Reed College Library Research Guide

Anthropology

Primary Sources


News and Magazines

Current/Contemporary Fulltext News

Fulltext of newspapers, magazines, wire services, and television and radio transcripts from U.S. and some international sources. Date and content coverage varies depending on the source or publication; check the Source List for details. For most effective full-text searching, use the Guided News Search screen.

Wall Street Journal Fulltext of the Eastern Edition from 1984 to present. Use the Guided Search screen for most effective full-text searching.
Fulltext of the Oregonian from 1988 to present. Use the Customized search screen for most effective full-text searching.
Academic Search Premier

Academic Search Premier covers a wide variety of interdisciplinary literature, including articles published in both scholarly and general interest journals. Full-text is available for many journal titles. For business, commercial, or industry-related topics, also see the Business Search Premier database.

Current/Contemporary Newspaper and Magazine Citations
(Provides Indexing but not Full-Text)

Alternative Press Index

Alternative Press Index Archive

Indexes about 250 alternative, leftist, or radical publications in North America. Search Alternative Press Index for articles published since 1991; search the Archive for articles published from 1969 to 1990.


Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature

• 1983 to present
• 1890 to 1982

Indexes about 300 popular and general-interest magazines. One of the first indexes to the journal literature; printed volumes covering articles from 1900 to 1982 are available in the reference room (Ref. AI3 .R1).

Historical Fulltext and Indexing for News

Proquest Historical Newspapers


Text and images from the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Wall Street Journal, and newspapers from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Browse pages images or search full-text.

Periodicals Content Index (PCI)


Basic indexing of article titles published in about 3,900 periodicals (both academic and general interest) from their first issues to about 1995.


Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature

• 1983 to present
• 1890 to 1982

Indexes about 300 popular and general-interest magazines. One of the first indexes to the journal literature; printed volumes covering articles from 1900 to 1982 are available in the reference room (Ref. AI3 .R1).



Public Documents and Policy Reports



U.S. government documents are official publications of the United States government. Laws, congressional hearings and reports, domestic and foreign policy documents, and statistical series are among the most commonly used categories of government documents.

Government document collections can be found in libraries across the United States. In addition to Reed College, Portland State University and Multnomah County Library’s central branch, several Orbis Cascade Alliance libraries are particularly good sources of historical government documents in our region. Unfortunately, only small portions of these collections have been cataloged, so a search in the Reed catalog or in Summit will find only a fraction of the government documents that are available.

These specialized indexes and guides can be used to identify specific government documents. Contact a librarian for help in using them and in locating the public documents you need.


Citations and abstracts covering over 3,600 journals, books, public documents, websites, and policy reports relating to domestic and international policy issues. PAIS International indexes publications from 1972 to present; PAIS Archive indexes publications from 1915-1976. Long the "must-have" literature database for anyone interested in policy studies.

Lexis-Nexis Congressional


In-depth indexing of congressional hearings, reports, and other publications of Congress. Includes full-text documents where available; most other congressional documents can be located in Reed’s government documents collection. See CIS Index for documents published 1970 to present; Congressional Indexes, 1789-1969 for indexing historical information found in the United States Congressional Serial Set (Documents Y 1.1: ).

Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
(GPO Catalog)


Catalog of U.S. government publications distributed to libraries. The online version, GPO Catalog, covers 1976 to present and includes links to government publications at agency web sites. To find government documents distributed from 1908-1976, see the printed version (Docs Ref. Z1223 .A18).

Guide to U.S. Government Publications


Ref. Desk Z1223.Z7 A574

Comprehensive listing of government documents series published by agency from 1789 to present, including indexes by agency, series title, and subject keywords.

Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications 1908 -1976

Z1223 .A18 (Government Documents Reference – LL1)

A comprehensive monthly listing of all government documents distributed to libraries. Best used when you have a specific citation or other solid lead from your reading of the secondary literature. Because of its complex organization and indexing, consult a librarian before tackling this one.


Web Research Tools


Part of a crash course in sophisticated Internet searching from the UC Berkeley Teaching Library. Especially valuable for its analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of various web tools.

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet

A thorough discussion from Elizabeth Kirk at Sheridan Library, Johns Hopkins University.


Unpublished Papers and Collections


The unpublished papers of people, organizations, or institutions may be collected and preserved in archives and special collections. Papers frequently include correspondence, manuscripts, speeches and public statements, and other records of activities. Significant archival papers and collections are sometimes published; e.g., see The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt (New York: Random House, 1938-1950). Archival materials may also be available in microfilm or microfiche collections or in digital collections; e.g., ., see Charlene Makley’s excellent list of digital online collections at Anthro Research Online.

WorldCat

Many libraries contribute summary descriptions of their archival collections to WorldCat. Summaries typically include a description of the size and scope of the collection, where it is housed, and a note about the existence of finding aids. When finding aids are available at the institution’s web site, a link may be provided. Use the advanced search option and limit type of material to "Archival Materials." This is also a good way of locating microfilm or microfiche editions of archival materials.

ArchivesUSA

A current directory of over 5,000 repositories and nearly 120,000 collections of primary source material across the United States. Use ArchivesUSA, to search and read descriptions of a repository's holdings and to find contact information.

Repositories of
Primary Sources

A project of the University of Idaho Libraries to identify the web sites of archives and special collections. Browse by geographic location.

Oregon Historical Society

Extensive collections on Oregon and Portland history. There is a fee for using the collections.

Portland City Archives

Official archives of the city of Portland. Contact information for the North Portland facility as well as administrative history and digitized city documents.


Created by: Dena Hutto, Social Sciences Librarian