INTRODUCTION

FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

SELECTED PRINT REFERENCE SOURCES

FIND BOOKS IN LAVERY LIBRARY AND BEYOND

FIND ARTICLES AND MORE

FIND WEBSITES

INTRODUCTION
This subject guide is intended as a starting point for research into all aspects of the history of Latin America including the Caribbean nations. It covers ancient times through the present. Most resources are in English, although a minority is in Spanish. Please see the related subject guide World History as well.

FIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Reference Books are located on the Main Level of Lavery Library.

Reference books provide background information to help you understand your topic, narrow your topic, or prepare an outline of your topic. They also help define terms related to your topic, provide assistance in the selection of subject terms for your database searches, and contain factual information, such as, statistics, biographies, and maps.

SELECTED PRINT REFERENCES SOURCES:

Literature and Research Guides
F1418.D458 1999 REF
The Legacy of the Monroe Doctrine: A Reference Guide to U.S. Involvement In Latin America and the Caribbean

Encyclopedias
F1406.E515 2000 REF
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures

F1406.L38 1999 REF
Latin America, History and Culture: An Encyclopedia

F1218.6.095 2001 REF
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America

Dictionaries
GN307.D35 1995 REF
Hispanic Culture of South America

F1204.M955 1999 REF
Milenios de Mexico

Handbooks
F1408.L37 2000 REF
Latin America Profiled: Essential Facts on Society, Business, and Politics In Latin America

Atlases
G1700.B7 1991 REF
Atlas of South America

Biographies
CT3290.N68 2001 REF
Notable Twentieth Century Latin American Women: A Biographical Dictionary

F1407.A33 1991 REF
Liberators and Patriots of Latin America: Biographies of 23 Leaders from Dona Marina (1505-1530) to Bishop Romero (1917-1980)

FIND BOOKS IN LAVERY LIBRARY AND BEYOND
The key to the library's extensive book collection is the Library Catalog. It may be searched by Author, Title, Subject, or Keyword. Subject headings are established by the Library of Congress. If you have any trouble selecting a Subject heading for your topic, try a Keyword search or check the listings in the Library of Congress Subject Headings red books (Z 695 .L69 2001 REF) in the Reference area near the main floor computers.

Subject Headings which may be useful to you for Latin American History are:

Latin America--History
Latin America--Politics and Government

Search by NAME of country such as: Cuba--History

If you would like to browse in the Latin American history section of the library, the main call numbers are: F12's and F14's

Circulating books are all located on the Upper Level.

Link to the Library Catalog from the library's home page http://library.sjfc.edu

Find books in Other Libraries by selecting Library Catalog from the library's home page, then select Other Library Catalogs.

Search the world for books by selecting WorldCat from the databases listed under Research Databases. From the library's home page, select Research Tools, select Research Databases, then select WorldCat from the alphabetized list.

To order a book from another library use the online Interlibrary Loan form, accessible from the library's home page http://library.sjfc.edu.

FIND ARTICLES AND MORE
Lavery Library subscribes to an extensive collection of Research Databases that may be used to search for articles on your topic in periodicals, newspapers, and book chapters. Periodicals include both scholarly journals and popular magazines. When researching for courses in your major, it is usually recommended that you use scholarly articles, also referred to as peer reviewed or refereed articles. Databases will often allow you to limit your search to scholarly articles.

If the article cited on the database that you are using does not appear in full-text on the database, check Periodical Holdings to determine if the periodical is either full-text on another database or available in hard copy in the library's collection. From the library's home page, select Research Tools, then select Research Databases.

Research Databases are listed both alphabetically and by subject on the library's home page. When starting research in Latin American History, the following databases are recommended:

Historical Abstracts
JSTOR
Expanded Academic
Proquest Databases

Link to Subject Listing of databases available for Humanities and Art

FIND WEBSITES
When using websites for research it is very important to evaluate their authority and content. Use the following checklist to evaluate sites before using them as references.

Evaluating Web Sites Checklist

Your liaison librarian has provided a list of quality websites for Latin American History. They are available on the library's home page under Selected Websites. From the library's home page, select Internet Resources, then Selected Websites, then History. From History, select World History, then select Latin America.

To search for additional websites, start with Google - http://www.google.com.