Topics in History: American West: Finding Monographs

A subject search can often be more useful than a keyword search. To perform a subject search:

• Go the the library catalog.
• Select the "subject" tab
• Enter one or two keywords and pick from the resulting list. You may find multiple subjects that are useful.
• Click in the subject heading to give you a list of books on that subject.
• If you do not get any results, try using a related word (for example, if searching for "Native American" gives no results, try searching a particular tribe or "American Indian."

Or, you can try a search on the subject headings below:

• United States--Territorial expansion
• West (U.S.)--History--To 1848.
• West (U.S.)--History--1848-1860

Finally, if you locate one book on your subject, try browsing the shelves to the right and left of the book. Often you will find more information on your topic nearby.

Books located in the Curriculum Library are children's books. These are not acceptable sources for your literature review.

Once you have located one book on a subject, your can browse the shelves to locate other books on the same topic.

Sections E and F on the main floor of the library contain American History- history of the western states is found in sections F 430-900.

Encyclopedias, historical dictionaries, and bibliographies cannot be cited as sources in your lit review, but they can point you toward books and articles that would be good sources. Reference sources are a good first stop for finding information. You can then check the library catalog or our databases to locate the books and articles. Some good reference books to try:

If you found the perfect title, but it is a book we don't have in the library, you can still get it through Interlibrary Loan. To do this, send an e-mail to library1@franklinpierce.edu with the following information:

• Your name and contact information
• Publication information for the book, including Title, Author, Publisher, Publication date and ISBN number.
• When you need the book by.

Interlibrary loan takes time- books must be sent to our campus, and you will be notified when the book is available for pickup. It can take 7-10 days for a book to arrive.

Franklin Pierce Students are also able to borrow directly from other colleges in the New Hampshire College and University Consortium, including nearby institutions such as Keene State. Please click the link to see a list of colleges and their online catalogs.