Books on U.S. History after the Civil War are in the sections labeled E666 to E904, shelved chronologically.  Books on local U.S. History are in the "F" section, organized by geographic location. 

You can do a general keyword search in the Library catalog, and then limit to the Germantown campus.  If you get too many irrelevant results, try searching your topics by Subject Keyword.  You will still be able to limit to the Germantown campus.

Search types with an asterisk, such as "*Subject contains" cannot be limited to one campus.  If you find books on other campuses, you can have them sent to Germantown by filling out an online request form.

Finding Book Reviews

The Montgomery College library does not have a single database that is a source of book reviews.  To find a review of a book, you may have to look in several places.  ProQuest Newspapers has book reviews from the Washington Post, the New York Times, and several other newspapers.  Click on "More Search Options," then in the "Document Type" field scroll down to "Review."  From the list of review types, select "Book Review."

If you don't find a review in the newspapers, go back to the Library Web page and select the "A to Z List of Databases."  There are two databases there that have some book reviews, Books in Print, and Choice Reviews Online.  Books in Print is more comprehensive.  Choice reviews only books that are likely to be purchased by libraries.

If you still haven't found a review of your book, go back to the Databases by Subject list and look in the first two databases, Academic OneFile and Academic Search Premier.  These are the library's two largest, general databases.

return to top

• Literature Resource Center:  The library has a database of information about books which includes author biographies.  This database incorporates Contemporary Authors Online.  If you try to use this outside of the library or on the College's wireless network, you will get a log in screen with a box to enter your student ID number.
   
• Biography Resource Center.  This database contains biographies of people in all fields, and may not include those who are only known as historians or authors.  It is useful for finding authors whose primary field is not history.
   
• Who's Who is available in print in the Germantown Reference Room at call number E176 .W64, and also online as part of the Library's CREDOreference Biography e-book collection.
   
• Who's Who in America is available in print in the Germantown Reference Room at call number E176 .W642, and also online as part of CREDOreference Biography.

return to top

You can search for background information on your historical time period and geographic region in any of the library's databases of journal articles.

Go to a shorter, more targeted list of History databases on the library databases page.
Use the basic Central Search page, and click on History for an expanded list of both history and general databases that contain historical information.
If you have a complex topic with multiple keywords, use the advanced Central Search page to combine your terms.

return to top

Current Topics:  Newspapers

For background information or current information on current topics, newspapers are another source of information.  You can find the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Baltimore Sun in the ProQuest Newspapers database.  For historical background of your current topic paper, you can search an online archive of the Historical New York Times from 1850 to 2004 and the Historical Washington Post from 1877 to 1991.

return to top

If you need general background information, the library has posted links to reliable American History and General History web sites on the library Web page under "Academic Subjects Web Guides."  The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore has put together a list of credible sources on the topic:  "How Did They Live: Exploring Daily Life Throughout History."

return to top

Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person without giving them credit.  This makes it appear that you are presenting the words or ideas as your own.  To avoid plagiarism, always cite the source where you found your information.  If you are unsure about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, you can take the library's self-guided tutorial, Plagiarism:  What it is and how to avoid it. 

return to top

If you are unsure about the correct citation form for your books, databases, and journal articles, the library has free packets giving examples in both of the standards formats, MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association).  We also have handouts for students on the Library Web page.

return to top 

If you have questions about A RESEARCH paper, please let us help you. 

The librarians are here to save you time and make your research experience less stressful.  The four Germantown librarians together have done many, many research papers and are happy to talk to you about it at any stage of your assignment.

You don't have to come in to the library.  You can ask a question in any one of the four ways mentioned on the AskUs page.

return to top

Send feedback and suggestions.