Your Librarian
As a Vanderbilt student you can connect with the library wherever you are!
- Access books, journals, databases, films, and more using your VUnetID
- Work with a librarian - don't spend more than 20 minutes aimlessly searching!
- Email me with a question
- Schedule a meeting virtually or in-person for in-depth research assistance
- Central Library spends ~2 million dollars every year to purchase books, ebooks, articles, and other materials that are behind paywalls.
- Vanderbilt Library subscribes to over 700 databases.
- These resources make up a majority of the Deep Web.
- Google, Bing, and other familiar tools capture less than 1% of information on the internet.
As generative AI tools become more prevalent, you may want to try using some of these tools and services to help you complete your coursework. According to the Syllabus AI Policies for the College of Arts & Science, "...the policy of Vanderbilt University to leave it up to individual faculty to decide whether and how AI tools are used in their courses..." Therefore you should always check the course syllabus and speak with the professor before using any AI Tool. If allowed by the professor, whether or not you choose to use AI is ultimately your decision, however there are a few things to keep in mind:
| Why should I use AI tools? | Why shouldn't I use AI tools? |
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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.
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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.
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New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online This link opens in a new windowEssays covering a broad range of topics, methodologies, and theories within the field of economics. Many articles contributed by "eminent economists" writing about their area of expertise.
Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds
Throughout history, tyrants, totalitarian states, church institutions, and democratic governments alike have banned books that challenged their assumptions or questioned their authority. Even today, attempts by school boards, local governments, and religious fanatics to restrict our freedom to read continue. As part of a 4 part series, Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds discusses writings that have been banned over the centuries because they offended or merely ignored official truths; challenged widely held assumptions; or contained ideas or language unacceptable to a state, religious institution, or private moral watchdog.
Forbidden Literature: Case Studies on Censorship
In Forbidden Literature scholars from a variety of disciplines address censorship’s past and present, whether in liberal democracies or totalitarian regimes. Through in-depth case studies they trace a historical continuum in which literature reveals its two-sided nature: it demands both regulation and protection. The contributors investigate the logic of literary repression, particularly in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and analyse why it is thought essential to control literature. Moreover, the authors determine how literary practices are shaped and transformed by regulation and censorship.
Silenced in the Library: Banned Books in America
Censorship has been an ongoing phenomenon even in "the land of the free." This examination of banned books across U.S. history examines the motivations and effects of censorship, shows us how our view of right and wrong has evolved over the years, and helps readers to understand the tremendous importance of books and films in our society.
