Libraries

ETHN 103

Environmental Racism: Sociological Inequality, Ecological Harm, and Political Transformation

Before you Begin, if Off Campus

Want to get to databases from off campus? Here's how to configure your web browser for the UCSD Proxy Server


Finding Books: Library Catalogs

NOTES ON SUBJECT HEADINGS : For subject searching, try Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) thesaurus, the terms used by most U.S. academic libraries to describe the main subjects of books. Subject searching on perfectly natural words and phrases may give lower or zero results if not the "official" terminology. For example, a subject search on CHICANA won't find anything; the official term is MEXICAN AMERICAN WOMEN .

HINT : when you discover useful books from a keyword search, a glance at actual subject headings in the catalog record for books use gives suggestions of both the "official" subject term and new directions to try.

  • ROGER : UCSD Libraries' Catalog
    Lists items owned by all campus libraries. ROGER lists books, government publications, journals, newspapers, maps, music scores, sound, film and video recordings, computer files, dissertations, etc. No article databases, but includes links to full text electronic journals and any other cataloged resources where we have digital access. Use to renew, recall or put holds on books. For a guide to using Roger and Request, go to our Get Started page.

    NOTE : If a book is checked out, missing or not owned by UCSD, redo your search with the "Search in Circuit" button in your Roger results screen. This searches the combined catalog of UCSD, SDSU, USD, CSU San Marcos, and the San Diego County Library system. Delivery is 24-48 hours (Monday-Friday).

  • The Circuit: Search Circuit to find books at UCSD, SDSU, USD and Cal State San Marcos. If a title is checked out at UCSD, missing or not in our collection, you may request that title through Circuit. Delivery can be same or next day.
  • MELVYL Catalog (CDL): The California Digital Library (CDL) maintains the MELVYL Catalog, which combines holdings of all UC Library catalogs: books, government documents, periodicals subscriptions (but not content of periodicals). Use the online form to request books from other UC libraries. Delivery can be as soon as 2-3 days and usually no more than a week.


Finding Articles and other Scholarly Materials: Online Databases

NOTE : Some databases will include direct links to full text, but don't be discouraged if they don't. Look for the "UC-eLinks"button in the lists of results. It opens window that locates the articles either online or in print. (Not all articles exist yet online.) .

Sociological Abstracts. 1963-present. Abstracts journal articles, monographs, dissertations covering sociology, social work, and related social sciences. A key resource for studies of race and gender.

Worldwide Political Science Abstract 1975-present. Research within the political science discipline and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration/policy.

PAIS International 1915-present. Lists print and electronic articles, books, and government publications on issues of public policy, including politics, government, economy, marine policy, and law. Global, multilingual scope.

Academic Search Complete. Multidisciplinary database that indexes and abstracts articles in more than 10,900 journals and other publications in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Portuguese; full-text is available for over 5300 journals.

What about Google? Try instead Google Scholar , the version that focuses on scholarly journals and books rather than everything on the web. Google Scholar also includes UC-Elinks to help locate the text.




Resources for Background Information on a Topic

USA Search. The U.S. government's official web portal. A useful search engine that shows information by topic, agency, and source and searches .gov, .mil, and other government information sources.

Lexis Nexis Congressional. Access to U.S. legislative information, including bills and pending legislation, legislative history, hearings, testimony, reports, documents, Congressional Record, public laws, etc.

CQ Researcher Archive. 1923-present. Provides a ccess to summaries, bibliographies and analysis of current and controversial political issues. All reports written by journalists.

Business and Company Resource Center. A great first-stop for business information. It includes information on companies and industries from business and trade journals, academic journals, industry reports, newspapers, newsletters, and classic business reference sources.


News Resources for a Topic

Ethnic Newswatch . Full text U.S. ethnic community newspapers, newsletters, magazines. Includes African-American, Arab/Middle Eastern, Asian-Pacific, European-American, Hispanic, Jewish, Native-American. Searchable in English and Spanish. Coverage is mostly 1980s to present, though some as far back as 1960s.

Access World News: United States : Full-text content (but not page images) of more than 650 U.S. newspapers, including 116 in California. Local and regional news, including community events, schools, politics and government. Part of a larger database with international coverage. Dates vary, but very little before the late 1980s.



Websites


As you know, any organization or individual can put pages on the web. For some advice on how to sort the credible from the incredible, take a look the UCSD library page on Criteria for Evaluating Web Documents .

Statistical Abstracts of the United States Statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States. Selected international data included. The print version is much more user-friendly than the online version.

CIA World Fact Book US government profiles of countries and territories around the world. Information on geography, people, government, transportation, economy, communications, and more. Available electronically and in print.

Environmental Protection Agency This government website provides information on air pollution, laws and regulations, waste, water and more.



Other Useful Information


Ask a Librarian : Get help by email, live chat , phone, or in person at the SSHL Reference Desk.

My Library Account : Roger, the UCSD library catalog, has a "My Library Account" feature that lets you view items that you have borrowed, renew items, request books, and more. ( View instructions on setting up your account ).


A web-based bibliographic service, free to UCSD students, enabling you to collect, create, manage and share citations, and even to integrate them in Word documents. First time you need to set up an individual account. Classes are being offered this quarter!

Contact

Alanna Aiko Moore
Sociology, Ethnic Studies, and Gender Studies Librarian
Social Sciences & Humanities Library
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive, 0175R
La Jolla, CA 92093-0175
Phone (858) 822-5918
Fax (858) 534-7548
aamoore@ucsd.edu