Questions? Contact me.
- Lynn Jones
- Office Hours: by appointment or Skype me: lynn.jones1000
- Office Location: 212 Doe Library
- Contact Info:
510 768-7643
Many article databases contain information about articles (citations or abstracts), not the entire text of the article. Once you've used an article database to find articles on your topic, you may need to use this button:
in order to locate and read the full text of the article. The UC-eLinks button appears in nearly all the databases available from the UCB Library website.
UC-eLinks will link you to the online full text of an article if UCB has paid for online access; otherwise, UC-eLinks will help you locate a print copy on the shelf in the library. If UCB doesn't own the article in print or online format, UC-eLinks can also help you order a copy from another library.
For more information, watch this video tutorial (about 4 min.)
You can also set up UC-eLinks to work with Google Scholar. For more information, watch this video tutorial (about 2 min.)
To use library databases from off campus you have to set up the proxy server: this changes your browser settings.
To find books, DVDs, maps, sound recordings, manuscripts, and much more - everything except articles - use a library catalog.
OskiCat = UC Berkeley libraries
MELVYL= all UC campus libraries, including all UC Berkeley libraries
What's the difference?
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.
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:
| Q 76 K26 |
QA 17 F75 |
QA 17.1 C98 |
TK 3 Z37 |
TK 29 M49 |
TK 29 M5 1997 |
TK 29 M5 2007 |
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.
Looking for a location in Doe, Main Stacks or Moffitt? Try the floorplans, or ask for assistance!
You can check out books from most libraries on campus with your Cal 1 Card. Here's information on borrowing, renewing, returning, overdue materials, etc.
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
The library has created a guide to searching for primary sources in Oskicat, including the best search terms you can use.
This is a list of a few of the many primary source databases in US History, in addition to Oskicat. more
There are tens of thousands of historical primary sources in Oskicat. To narrow your searching to primary sources, try this.
The results should be a list of primary sources on your topic, each of which is a book in the Berkeley library.
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:
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.
Our guide to Citing Your Sources tells how to establish your paper's credibility and avoid plagiarism, and provides links to detailed examples of MLA and other citation formats.
American Sociological Association style manual
For more examples, link to our e-book, Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles, chapter 4 "MLA Style."
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!
It's always good to double check the formatting -- sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.
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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.
Other ways to get help: in person, by e-mail, using specialized chat services
