Finding Sources
- Library Search This link opens in a new windowCheck out the Library Search which finds print and electronic items, including journal and newspaper articles, book chapters, books, reviews, legal documents, and much more. Note: Due to licensing restrictions, some content is only available to current students, faculty, and staff.
Keyword vs. Subject Searching
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Step 1: Start your search process by brainstorming a list of keywords that describe the main concepts of your topic or question. |
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Step 2: Use these keywords for your initial searches. Step 3: Use the Subject Heading links in the Library Catalog record to refine your search. |
• Project Muse
Some publishers with subscriber-only content are making their materials freely available.
ProQuest is allowing unlimited concurrent users for ebooks already owned.
• University of Michigan Press
All content in the University of Michigan Press ebook collection is open access for the duration.
Ohio State University is opening access to 699 ebooks.
• Digital Collections at the Center for Research Libraries
CRL is unable to scan physical materials at this time. However, digitized resources are available for Vanderbilt users.
• Vital Source - Free etextbooks from participating publishers through May 25, 2020. Examples, Oxford, Elsevier, Sage, and many more.
Access instructions: Students log in to VitalSource Bookshelf using their school email address. Once logged in, they will click on “Explore” to select 7 no-cost titles at one time from participating publishers. If they do not have a BookShelf account, they can register for one.
• RedShelf - Students can access up to 7 free ebooks from participating publishers through May 25, 2020. Examples include Palgrave MacMillian, ABC-CLIO, Broadview, and many, many more.
Access instructions: Students log into RedShelf using their school email address. If they do not have a RedShelf account, they can register for one. Students can then add 7 no-cost titles from participating publishers to their “My Shelf”.
• Kanopy
All Great Courses and Kanopy Ki
• Pearson
Free access to resources for students and faculty.
ds content is currently streaming without additional fees.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowLarge and important archive for academic journals, books, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Many journals do not have current issues.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowIndex of academic historical journals on the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, etc.
- Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new windowHumanities and social sciences periodicals. Includes Foundation Collection. Sister database to Periodicals Index Online.
- ProQuest This link opens in a new windowSearch all ProQuest databases simultaneously. Includes arts, humanities, social sciences, news, and science and technology.
Vanderbilt affiliates have access to thousands of journals concerning history. About 25% of these journals are available electronically:
Search EJournal Titles
Use Library Catalog, the online catalog to find journal titles available in print and/or microform formats. You cannot use Library Catalog to find journal articles by subject.
https://browzine.com/libraries/519
(PCs and Laptops)
thirdiron.com/download
(Mobile Devices)
BrowZine is an app for tablets and smartphones that delivers and lets you browse, read, and save articles from thousands of the library's journals in one newsstand. BrowZine is compatible with iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. BrowZine can now be used on your laptop or computer as BrowZine Web.
With BrowZine, you can:
- Browse journals by subject area and across disciplines
- Create your own personal journal bookshelf
- Download articles in full-text in a uniform format, without having to search multiple platforms for what you need
- Save articles for offline reading, export to services Zotero and Mendeley
- Get alerts when new articles appear in your favorite journals
Google Scholar provides access to "peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations."
What Google Scholar does not contain, in most cases, is the fulltext of the articles -- but it does work with the library's Findit@VU service to help you get to the fulltext when available. If you are on campus, Findit@VU will automatically appear -- but if you are off campus it won't. Not clicking on Findit@VU may lead to you receiving a message indicating that you must purchase the article to view it.
Bookmark this link as your access point to Google Scholar to ensure that the Findit@VU links appears in your searches or follow the instructions for setting your preferences in the video below. Don't get caught paying for articles when you don't have to!
