English
106: Chicago Focus
John Stanger
A Guide to Resources
The following are selected resources
available in the library and on the Internet.
Please note that most of the links
listed below will not work if you are accessing this page from off campus. You
can remedy this by going to the Library
Web Page, where you can connect to Articles & Databases, Reference
Sources, and Electronic Journals & Newspapers after providing your
Elmhurst College e-mail login and password. If you don't know your Technology
Account login or password, you'll want to contact Computer Services, Room 107
CSTC.
Background
Information
- CQ
Researcher ~ An excellent source for current hot topics. Each individual
issue contains historical background, a timeline, current status, and potential
future developments. The bibliographies are especially helpful in finding
useful sources.
- The New Encyclopaedia Britannica,
Reference R031 B862N1991 ~ A good source of background information
and bibliographies. Look up your topic in the index to get started. Also
available electronically.
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Statistics
- Statistical
Universe ~ Search
the Statistical Abstract of the United States for statistics about
the U.S.
- Statistical Abstract of the
United States, Reference R 317.3 U58S
- A Statistical Portrait of
the United States: Social Conditions and Trends, Reference R 306.0973
S797
- Datapedia of the United States,
1790-2005: America Year by Year, Reference R 317.3 D96d 2001
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Chicago Reference
Sources
- Cahan, Richard. Landmark Neighborhoods
in Chicago. Chicago, Ill.: City of Chicago, Commission on Chicago Historical
and Architectural Landmarks, 1981. R720.9773 L257c
- Levine, Neil. The Architecture
of Frank Lloyd Wright. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996.
R720.973 W949YL
- Lindberg, Richard. Passport's
Guide to Ethnic Chicago. Lincolnwood, IL: Passport Books, 1993. R917.731104
L742P
- Linton, Cynthia, ed. The Ethnic
Handbook: A Guide to the Cultures and Traditions of Chicago's Diverse Communities.
Chicago, IL: Illinois Ethnic Coalition, 1996. R305.5609773 E84
- Local Community Fact Book,
Chicago Metropolitan Area. Chicago, Ill. Chicago Review Press, 1938- [published
every 10 years]. Latest edition in Reference. R917.7311 K62L
- Shumsky, Neil Larry, editor. Encyclopedia
of Urban America: The Cities and Suburbs. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO,
1998. R307.76097303 D647
- Sirefman, Susanna. Chicago:
A Guide to Recent Architecture, 1st ed. London: Artemis, 1994. R720.977311
S619c
- Schultz, Rima Lunin and Adele
Hast. Women Building Chicago, 1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary,
1st ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. R305.40977311W872
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Elmhurst and
DuPage County Reference Sources
- DuPage County 1990 Census Data
Book. [Wheaton, Ill.]: DuPage County Regional Planning Commission, 1992.
917.7324 D929D
- DuPage County Cultural and
Historical Inventory. [Wheaton, Ill.]: DuPage County Regional Planning
Commission, 1993.
R977.324 D929
- Elmhurst; Origin of Names:
Streets, Schools, Parks and Landmarks. Elmhurst, Ill.: Elmhurst Branch,
American Association of University Women, [1976].
R977.324 AM512E
- Profile: DuPage County Statistical
Handbook, 6th ed. DuPage County Development Depart. Wheaton, Ill.: The
Department, 1992.
R310.9773 D 929 P 1992
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Finding Books
at Elmhurst College
Use Illinet
Online to find books held in the Elmhurst College library
as well as books owned by 44 other Illinois academic libraries.
Illinet Online can also be accessed from the Books button
on the library
home page.
Quick Searches
offer a good way to start looking for books in Illinet Online.
You can either look for particular items (such as works by a
particular author, or under a particular title), or you can
do keywords searching. Use the main words describing your topic.
For example, to find books about abortion, try the following
Quick Search:
Type
the word chicago
The above search
yields items with the word chicago anywhere in the
description of the item; some of these may be solely about
Chicago, and others may not. You can try to focus your search
on governmental views on abortion by adding more search
terms, as below:
Select
Boolean for your search type, and type in chicago
and churches
You
can also do a browse subject search, which is a more precise
way of searching. Illinet Online uses Library of Congress
Subject Headings (or LC subject headings) to arrange and organize
information. Unlike keywords, you can't simply make these up;
you have to find out what the exact terms are and enter them in
Illinet as a subject search. Here are some examples of subject
headings:
- Chicago Cubs (Baseball
team) -- History
- Chicago (Ill.)
- Chicago (Ill.)
-- Buildings, structures, etc.
- Chicago Metropolitan
Area (Ill.) -- Description and travel
Guided Keyword
Searches allow you more flexibility. Click the appropriate
tab, and fill in the blanks as desired. You can change your
searching options to look for either some or all of the
words you've typed in, and to look in different areas of
the item's catalog record.
Some keywords you can try include:
- Chicago
- Chicagoland
- DuPage
- specific neighborhoods (i.e.,
Rogers Park)
- crime
- art
- politics
- music
- sports
- specific people (i.e., Al Capone,
Richard Daley, Harold Washington)
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Finding Articles
in Magazines, Newspapers, and Journals
There are a variety of databases
that you can use to find articles. There are many different types of articles
available, and your instructor may want you to use a scholarly, rather than
a popular, article. Make sure you know how to distinguish
scholarly journals from popular magazines.
