Hours: By Appointment
- Contact Info:
510-768-7899
Read an introduction to the campus libraries for undergraduates.
Set up your computer for off campus access to library databases.
Need a map of the campus libraries?
Each library has its own hours. Click on the calendar for each library to view a month at a time.
The UCB Library sponsors the Library Prize for Undergraduate Research. Win $1000 (upper division students) or $750 (lower division students) for your research paper!
For background information about your topic, or to look up facts, dates, terminology, or biographical information, look for reference sources.
Online: Library home > Electronic Resources > Electronic Resources: Types A-Z > select a type (atlases, biographical information, dictionaries, encyclopedias, image databases, etc.)
Printed reference sources:
Search OskiCat:
african american* encyclopedias
harlem renaissance encyclopedias
harlem renaissance dictionaries
jazz encyclopedias
or ask for research assistance.
UCB Library Guide to Finding Primary Sources
Think about:
The Media Resources Center has a list of nonprint media relating to the Harlem Renaissance
along with many other videos and DVDs relating to African American Studies
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
A Guide to Harlem Renaissance Materials at the Library of Congress
To find books, DVDs, maps, sound recordings, manuscripts, and much more - everything except articles - use a library catalog.
OskiCat = most UC Berkeley libraries
MELVYL = all UC campus libraries, including all UC Berkeley libraries
What's the difference? more details here
For each item make sure you know the name of the physical library, call number, and whether or not it's checked out, library use only, etc.
Call numbers are on the spine of the book; learn how to read them so you can find what you need on the shelves.
Sample searches in OskiCat or MELVYL (primary and secondary sources)
harlem renaissance
harlem renaissance women
cotton club
jazz new york
duke ellington
african american* newspapers new york (limit format to journals/newspapers/magazines)
angelina weld grimke
* = truncation or wildcard symbol; child* - child, childs, children, childish, childhood...
you can also search by author: grimke, angelina weld
in MELVYL:
in most library catalogs you may:
Search an article database to find citations (title, author, title of journal, date, page numbers) for articles on a particular topic. The Library gives you access to over 200 article databases covering different disciplines.
1. Think about which academic disciplines might write about your topic. Examples: literature, film, anthropology, history...
2. Find the appropriate article database by subject (academic discipline or department). Look for "Recommended" databases.
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject
Black Studies Center (primary and secondary sources)
"james vanderzee"
"james van der zee"
negrotarian*
"small's paradise"
in some databases, quotation marks are required to search for two or more terms together
Black Studies Center: The Movie!
Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) (mostly primary sources)
cotton club (citation and document text)
from: 1/1/1910 to 12/31/1940
to focus your search on results that are really about the Cotton Club, and don't just mention the club, try:
cotton club (document title)
from: 1/1/1910 to 12/31/1940
another example: an in-between search, more results than searching by title, fewer than searching all text:
a'lelia walker (citation and abstract)
from: 1/1/1910 to 12/31/1940
Watch the movie version!
America: History and Life (secondary sources)
harlem renaissance (select a field - optional)
white* (select a field - optional)
time period: 1900 to 1940
Once you've searched a database to find articles, you may need to use 
to link to a PDF or html file if the full text is not immediately available. Each database is a bit different, but a good rule of thumb is this: when you see the Uc-eLinks icon click on it to view your article access options, which can range from full text to a call number to an Interlibrary Loan request:
For more information, here's a tutorial on using UC-eLinks.
Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but any are easier than doing it by hand!
Zotero: A free plug-in that works exclusively with the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service.
RefWorks - free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies. Use the RefWorks New User Form to sign up. Refworks Help is pretty good.
How to link from the Refworks record to a pdf on your hard drive
Exporting from OskiCat to Refworks
EndNote: may be purchased from UC Berkeley's Software Central. The Library's Guide to EndNote. And more Tips from EndNote.
It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.
Google Scholar is an easy way to do interdisciplinary research, and with some settings changes can become even more useful. You may need a Google account to use some of these features.
Open Scholar. Click on scholar preferences [upper right corner]. Under Library Links, enter the word Berkeley. Choose UC Berkeley eLinks and Open WorldCat - Library Search and Save your preferences. UC e-links will now appear in Google Scholar search results.
Do your search in Google Scholar. Look in the green toolbar for the envelope icon, and click it. New items will be sent to your email account as they are found by Google.
Do a Google Scholar search. Click on the "Cited by" link under a citation and select the "Search within articles citing..." checkbox.
Javascript required to chat
Research Advisory Service for Cal Undergraduates
Book a 30-minute appointment with a librarian who will help refine and focus research inquiries, identify useful online and print sources, and develop search strategies for humanities and social sciences topics (examples of research topics).
Schedule, view, edit or cancel your appointment online (CalNetID required)
This service is for Cal undergraduates only. Graduate students and faculty should contact the library liaison to their department or program for specialized reference consultations.
Other ways to get help: in person, by e-mail, using specialized chat services
And of course: e-mail Corliss or email Theresa (Bancroft Library)
Please take a few minutes to give me some feedback about the library workshop and this course page! Anonymously, of course.
