Keyword searching is quick and easy--anyone who has ever used a Web search engine is familiar with it.
However, the more specific you can be, the better. For example, just using "revolutionary war" as a search term will bring up materials about France's revolution in addition to the American Revolutionary War.
Library of Congress Subject Headings look complicated but they can give you more focused results once you get used to them. You may not know what you need at the beginning of your search. Below are some examples of LOC Subject Headings you may run into while researching American History. If you can't figure out what you need, find at least one source that is one target then look at the catalog entry and see what subject headings are listed there. Clicking on those subject links will bring up more results with that heading. Examples:
World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
World War, 1939-1945 -- France
History, Modern
Russia -- Foreign Relations -- Germany
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Causes
Propaganda, Soviet
Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945 -- Military leadership
Military history, Modern -- 20th century
India -- History
Books in the Reference Collection can be used in the library but not checked out. They are interfiled with the Circulating Collection on the upper floor of the library, with yellow stickers on the spine. Examples are to the right.
You can also try these two reference databases:
The Circulating Collection can be found on the upper floor of the Library
(which is the 3rd floor of the Scoville Learning Center).
There you will find books arranged in Library of Congress order.
C section: Auxiliary Sciences of History (i.e. General History, History of Civilization, Archaeology, Biography)
D section: World History (except the Americas)
E section: American History (General)
F section: History of Canada, Latin America, South America (as well as Local United States)
Circulating books can be borrowed; reference books can be used in the library.
Books on world history are shelved primarily under "D" (General and Europe) with Canadian, Latin American and South American history being found under "F" (Americas), using the Library of Congress system. Also "C" (Auxiliary Sciences of History) includes such subtopics as General History (C), History of Civilization (CB), Archaeology (CC) and Biography (CT).
Search for books, e-books and streaming videos on the
Ebook Databases
These databases link to electronic books: you can read a whole book on your screen! The first three databases require login with your SUNY Adirondack username/password if accessing from off-campus.
To find books using subjects that can have variant endings, use truncation, or wildcard endings. This technique looks for any ending of a word after a symbol, usually an asterisk. Not sure if a book is listed by the terms "history" or historical"? Type in "histor*" to retrieve books listing either: palestin* AND israel* AND histor*
You may also search for names (Churchill) and other specific topics (Holocaust). Consult a reference librarian if you are not finding what you need.