SHANGHAI AND LOS ANGELES IN FACT, FICTION AND FANTASY
History 190-192
Professor Wasserstrom



Kay Collins
Interim History Research Librarian and
U.S. Government Information Librarian
Langson Library
(949) 824-7290
kcollins@uci.edu
                                                                                                                                                                                                                Top of Page

Table of Contents

Strategies for finding Primary Resources
Finding Books
Finding Journal Articles
Selected Primary Resources
UCI Libarary Subject Guides
Special Collections Around  Southern California
General Hints for Searching
 

Finding Books

 

  • ANTPAC --to locate books at UCI
  • Melvyl -- to locate books at all the UC Libraries.  Expands your search.  Use "Request" button to have a book send to you at UCI. 
  • WorldCat -- to identify books which may not be in the UC system.  Use the Interlibrary Loan Request Form on ANTPAC to request copies on ILL.
  • RLG Union Catalog -- catalog of libraries and their books; many are specialized and have different holdings from the other 3.  Use the Interlibrary Loan Request Form on ANTPAC to request copies on ILL.
  • Center for Research Libraries -- Unique resources available for loan.  Various languages.  Some primary resources as well as secondary.

 

Finding Journal Articles


    General:

  • America History and Life -- dedicated to history articles for U.S. and CanadaOnly  database devoted to history which also provides limiting the search to the time period being researched.  Can also limit a search to  book reviews.  Try for articles about L.A.
  • Historical Abstracts -- dedicatd to history articles for the rest of the world, other than the U.S. and Canada.  Better for articles about Shanghai.  From the top drop down menu you can search both America History and Life and Historical Abstracts at once. 
  • JSTOR -- search full-text of articles.  Do not look here for recent years.  There is usually a 3-5 year moving wall that does not include current titles
  • Project Muse -- search full-text articles.  Includes current issues.
  • Web of Science -- locate scholarly articles on broad range of subject areas. Use the UCeLinks button to help locate articles cited
  • Readers' Guide Retrospective -- Index to major  and popular journals for most of the 20th Century. 
  • The Nation Digital Archive, 1865 forward --  The Nation has long been a major publisher of outstanding articles on politics, economics and social issues in the U.S.
  • Periodical Archives Online and Periodicals Index Online -- Cover articles in the humanities and social sciences back as far as 1770.  Various languages.  The archive includes full-text articles but is not as complete in its indexing and the Index.  UCeLinks helps locate articles not directly linked within the Index database. 
  • Humanities Index -- Very complete index to the humanities, including some unusual publications.  Begins with publications 1984, including some history.
  • CQ Researcher Plus Archives -- Great place to begin locating full-text background information on important topic of the time.  Best for subjects with a national bent.  Outstanding analyses of topics. 

    Subject Specific Databases:

  • Sociological Abstracts -- social aspects of your topic.  Not devoted to history but will include historical information
  • PAIS International and/or PAIS Archive -- especially good for public affairs, including politics, economics, some social coverage.  The Archive best for the very early years.  Note, covers more than United States.
    • Cross search several related  databases at a time.  When you get to either the PAIS or Sociological  Abstracts search screen,  next to the "Change" is a drop box.  Use that to select the "Subject Area" , Social Sciences.  Then do a keyword search. 
  • Urban Studies and Planning -- look for articles of an historical nature. 
  • Ethnic NewsWatch  -- publications of all sorts, from 1960 to present.   Ethnic and minority publications.  Make sure to select the right database Select more databases box; there are 3 with varying time periods.
  • Proquest Reference Asia --  (Sometimes called Proquest Asian Business and Reference).  Includes both Los Angeles and Shanghai article citations and a lot of full text articles.

