Getting Started
Remote Library Resources & Services
As a Vanderbilt student you can:
- get help with your research assignments by using Ask a Librarian.
- borrow books and other items from any of the campus libraries (except Special Collections).
- return most items you check out to any library.
- Central Library has a materials budget of 2 million dollars.
- Vanderbilt Library subscribes to over 700 databases.
- These resources make up a majority of the Deep Web
- Google, Bing and other familiar search engines capture less than 1% of information on the Web.
- Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new windowLiterary guide to significant sources on a variety of subjects. Works as an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopedia.
- Oxford Research Encyclopedias This link opens in a new windowLong-form overview articles written, peer-reviewed, and edited by leading scholars. Both foundational and cutting-edge topics are covered in order to develop, over time, an anchoring knowledge base for major areas of research.
Access to selected content only. Some articles may not be available. - Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new windowCambridge Histories covering American, British, economic, regional, and general history, language and linguistics, philosophy, religious studies, theatre studies and performing arts, etc.
- Very Short Introductions This link opens in a new windowConcise overviews of hundreds of diverse topics from the abstract (Knowledge) to the concrete (Coral Reefs), written by experts in the field who combine facts, analysis, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make challenging topics highly readable.
- Gale Literature: Book Review Index This link opens in a new windowComprehensive guide to book reviews: cites or links to full-text reviews.
- 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.
- 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.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective, 1890-1982 This link opens in a new windowIndex of articles from magazines, including full coverage of the original print volumes of Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature™. Atlantic Monthly, Century Magazine, Christian Century, Commonweal, Foreign Affairs, Fortnightly Review (London), Good Housekeeping, Harper's, Ladies Home Journal, Literary Digest, The Nation, New Republic, Reader's Digest, Saturday Evening Post, Saturday Review, Scribner's, and Women's Home Companion.
How to Start
Go to the library homepage and bookmark it.
Go to the all-search box. Enter your search keywords.
You can select Articles at the top of the search box if you want to limit your search to only articles. You can also select Databases A-Z and do searches for articles in any of our specialized databases.
Not all databases are easy to use, and it can be confusing when they give different information or data. Look at the database page layout. If it is simple, keep your search simple. If it has complex search features, take advantage of them to get the best results. For more help, stop by, contact me, or schedule an appointment with one of our librarians.
Remember — all library databases can be found by using this link:
To find databases related to a specific research area, use the pulldown menu "All Subjects" (left-hand side of page).
You can also enter your own search terms in the search box on the right-hand side of the page.
