American Federal Government: Spring 2001

The following are selected resources available in the library and on the Internet.

Starting Out

• Encyclopedia Britannica
  A good source of background information and bibliographies.
  
  
• CQ Researcher
  An excellent source for current issues.

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Finding Books

You can locate books owned by the library using Illinet Online.

There are three series of books which may prove to be helpful to you. You can find them by doing a title search:

• Opposing Viewpoints
• Taking Sides 
• Current Controversies

If a book appears in the catalog, but is not available at Elmhurst, you can request the item directly in Illinet Online. Please ask a librarian if you need assistance. Books not available through Illinet may be ordered through our online Interlibrary Loan book request form.You can track down books in non-Illinet libraries using Worldcat.

Selected Reference Books

• Almanac of American Politics R328.73 B265A
• Congressional Quarterly Almanac R328.73 C749
• Encyclopedia of the American Judicial System R349.7303 E56
• From Suffrage to the Senate: An Encyclopedia of American Women in Politics R320.082
• Great American Court Cases R349.73 G786
• Guide to the Presidency R353.0313 C7491996
• Find the Law in the Library: A Guide to Legal Research R349.73072 C791f
• Historic U.S. Court Cases, 1690-1990: An Encyclopedia R349.730264 J67H
• Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court R347.7326 M457i
• Political Science: Illustrated Search Strategy and Sources, with an Introduction to Legal Research R320.072 L917P
• The Political Science Student Writer's Manual, 3rd ed. R808.06632 S426p 2000. Also in the Main collection.
• The Supreme Court A to Z : A Ready Reference Encyclopedia R347.732603 S959
• The Supreme Court Compendium: Data, Decisions, and Developments R347.7326 S959CC
• Vital Statistics on American Politics (CD-ROM) R320.973 S787vsc
• Vital Statistics on the Presidency: Washington to Clinton R324.63 R144v, 1998
• Washington Information Directory R328.73 W318 1996/97
• West's Encyclopedia of American Law R348.7303 W5161998

Finding Journal Articles

Full-text databases:

• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe ~ a plethora of legal resources are at your fingertips
• WilsonSelectPlus
• Periodical Abstracts

Indexing and abstracting databases:

• Humanities Abstracts
• PAIS International
• Social Sciences Abstracts

The library also subscribes to online newspapers such as the New York Times; these can be accessed through our list of online journals.

Once you've identified your articles, use Illinet Online to determine if the library owns the journal in print or in microfilm. Because there are also journals available electronically, you'll want to check Journals and Magazines Available Online for electronic access to journals.

If you cannot find an article at Elmhurst, you can request it through our online Interlibrary Loan article request form.

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Internet Resources

If you decide to use information from one of these sources, you must cite it properly. Examples of citations can be found at the bottom of this page, and at the sites listed in the Citing Your Sources section.

Government Information

• The Bill of Rights: A Brief History (from the ACLU)
• Central Intelligence Agency Electronic Document Release Center
• The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation
• Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention
• Government Information ~ from the Elmhurst College library web site
• The National Constitution Center (NCC)
• ThisNation: American Govenment and Politics Portal
• The U.S. Constitution: The Founding Fathers: The Delegates to the Constitutional Convention
• U.S. House of Representatives Educational Resources

Legal Information

• American Law Sources On-line (ALSO)
• FedLaw: Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Equal Opportunity, and Discrimination
• FindLaw
• The Legal Information Institute
• INCONGRESS: Legislative Issues Online
• Librarian's Index to the Internet: United States Supreme Court ~ a listing of sites
• Office of the Law Revision Counsel
• The Oyez Project ~ through Northwestern University, a helpful tool for navigating the complexities of the Supreme Court
• A Short History of American Civil Rights Laws
• Supreme Court of the United States ~ the official web page
• U.S. Supreme Court Plus ~ a commercial site with some free services available
• The White House ~ the Judicial Branch page has links to a variety of sources

Organizations

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• Equality Colorado ~ an organization founded in 1992 after the passing of the controversial Amendment 2
• National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL)
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• National Organization for Women (NOW)
• National Right to Life Committee
• Southern Poverty Law Center ~ "combats ... intolerance through education and litigation"

Other Resources

• American Demographics ~ provides demographic information on people's political leanings, concerns, and the like
• Celebrating Rights and Responsibilities
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America
• Political Resources on the Net
• Public Citizen ~ "the consumer's eyes and ears in Washington," courtesy of Ralph Nader
• QRD Queer Legal Resources on the Net ~ a listing of famous cases is available
• THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet

Citing Your Sources

Examples of Citations

Citing an article from a journal (MLA):

Messner, Michael A. "Barbie Girls versus Sea Monsters: Children Constructing Gender." Gender & Society 6 (Dec. 2000): 765-785.

Citing an article from a magazine (APA):

Clemetson, L., McRoberts, F., Downey, S., Hosenball, M., Fineman, H., & Springen, K. (2001, January 29). "A Confession From Jesse." Newsweek, p. 38.

Citing a web page (MLA):

Wells, Kim. Domestic Goddesses. 1 Oct. 2000. 8 February 2001. <http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/>.

Citing a web page (APA):

Liu, A. (2000). Voice of the Shuttle: Gender Studies Page [online]. Available: http://vos.ucsb.edu/shuttle/gender.html. (February 8, 2001)

Citing Information Sources

• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 4th ed. R808.042 M685 1995 (Ask for this at Reference and Information Services in the library)
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 4th ed. R808.06615 P976 1994
• Citing Electronic Resources
• College Writing and Citing Assistance
• OWL Handouts: Research and Documenting Sources
• ONLINE! Citation Styles