In a documented essay develop the concept of a literary place known to you from concentrated and enjoyable reading. This place may be the creation of a recognized poet, short story writer, or novelist. The research aspect might lead you to investigate the physical terrain or cultural background of the fictional place; you might end up exploring the author’s home, if it was a model for the made-up place.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS
Most universities use the Library of Congress Classification System to categorize and organize materials in their library catalog. LoC Subject headings can be helpful to find information because librarians assign them to an item to describe what the item is about. The following LoC Subject Headings can be helpful in researching a place.
Read Types of Sources below to learn more information about WHY you might wish to look in different formats to find information. We will use Samuel Clemen's books as an example. Mark Twain wrote about the Mississippi River and his hometown of Hannibal, Missouri in the mid-19th century.
BOOKS
Use the Fusion Catalog to find books about your place. A sample search using Fusion Plus follows to show you how complicated and specific you can make the search, if you wish.
Subject: mississippi or missouri
AND
Subject: History and 19th century
NOT
Keyword: fiction
Use the WorldCat database to find additional books not owned by Indiana State University. You may use the Interlibrary Loan service to have these books mailed to the library for your use. Realize that it takes time to mail books so consider whether you have time to wait for the book to arrive.
DATABASES AND JOURNALS
Some authors may choose to publish a journal article about a topic rather than write a book. The most efficient way to find journal articles is to search a database that contains the contents of many journals. Indiana State University has some very good multidisciplinary databases, as well as databases that specialize in specific disiplines.
From the Library homepage, click Electronic Resources to see the library databases.
When searching for a literary place, you might consider searching the science databases for the science of a wetland or prairie of a specific location. But be aware that some science materials use very specialized language and techniques that may be difficult to understand without some background knowledge.
History databases can retrieve lengthy articles about a location and time period. Most of ISU's history databases focus on America but other areas can be found. History databases may have special subject headings to limit your search within a specific time period. Check and see.
Some databases also include subject headings to limit to geographic areas. Check and see.
WEBSITES
Many US or state agencies include information about the natural history of the region(s) under their purview. Many individual states have their own Department of Natural Resources, which may provide relevant information to you.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Call Numbers for Natural History
Most universities use the Library of Congress Classification System to categorize and organize materials in their library catalog. Call numbers are assigned to the books and other materials in the library to mark their location. The call number is an alphabetical and numerical code based upon the subject of the item. The Library of Congress Classification System call number starts with a letter of the alphabet. (Dewey Decimal System call numbers start with a number.)
QH 1-705 Natural History
1-278.5 General Natural History
51-58 Study and Teaching, Research, Nature Study
75-77 Nature Conservation, Landscape Protection
84-198 Geographic Divisions
84-100 Physiographic Divisions
101-198 Topographical Divisions
301-705 General Biology
324 Methods of Research, Technique
359-425 Evolution
471-489 Reproduction
501-531 Life
540-549.5 General and Animal Ecology
What you are looking for can make a difference in where you should look. Different types of sources offer different information.
Reference Books:
Reference books, such as encyclopedias and dictionaries, collect accepted facts from the established literature. In health and science, they can be huge and may take years to put together. Therefore, they do not contain the most current information, although they may mention studies that were recent at the the time of publication. But they are a good one-stop-shop to start by learning the basics of a topic. Print books in the Reference Collection are located on the 1st floor of the library.
Books:
Books can be quite long and can cover a topic in detail. However, they take about a year to be published so they will not include the latest studies and research. Textbooks and encyclopedias are good for basic information. Further editions of books demonstrate that a source has been updated to reflect new information and may be a standard source in the field. Are there newer editions available? Print books in the ISU Main Library Stacks ("regular books") are located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the library.
Journals:
Journals are intended for professionals, experts, and researchers. Their articles are usually authored by professionals, experts, and researchers. Journal articles are relatively short compared to books so they tend to cover narrow, specific topics. The latest research is published in journals. It can be difficult to find basic information in journals. Nowadays, most journals have a web site that allows viewing of the table of contents and summaries of articles. The majority of Journals today are collected electronically however we continue to preserve our older journals in paper and microformats. All Print Library Journals and Magazines except "Current Periodicals" are now located in the library basement.
Magazines:
Magazines are intended for popular consumption by the public. They contain the latest basic information. It can be difficult to obtain researched information from magazines. Most ISU magazine subscriptions today are electronic, however, we do continue to preserve our older magazines in paper and microformats.All Print Library Journals and Magazines except "Current Periodicals" are now located in the library basement.
Databases:
Databases are very useful and efficient for searching through journals and magazines for information. Sometimes they include books and other sources, too. Every database follows different rules for searching and storage. Effective use depends on knowing those rules. Some commercial databases provide only summaries of articles and do not include full text. Databases can be very expensive and may not be accessible to the general public. Databases are online through the library homepage.
