The main search tools for finding books, articles, databases, archival collections, and more at Yale (and beyond) can all be found on the "Find, Request, and Use" page of the library's website. Here are a few quick refreshers, but be sure to visit the page for a full overview:
Background or "reference" sources are a great place to start in building your bibliographies. These are scholarly encyclopedias, handbooks, bibliographies, and similar sources that will often contain lengthy essays with background information on a topic and overviews of the relevant scholarship. Citations to the secondary literature will always be included, and often so too will citations to primary sources.
Includes the Cambridge Histories and Cambridge Companions, both of which often provide thorough, helpful overviews of topics for research.
This resource provides information about popular music worldwide, from the early 20th century to the present day for those working in the disciplines of music, ethnomusicology and the performing arts to media and communication, cultural studies, anthropology and sociology.
Oxford African American Studies Center
Comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture, coupled with precise search and browse capabilities.
Oxford Bibliographies offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics across varied subject areas. Each of these features an introduction to the topic. Bibliographies can be browsed by subject area and searched by keyword. Subject areas include African American Studies, American Literature, Anthropology, Art History, Cinema and Media Studies, Communication, Literary and Critical Theory, Music, Political Science and more.
Includes numerous handbooks, usually with lengthy chapter overviews of topics. One title that may provide useful background information for several projects this year is The Oxford Handbook of Oral History.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature
A large collection of resources. The Wiley Companions are especially useful. Navigate by subject area to the sources of greatest interest -- e.g., "Humanities" and then "History" in order to find a detailed listing of titles by subfields of history.
James Kessenides, Kaplanoff Librarian for American History, james.kessenides@yale.edu
Click here for a list of subject specialists in the Yale Library
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