Locating Books and Call Numbers
Most books that deal with historical topics are shelved in the Central Library. The catalog shows the book call number and location.
A book that is CHECKD-OUT may be recalled, once you login with your VUnet ID, by clicking on the Request link in the "Get It" section, near the middle of the catalog record. You will be notified when the recalled item is available for your use.
Need help making sense of the Call # you found in Library Search Tool or where to find the book in the library?
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.
WorldCat contains more than 125 million records describing items owned by U.S. libraries and libraries around the world.
These items include books, manuscripts, musical scores, films, newspapers, etc.
Use 
to locate Vanderbilt holdings or request from Interlibrary Loan.
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. |
- Global Think Tanks This link opens in a new windowCurated, high quality policy reports, briefs, analyses, working papers, and datasets produced by the world’s leading policy experts, think tanks, research centers, IGOs, and NGOs.
- 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.
- ProQuest This link opens in a new windowSearch all ProQuest databases simultaneously. Includes arts, humanities, social sciences, news, and science and technology.
- Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) This link opens in a new windowComprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. Working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, conference proceedings, journal abstracts, books, a schedule of events, policy briefs and economic indicators, and maps and country data.
- AfricaBib.org: African Women This link opens in a new windowBooks and government documents; articles from books, periodicals, and journals; theses and dissertations; conference papers; and videocassettes.
- Black Studies Center / Proquest Black Studies This link opens in a new windowAfrican American content compiled from many Proquest resources. Scholarly essays and journals articles, recent periodicals, historical newspapers, archival records, reference books, and films are included. Content sourced from the African American Biographical Dictionary, The Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, Index to Black Periodicals Full Text, Black Literature Index, and many others for historical newspapers and archival records.
- Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new windowHumanities and social sciences periodicals. Includes Foundation Collection. Sister database to Periodicals Index Online.
Important African Studies Journals
Journal of Contemporary African Studies
Vanderbilt affiliates have access to thousands of journals concerning history. About 25% of these journals are available electronically:
Use The Library Catalog to find journal titles available in print and/or microform formats. Select full-text journal articles do appear in the catalog.
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!