Return to Top of Page


Selected Primary Resources online and off

   

  • Historical New York Times --
  • Historical Los Angeles Times --
  • Historical Wall Street Journal --
    • Search these individually or all together.  Must make sure  each box has a check in it by clicking on "Select more databases" , scrolling to the bottom and selecting the titles wanted.  Can also select dates of coverage.
  • Historical Newspapers on microfilm can be found in Langson Library, Second Floor, Current Periodicals room.  There are many Orange County papers and selected national newspapers like the Atlanta Constitution and the Washington Post.   This requires the user to browse the paper, page by page and day by day.  If you get a good date from using one of the Historical papers listed above, it can help pin point a range of dates. 
    • If you wish to make copies of pages, one option is to take the film down to the first floor once you have identified your pages.  There you can download to a memory stick or burn a CD from a blank that you bring. 
  • More current issues of New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal
    • To search all of each of these papers, click on " Select more databases", then  select the paper of database you want to search.  These 3 are under Proquest Newspapers.
  • Newspapers for the last 5 to 10 years can be searched via Access World News and LexisNexis Academic (newspaper section).  Be sure to use their Help and Tips sections as searching full text is unique and different than each other and other databases.
  • Cities Around the World -- photographs from cities around the world, including L.A. and Shanghai.  From the collection of the American Geographical Society Library.  From street scenes to work places, a picture might help.
  • LexisNexis Congressional -- Can limit search by date range and type of  Congressional Publication.  Use ANTPAC and Melvyl to locate copies.  Covers topics from sidewalks to urban sprawl. 
  • Archive of Americana -- Composed of several resources about early U.S., from early books of fiction to newspapers and gaovernment documents.  Be sure to check the dates of the resource.  Can search them all at once or each set separately.  The U.S. Congressional Serial Set covers the early part of your time period.  Use the indexing in LexisNexis Congressional (above) to identify later publications in the Serial Set and from other historical Congressional Publications.
  • House of Commons Parliamentary Papers UCI access only
    The House of Commons Parliamentary Papers are vital to the historical record of Britain, its former Colonies and the wider world. They are among the richest and most detailed primary sources for the history of the 19th Century.
  • Empire Online UCI access only
    "This database is being published in five sections between 2003 and 2007 offering approximately 60,000 images of original documents linked to essays by leading scholars in the field of Empire Studies. The sections cover Cultural Contacts, 1492-1969 (2003); Empire Writing and the Literature of Empire (2003/4); The Visible Empire (2004/5); Religion and Empire (2005/6); and Race, Class and Colonialism, c1783-1969 (2006/7)." Texts in English principally, also French, Portuguese, Spanish, German.  Can search by topic or place or name. Limit to time period needed.
  • Calisphere -- University of California gateway to primary resources.  Though aimed at teachers, can help with many other users as well.
  • Best of History Web Sites -- Can select type or time of history and web sites of primary history sites are ranked and linked.
  • Tutorial for finding primary resources --  Best part gives examples of how to locate primary resources in books.  E.g., memoirs, autobiographies, letters, interviews, diaries, etc.
  • 19th Century Masterfile -- Indexes 19th Century Literature, including books, newspapers, periodicals and government publications.  Most do not have full-text links.  Use the index to locate the titles.  Can limit search by date. 
  • Nineteenth Century microfiche collection of various literature.  The paper indexes are in order by author.  To gain subject access to the fiche, there is a CD-ROM in the Langson Library Multimedia Resources Center.  (Microfiche M 218).

Return to Top of Page

UCI Library Subject Guides


Created by subject librarians to help locate information sources by general subject, some of these may be of help with specialized topics.  Remember, many of the online resources may include publications that go back as far as you like.  Just look for material that they cite that might cover your time period.  Many resources will include some historical information. 

These Subject Guides are all linked  off of the Library Home Page.  Some you may want to consider:

Special Collections around Southern California

 

  • UCI Libraries Special Collections -- Specializes in Orange County and California collections but also have much more, including Los Angeles.  Books are cataloged in ANTPAC.  But also have special collections of papers, UCI Archives, etc.  Can help identify collections where a visit might prove fruitful.
  • Online Archive of California -- Look here for indexes and user guides to historical special collections in various libraries throughout California.  Some is available online, others require visiting the institution.
  • County Archives -- Most counties have a governmental archive.  These are usually official government archives. 
  • University government documents and also Special Collections.  Some of the university archives also collect for a specific county, e.g., UCI collects for Orange County in the Government Information Section; UCLA collects for Los Angeles, etc.
  • Major public libraries may also have archives of publications.  For instance, Anaheim Public has an Orange County Archive and Los Angeles Public Library has some great resources.  They have a Regional History page
  • USC has a strong LA collection.  Check out their Archival Research Center.  They have an LA page .
  • Southern California Library for Social Science Research is strong in labor and social justice history in LA.
  • County History Societies -- most counties have a history society and they can be very helpful in locating county history resources
  • Special Subject Archives -- For instance Chinatown has an archive.  Some major organizations might have an archive.  You might need to check for a web page or call them for information.

