HIST 398: Modern London; the Imperial Metropolis: Home

• Library Catalog

  Discover books, journals, films, primary source collections, government documents, and other materials held at UNC and in the Triangle (you can request materials from Duke, NC State and NC Central) as well as a variety of open access publications.

• You can request most titles that UNC does not have through Interlibrary Loan. Carolina BLU uses the InterLibrary Loan (ILL) service to request materials from other campus libraries.

• Start with a keyword search in the catalog. Once you have located a relevant item, you can look at the Subjects in the record and follow those links to find related books.

• Selecting keywords is a multiple-step process that involves:
  • identifying the main concepts of your topic
  • brainstorming synonyms and atonyms that could also be used to describe your topic
  • spell out abbreviations

• You can refine your results by using the facets on the left side of the screen. Use the "Available Online" filter to limit to materials that may be accessed remotely. Under "Resource Type" you can restrict your results to books, journals, or government documents.

• Keyword: Ethnic minorities in the UK
  • Associated Subject Heading: "Black people -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century"
  • Associated Subject Heading: "Great Britain -- Race relations -- History -- 20th century"
• Keyword: Gender conflict and rights in the UK 
  • Associated Subject Heading: "Gay liberation movement -- Great Britain"
  • Associated Subject Heading: "Gay rights -- Great Britain"

• To find primary resources, you can add keywords to your search, such as: letters, diaries, speeches, newspaper articles, autobiographies, oral histories, government and organizational records, statistical data, maps, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, advertisements, artifacts, etc. For additional information on primary resources, please consult this guide: Finding Primary Source Materials

Follow the Bibliographic Trail: One proven method for gathering reliable information efficiently is to follow the citations or references from one source to another. The author's bibliography can lead you to other sources on the topic.

Identify Keywords: Before searching the Library Catalog or other databases, take a few minutes to write down all the words that describe your topic. 

Subject Headings: If you find an interesting title in the Library Catalog, open the record and scroll down to alternate Subject Headings. Click on the link and it will take you to additional materials in the Library Catalog with the same subject/topic. 

Search Strategy Worksheet from Humboldt State University

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/