Journal and Magazine Articles
(Elmhurst College users only)
Use article databases
to help you find articles (only some of the 70+ databases are listed below).
Some databases will give you the full text of the article, which you can then
go ahead and print, while others will require you to find out if we own the
journal where the article is published.
- Academic
Search Elite ~ A good place to start. Includes references to scholarly
as well as popular periodicals. Some of the magazines included
herein include Time, Newsweek, and the Economist.
- Periodical
Abstracts ~ Includes indexing, abstracting, and some full text
for magazine and journal articles, including from the Economist, Redbook,
and Rolling Stone.
- WilsonSelectPlus
~ Includes indexing, abstracting, and full text for a variety of
magazines and journals, including Ebony, People, and Parenting.
For articles specifically on the
Chicago area, try the following electronic newspapers:
Newspaper Articles (Elmhurst
College users only)
While you can often find some of
the text of newspaper articles from their online counterparts, such as the Chicago
Tribune, you often cannot get the full article, or access to older articles.
This is why it is important to remember that the library subscribes to a variety
of newspaper
sources.
- Chicago
Tribune ~ full text from 1985 to present.
- NewsIllinois
~ includes full text of selected AP and Tribune articles about or related
to Illinois. On campus access only.
- Academic
Universe ~ accesses a variety of news and business sources, many of
which are full text.
- Newspaper
Source ~ full text from more than 100 U.S. and international newspapers.
Includes sources such as USA Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer,
The (London) Times, and transcripts from NPR's Morning Edition.
- Historical
New York Times ~ full text images from the New York Times from 1851
to 1999. Many Chicago events and people had a broad impact on society and
were covered by the NY Times.
You can also find suggestions for
material listed in the bibliographies at the end of book chapters or articles
on Chicago.
Where Is It? (Or, Getting Your
Hands on an Article When It's Not in the Database)
- How do I get an article from
another library?
- If an article is not available
from our collection, it will be retrieved via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
This process takes 7 to 10 days, so leave yourself plenty of time. Use
this online
form to submit your request via email.
- How do I know whether an article
is useful to me?
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Internet
Sites
Evaluating Internet
Resources
Learn what to look for in a web site,
and find out what the red flags are.
Chicago Sites
- 2001
Facts about Chicago ~ compiled by the Municipal Reference Library,
City of Chicago.
- American
Memory from the Library of Congress ~ photographs, sounds, and other
digitized items; includes WPA interviews and sheet music of blues music.
- Chicago
Historical Society ~ offering many on-line exhibits about famous event
in Chicago's history
- Chicago
Imagebase ~ a project from the University of Illinois at Chicago containing
images and information about "the built environment of the Chicago region."
- Chicago
Magazine ~ selected articles from the magazine are available here
- Chicago
Public Radio (WBEZ) ~ check out Chicago
Matters for past shows on housing and education
-
- Chicago
Timeline ~ a brief chronology of Chicago history, including information
on the Haymarket
Riot, and the Eastland
disaster. Also links to digital collections on Harold
Washington and the Lakeview
neighborhood.
- City
of Chicago ~ official web site of the city's governement.
- Deaths,
Disturbances, Disasters, and Disorders in Chicago ~ from the Chicago
Public Library
- Eastland
Historical Society
- Haunted
Chicago ~ also check out Shadows
of Chicago for information on the hauntings and gory history of Chicago
- Graveyards
of Chicago ~ a useful site for finding out more about the graves of
Chicago's luminaries
- Jazz
Institute of Chicago ~ the Jazzgram contains book and CD reviews,
selections from the first issue of the Jazzgram (then called the Jazz Sheet),
audio commentary, articles on famous jazz personalities, and Bronzeville Conversations,
which brings to life the history of Bronzeville through photographs, articles,
and interviews
-
Newberry
Library ~ houses a lot of historical and literary information pertaining
to Chicago
-
-
- WTTW
~ Chicago
by 'L', Chicago
Tonight, and Chicago
Stories (check out the Eastland
and Our Lady of
Angels information) may be of interest
- Yahoo!
Directory: Iroquois Theater Fire
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Writing and
Citing
Writing/Research/Topic Development
Assistance
The below resources
can give you some assistance if you are getting frustrated or confused. If
you would like someone to look over a draft of your paper, the Writing
Center is available.
Why is it crucial
that you properly cite all the sources you use for a paper, be they articles,
books, web sites, or e-mail messages. Because if you don't properly credit a
source, you are engaging in plagiarism.
Whether you cut and paste text from an on-line article to your paper, or simply
neglect to use quotation marks when warranted, plagiarism in all its forms is
strongly discouraged. Write your paper with a clear conscience, and use any
of the below sources to help you cite your sources.
More Information
Literacy Tools
Librarians often use a lot of technical
terms, such as "information literacy" -- but what do these terms mean?
The below web sites can help you figure this out and give you insight into the
importance of information literacy.
Last modified
18 March, 2003
by Ayanna Gaines, Assistant Reference
Librarian
A.C. Buehler Library, Elmhurst College