Retuirn to Top of Page

General Hints for Searching

 

  • Descriptive terms to describe some topics have changed over time.  Search on all that might apply.  Not all the databases have a controlled  vocabulary and are searching full-text resources so selected terms can be important.  e.g., Negro -> Blacks -> African Americans; or, Chinese, Chinaman, coolie, etc.  Not always what we currently use or politically correct.
  • Advanced search screens often provide added ways to either expand or limit a search
  • Some of the indexes that include your time period may not be online.  You may need to consult paper indexes.  I can help guide you depending upon your topic.
  • Begin your research early.  You will probably be requesting resources via ILL and that takes time.

 

FINDING PRIMARY RESOURCES:  A Suggested Strategy

NOTE:  The resources listed on this web page is not all that is available.  Your specific topic or time period may help identify other potential sources.  Watch your reading of articles and books for leads to others specific to your topic.  If you need further help, I would suggest you contact me directly rather than using the ASK A LIBRARIAN link on the Library Web Page.  Kay Collins, kcollins@uci.edu

Tutorial on Primary ResourcesTutorial on Primary ResourcesIf you are just beginning to work with primary resources, this tutorial, in 2 parts, might be useful.  Especially helpful is the list of terms to use when searching books and looking for primary resources which is found in the second part of the tutorial.

 Books as Primary Resources—Books can either be primary resources or through its bibliography and footnotes, point you to related primary resources.  Use the terms from the tutorial to help.  Sample search:  Advanced Search:  keywords Los Angeles and gang* then as Subject:  biography  (Or, use the other terms in later searches depending on your topic)

 Government Documents: Almost every government document (U.S., California, Orange County, Los Angeles) is considered a primary resource.  These can be identified from several places: 

  • ANTPAC or Melvyl
  • GPO via First Search  (publication dates are mostly after your class topic dates, but historical information can be found)
  • Catalog of U. S. Government Publications   (publication dates are mostly after your class topic dates, but historical information can be found)
  • U. S. Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909 (Langson  Reference  J83 U2 1990)
  • U. S. Executive Branch Documents, 1910-1932 (Langson Reference Z 1223 Z7 C59 1990)  If the publications listed here are not at UCI, the microfiche can be requested via ILL from the California State Library
  • Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (Langson Reference Z 1223 A18 )  Covers all years. 
  • Cumulative  Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of the United States Goverment Publications, 1900-1971.  A quick way to search by subject.  If you do not find your specific topic, try a broader one or think of another synonym. 
  • Ask a Government Information Librarian and use their subject guides

Special Collections at UCI or others in the State

  • Many (but not all) of the books in UCI’s Special Collections Dept. are cataloged and in ANTPAC.
  • Online Archive of California describes special archives of collections.  Search by keyword.  You can also limit by specific library if you want to, e.g., UCI or UCLA

 Online Resources—The  guide above contains links to many potential resources.  These are not all of them, but some of the more likely ones.  Which one(s) to use will depend upon your selected subject, time period, etc.  Ones that have often been useful are

  • Newspapers like the Los Angeles Times, Historical
  • LexisNexis Congressional
  • Use of the Subject Guides linked from the Library Home Page can often provide some links to useful resources.

Microfilm or Microfiche--

  • UCI has numerous collections of microforms on a variety of topics.  They have guides, either online or in paper.  Depending on your topic, you may need help in identifying sets that might apply to your topic.  Ask Kay Collins kcollins@uci.edu.. 
  • Orange County Register--while the early Los Angeles Times is available online, the older Orange County Newspapers are available in Microfilm.    These are located in the cabinets in the Langson Library Current Periodicals Room. 
  • There is a microform reader/printer connected to a computer down on the first floor of Langson Library.  You can either burn a CD or download to a flash drive as well as print out articles.  Print costs $0.50/page, while the other just requires you to bring the download medium.
  • Microforms can be requested from other libraries if UCI does not own them. 

 

 

Last updated 5 July 2007