HIST R1B: A History of Diplomacy from the Greeks to Wikileaks

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Books and journals are arranged on our shelves according to the Library of Congress (LC) classification system. Each is assigned a unique call number based on its subject matter and other characteristics. Items on the same subject will often be grouped together.

In using a call number to locate a book on the shelf, consider each element in turn before moving on to the next segment.

These call numbers are arranged as they should appear on the shelves. In each case, the element shown in boldface distinguishes the number from the preceding one:

Each call number consists of several elements. For example::

TK
7881.6
M29
1993

The FIRST line, TK, is based on the broad subject of the book. Within Class T for technology, TK represents electrical engineering.

The SECOND line, 7881.6, defines the subject matter more finely. When looking for the book, read this as a whole number with a decimal component. In this example, TK7881.6 represents magnetic recording (a subdivision of TK— electrical engineering).

The THIRD line, M29, usually indicates author, but may also represent a further subject subdivision, geographic area, etc. There may also be a fourth line, formatted the same way. When looking for the book, read the numeric component as if it were preceded by a decimal point. In the example above, the numeric part of M29 should be read as ".29" (and the call number TK7881.6 M29 comes before TK7881.6 M4).

The YEAR of publication, such as 1993, may also be present. These file in chronological order and often indicate successive editions of a book. The call number may also have additional elements, such as volume numbers.

Primary sources can be found in a variety of library tools:

• Catalogs:  OskiCat and Melvyl
• Online book and text collections
• Primary Source databases provided by the Library
• Vetted sites on the web:
  
  • Library of Congress
  • Online Archive of California
  • History Matters
  • Internet History Sourcebooks project
    • Travellers' Accounts

For specific search strategies, see the Library's Guide to Finding Historical Primary Sources

One of the most powerful ways to find primary sources in the Library is to use the names of people.  An essential part of your background reading should be to note down names of people involved in your topics.

Names can be searched in the catalogs [Oskicat and Melvyl] in specialized ways: as authors or as subjects.  Even people you do not consider authors in the conventional sense may be listed as authors, if:

• their correspondence is available
• their manuscripts are available
• interviews with them are available
• their diaries are available
• published versions of these are available

When searching for primary sources, it's a good idea always to search those names as authors, as well as keywords.  Works where the person is listed as an author will always be primary sources.

There are tens of thousands of historical primary sources in Oskicat.  To narrow your searching to primary sources, try this.

1. Use Advanced Keyword Search
2. Pull down the "Subject" limiter in the left side box.
3. Enter your main search term.  It could be a topical word, like Auschwitz or Holocaust.
4. In the next row, again pull down the "Subject" limiter in the left side box. Enter one of these specific 'primary source' search words:

• personal narratives
• correspondence
• interviews
• memoirs
• diaries
• sources
• pamphlets

The results should be a list of primary sources on your topic, each of which is a book in the Berkeley library.

These databases include primary sources.

• Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
  Contains over 150,000 items published in Great Britain and its colonies, including those in North America, during the 18th Century. The resource is thus a rich source of information about the American and French Revolution, scientific and medical advances, literature, law, religion, industry, and all aspects of life in the 18th century.
  
• Electronic Enlightenment
  Searchable and browseable database offering extensive access to the web of correspondence between the greatest thinkers and writers of the long eighteenth century and their families and friends, bankers and booksellers, patrons and publishers. Coverage includes letters and documents, document sources such as manuscripts and early printed editions, scholarly annotations, and links to biographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, newspapers, and other online resources.
  
• Gallica
  The Bibliotheque Nationale de France's digital library provides free electronic access to one of the world's largest collections of digitized books, periodicals, documents, manuscripts, images and audio-visual resources. One can browse (Decouverte), search (Recherche), or explore thematic groupings of materials (Dossiers).
  
• Electronic Text Collections in Western European Literature
  Lists literary texts freely available on the Internet in Western European languages other than English.
  
• Eighteenth Century Journals
  Consists of the full-texts of important and often rare journals and newspapers printed between the late seventeenth and early nineteenth century in Great Britain. The collections cover all aspects of British life including history, science, music, society, literature and theater.
  
• Early English Books Online (EEBO)
  Indexes over 125,000 volumes of early works printed in England or in English. These works constitute a significant portion of items included in the English Short Title Catalog. It contains most of the works indexed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalog (1475-1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalog (1641-1700) and the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661) collection.
  

Three important databases for research in History.

• America: History and Life
  Indexes over 2,000 journals published worldwide on the history of the US and Canada from prehistory to the present. Includes all key English-language historical journals; selected historical journals from major countries, state, and local history journals; and a targeted selection of hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities.
  
• Historical Abstracts
  Indexes over 2,000 journals, as well as historical book reviews and dissertations, published worldwide about all aspects of world history (excluding US and Canada) from 1450 to the present.
  
• JSTOR
  Includes over 1000 scholarly journals with access to more than 2 million articles. JSTOR does not include the most recent 3-5 years of the journals.
  

Use a database efficiently

Databases allow you to search for articles by subjects, words in the text, authors, and more.  Use the UC e-links  button to find the article in full text or to search Melvyl for the print copy or to request it from another library.

Searching principles:

• Start with just one or two search words
• Look for specialized terminology – thesaurus, descriptors, subject headings-- you can use to target your searching
• If you get too many results, add additional search words or use more specific words
• If you get too few hits, use fewer terms or use more general terminology
• Save relevant citations and email them to yourself, always

• Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Web of Knowledge)
  Indexes over 1,000 of the leading arts and humanities journals, and provides searching of footnoted citations. Use the link above, then under Current Limits, specify Arts and Humanities Citation Index.
  
• JSTOR
  The Nordstrom's of secondary source databases, not just history, but all disciplines.
  

If you've never used Zotero before, use the QuickStart Guide to get started.

Change your preferences if you want  Zotero to

• set your default citation style
• search the full text of pdfs you save
• Automatically attach associated PDFs and other files when saving items

To use Zotero to find specific articles in our library's databases, set up the Open URL resolver with this link: http://ucelinks.cdlib.org:8888/sfx_local? 

An in-depth discussion of the relative virtues of Endnote and Zotero,

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When you use this chat widget a reference librarian from Berkeley, or another UC campus, or another academic library around the US may be answering your question.  We share information about our libraries to make sure you get good answers.

If the librarian can't answer you well enough, your question will be referred to a Berkeley librarian for followup.

Have fun chatting.

• Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students
  A comprehensive but easy-to-skim web guide to writing history papers. Recommended by History Dept faculty.

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

• American Studies
• History
• Intro to Political Science Research
• World History Microfilm Collections
• Library Subject Guides
• Library Course Guides