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!
The following titles are just examples of sources for background information on immigration topics and on specific immigrant groups. For more sources, search Oskicat by subject, including specific ethnic groups (ex: indians of north america encyclopedias, mexican americans dictionaries), browse the reference collections of Doe Library (2nd floor) or the Ethnic Studies Library, or ask for assistance. Remember to search broadly - if you are not finding reference sources on vietnamese americans, search more broadly (ex: asian american* encyclopedias).
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups (1980)
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America (2000)
Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West (2006)
Encyclopedia of American Immigration (2001)
We the People: an Atlas of America's Ethnic Diversity (1988)
Atlas of American diversity (1998)
Search Oskicat by keyword ethnic chronology series for a series of chronologies of the history of specific ethnic groups (Czechs, Filipinos, etc.) The titles are from the 1970's and not every group is represented but still a useful starting place for some ethnic groups.
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.
Search OskiCat for both primary and secondary sources. Examples:
vietnamese immigra*
southeast asian* immigra*
portuguese california
asian american* sport*
japanese american* baseball
chinese american marriage*
chinese american women
chinese american famil*
african american* california
chinese california
hmong united states
hmong american*
jew* boston
white* race identity united states
wine* migrant labor*
* = truncation symbol/wildcard for variant word endings
ex: immigra* = immigrant, immigrants, immigrating, immigration...
If you're getting too many irrelevant results (ex: vietnamese american* retrieves a lot of things about the Vietnam War) try pulling down the "keyword" menu to "subject" to search by official subject headings
subject: vietnamese americans
Looking for official subject headings:
keywords: national identity
keywords: national identity american
look at long form of records for official subject headings:
subject: national characteristics american
add other useful keywords:
keywords: national characteristics american* immigra*
if you know the name of a person or organization, search it both as an author and as a topic:
author: gamio, manuel
author: irish american benevolent
Try out these OskiCat features:
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
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > H > History > America: History and Life
mexican* (select a field- optional)
immigra* (select a field - optional)
econom* (select a field - optional)
historical period from: 1920 to 1940
american identit* (select a field- optional)
immigra* (select a field - optional)
assimil* or accultural* (select a field - optional)
historical period from: 1900 to 2000
Watch: America: History and Life - the Movie! (2 min 34 seconds)
Library home > Articles > General Article Databases > JSTOR
REMEMBER: JSTOR doesn't include articles from the last 3-5 years!!!
Advanced Search
1. immigra*
irish
2. to narrow your search further, add another search term, or try searching for your terms in the titles of the articles:
immigra* (item title)
irish (item title)
advanced search also allows you to limit to certain years of publication (1980-2000, for example), to specific disciplines (ex: African American studies) etc.
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.
Primary sources can be found in a variety of library tools:
For specific search strategies, see the Library's Guide to Finding Historical Primary Sources
Learn more about your topic in advance:
Use the bibliographies of secondary sources and reference sources to find citations to specific primary sources; search OskiCat to locate them on campus, or ask for assistance at the Library.
Search OskiCat for primary sources using keywords and adding terms that denote primary sources, such as:
-correspondence
-sources
-diaries
-personal narratives
-interviews
-speeches
-documents
-archives
-early works to 1800
-newspapers
Go to the Library web site for a more extensive list of primary source databases for American History and for the complete list of primary source databases, follow this path: Library home > Electronic Resources > Electronic resources types A-Z > Archival Collections and Primary Source Databases.
Some examples
Library home > Electronic Resources > Electronic Resources Types A-Z > Archival Collections and Primary Sources > Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)
advanced (tab)
argentin* (citation and document text)
jorge rafael videla (citation and document text)
from: 1976 to 1983
Library home > Electronic Resources > Electronic Resources Types A-Z > Archival Collections and Primary Sources > Declassified Documents Reference System
argentina (keywords)
issue date: 1976 to 1990
Just a few examples of what's out there - but be careful to evaluate what you find!
American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library
Consists of more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical Library of Congress collections. The primary source and archival materials relating in the project cover topics from art and architecture to performing arts to technology and applied sciences.
American Slave: A Composite Autobiography
A digitized collection of over 2,300 narratives of former slaves. Interviews were conducted by writers and journalists as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s.
American Social History Online
Provides access to 175 digitized library collections related to U.S. social history.
Chronicling America
This site allows users to search and view newspaper pages from 1880-1910 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. To date, over 200,000 pages of California newspapers have been digitized.
Chronology of U.S. Historical Documents
Includes the text of more than 100 historic US documents from the Magna Carta and the Mayflower Compact to the Truman Doctrine and the "I Have a Dream" speech.
James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center
Gateway to collections documenting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered history and culture, emphasizing the San Francisco Bay Area. Part of the San Francisco Public Library
Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Census Counts. Contains historical census data from 1790-1860, 1990 & 2000; historical census statistics on the foreign-born. Print copies of the US Census (1790-2000) located in North Reading Room, 2nd floor, Doe Library, gref section, HA201 call number
Immigration... the Changing Face of America. Library of Congress collection. An introduction to the study of immigration to the United States
Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930. Web-based collection of selected historical materials documenting immigration to the US from the Harvard libraries
Making of America (Cornell University)
Access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles from 22 journals with 19th century imprints. The collection is particularly strong in the areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. Making of America is a collaboration between the libraries of Cornell University and the University of Michigan to document American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction by drawing upon the primary materials at these two institutions. The Michigan site is available at: http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moagrp/
Making of America (University of Michigan)
Access to 9,500 books and almost 2500 digitized issues of 12 journals published in the 19th century. The collection is particularly strong in the areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. Making of America is a collaboration between the libraries of Cornell University and the University of Michigan to document American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction by drawing upon unique primary materials held at each institution. The Cornell site is available at: http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/index.html
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.
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Please take a few minutes to give me some feedback about the library workshop and this course page! Anonymously, of course.
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)
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.
