Guide to Library Research 

The following books will provide you additional information on how to conduct library research; please do not think that they are the only sources of help. Other aids can be found in the Pratt Library's catalog. Also, the Pratt/SLRC subject specialist librarians are always ready to help by phone, e-mail, or Internet chat.

General Sources
Genealogy
Indexes to Primary Sources

General Sources

Barzun, Jacques. The Modern Researcher, 5th ed. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1992. LB2639.B28 1992B

A wonderful general guide to help in all stages of research. It contains extensive information on all sorts of material and provides the reader with tools to evaluate sources.

Mann, Thomas. A Guide to Library Research Methods. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. Z710.M23 1987

Provides guidance in conducting any type of library research. It is a good general guide to using the library.

D'Aniello, Charles, ed. Teaching Bibliographic Skills in History: A Sourcebook for Historians and Librarians. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993. Z765.H5 T4 1993

Chapter 9, "Using Finding Aids to Archives and Manuscripts Collections," explains the use of indexes and other finding aids to primary source material.

Tosh, John. The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods, and New Directions in the Study of Modern History. London: Longman Group, 1987. D16.4.G7T67 1984

Chapter 2, "The Raw Materials," discusses the definition of primary sources and the types of documents that fit that definition.

Genealogy

Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy, 3rd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 2000. CS47.G79 2000

This book is a good comprehensive reference for genealogists.

Indexes to Primary Sources

Arksey, Laura. American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of Published American Diaries and Journals, 1st ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1983. CT214.A1A74 1983Q

Provides researchers with a bibliography of published diaries and journals. It gives a brief description and complete citation information.

DeWitt, Donald L. Guides to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994. CD3022.A2D48 1994

A bibliography of finding aids to unpublished material. It is particularly useful in locating collections held by small repositories.

The Manuscript Collections of the Maryland Historical Society. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society. F171.2.M33A43Q

Provides collection level descriptions of holdings of the Manuscript Division of the Maryland Historical Society as of 1968. Other collections have been added to the collection since that time.

McWilliams, Jim. In Their Own Words: An Index of Interviews with American Authors, 1945-2000. West Cornwall, CT: Locust Hill Press, 2002. PS225.A1 2002

Gives citations to published interviews with many of the important writers of the Twentieth Century.

Falk, Byron A. Personal Name Index to "The New York Times Index," 1975-1996 Supplement. Sparks, NV: Roxbury Data Interface, 1998. CT104.A1 F3 SUPPL. 1998Q

This index is meant only to be an example of indexes to the New York Times. It provides access to the names of people who were mentioned in New York Times articles.