Library Skills for the History Student
Contents
 Introduction to Basic Library Skills
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Reference Materials
TOPCAT
Keywords
Boolean Operators
Brackets
Truncation and Wildcards
Tips for Keyword Searches
Broadening Your Search
Books and Print Journals
Other Resources within the Library
RACER Overview
Other Library Services
Introduction
Most of the information freely available on the internet is not considered appropriate for an academic
essay. That is why it is necessary that you learn library research techniques to access the variety of print
and electronic resources available to you as Trent students.
While Trent’s library is small in physical size compared to larger Ontario universities, it provides access
to the same virtual collections found at larger libraries due to provincial and national licensing
agreements. As well, the Library will get you print resources such as books and journal articles from
other libraries in Canada and elsewhere via interlibrary loan services.
There already exists a Library Skills Program website that provides an overview of basic library research
techniques. This module complements that website by giving you a more detailed and history-specific
guide to the Trent library.
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Reference Materials
Reference materials are things like dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, directories, bibliographies,
etc. While you typically won't rely on general reference materials for your final essay, they can be a
good starting point for your research if you wish to familiarize yourself in broad terms about a topic with
which you are not very familiar, or to help narrow down your topic. Trent's library has reference
materials available both online and in the library.
The Trent Library Reference Section
The library's reference section is located on the main floor. There are two major types of resources
available in the reference section:
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dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and other quick reference books,
bibliographies and indexes on specific topics.
Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias
Specialized dictionaries and encyclopaedias with specific historical foci - while not generally accepted as
sources for your final essay - can, however, be very useful starting places. The Trent library has many
specialized reference works, such as the Dictionary of the Middle Ages, The Encyclopedia of CubanUnited States Relations, and The Historical Dictionary of Vietnam. Entries in such sources are usually
written by experts in the field and often list the most important works on the subject. They may help
you decide what questions you need to be asking. Avoid non-specialist works such as Britannica or
standard dictionaries.
Print Bibliographies
The Trent library has thousands of print bibliographies—books that are dedicated to listing works
published on specific topics such as Beowulf, medieval warfare, homosexuality and almost every other
conceivable historical topic. It is well worth browsing through this section to see what is available.
Online Reference Materials
You can access a number of online reference materials (both general and history-specific) through
Trent's library website by selecting the "E-resources" link in the left hand column of the Library page,
and then clicking on "E-reference" at the top of the page. Credo Reference, the Gale Virtual Reference
Library, and the Oxford Digital Reference Shelf, for example, are searchable collections of specialized
reference works. (Note: since these are subscription-based resources, you must be logged in to the
Trent server to access them.)
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TOPCAT
Once you have established your topic and sufficiently narrowed it, you will need to make sure there are
enough scholarly resources available to you on your subject. A good place to start your search is with
TOPCAT (short for Trent Online Public Catalogue) available through workstations in the library, or from
off campus, by selecting the Library link from the Trent home page (N.B. If you are working from offcampus, you will be asked to log in before you can access library resources). TOPCAT is a database of
everything that is available in the Trent Library regardless of format: books, journals, maps, government
publications, indexes, databases, e-journals, e-books, pamphlets, microforms, reserve items, videos and
films.
The best way to search when you don't know the titles or authors of what you need, and you want to
know what the library has on a topic, is using the keyword search option in TOPCAT. You may be
tempted to use the subject search function. DON'T. Subject searches browse the list of Library of
Congress Subject Headings that are used in the catalogue. If you aren't familiar with these headings,
you'll have trouble. For example, the subject of Canadian History won't find anything, but Canada -History finds hundreds of items. The LC Subject Headings come from a large list of terms used by
libraries all over the world. They are specific in their wording. You'll need to match them exactly for your
search to be successful.
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Keywords
Keyword searching is an effective method for finding information in any computerized database,
whether it's TOPCAT (the library catalogue), an online index, or an Internet search engine. Once you
learn the basics, you are capable of searching anywhere. In a keyword search, you choose the most
important words for your topic - words you would expect to find in every item of interest to you. The
system finds all the items with the words you request.
First, identify the keywords in your topic. For example, if your topic is: "How did the popular press shape
ideas of revolution in France?" Your keywords would be “press”, “revolution”, and “France”.
It is also important to consider synonymous words and/or closely-related phrases. For example, if you
are researching a topic in the middle ages, consider also using the search term "medieval." For the
example above you would also consider searching for terms such as “print”, “publishing or publication”,
and “French Revolution”.
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Boolean Operators
Boolean Operators are words that indicate the relationship between your search terms and help you to
refine your search. The most common Boolean operators are “and”, and “or”.
AND
When you use "and" between terms, you specify that both terms must be in every item found. For
example: "press and revolution and France". Using and narrows your search. You find fewer items, but
they're more specific because they all contain all the key concepts.
OR
Sometimes you need to broaden your search, to include alternate keywords so that you don't miss
important items. The boolean operator for this is "or". Use "or" to say that either term is acceptable.
When you use "or" between search terms, you specify that items must contain one term or the other,
but they don't need both. For example: "France or French". Using or broadens your search. You find
more items, because they only need to contain some of the key concepts.
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Brackets
Be careful of using both "and" and "or" in the same search request. If you don't put brackets ( ) in the
proper spots, the system might search the words in the wrong order, giving inaccurate results. If you
must use both "and" and "or", place brackets around the "or" terms. For example: “revolution and
(France or French)".
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Truncation and Wildcards
To find variations of words easily, you can use truncation or wildcards. Trent's TOPCAT system uses the
dollar sign ($) as its truncation symbol and the question mark (?) for wildcard searches. Unfortunately,
the symbols used in different databases can vary. For example, many databases will use an asterisk (*)
for truncation. Check under the "Help" section for the search engine you're using to see how the
symbols are interpreted. Be sure to use the correct symbol for the database you're searching and be
careful to use the right symbol in the proper place. Don't put a wildcard symbol at the end of a word or a
truncation symbol within a word.
Truncation ($)
Truncation goes at the end of a word and means "find any ending at all for this word." It is useful for
finding plural and singular nouns and verbs. For example: "histor$" finds "history", "histories",
"historical", "historian", etc. Be careful, however, not to truncate too early or too late. For example,
"cat$" will find "cat" and "cats", but it will also find "catapult", "catastrophe", "cattail", and "catacomb",
which are not helpful. Similarly, "teenager$" will find "teenagers" but it won't find "teens".
Wildcards (?)
Wildcards are written within the word to represent any one letter. For example, "wom?n" finds
"woman", "women", and "womyn".
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Tips for Keyword Searching
Choose keywords to represent the most important concepts in your topic. Make a list of many possible
keywords.
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Use "and" to combine different keywords and narrow your search.
Use "or" to find alternate keywords and broaden your search.
Use truncation and wildcards carefully, to search for variations of words.
Evaluate your results, and revise your strategy as often as you need to. Don't stop at one search,
especially if it isn't very successful.
NB: For a full list of available boolean operators and for more advanced strategies for keyword searches
in TOPCAT, see the TOPCAT Help section.
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Broadening Your Search
Sometimes in spite of your best efforts you will have difficulty in finding relevant results, but finding
even one book or other resource on the topic can often lead to more. If you find a relevant resource in
TOPCAT, click on "Full Details" to call up the catalogue entry. Within the catalogue entry, the resource
will have been classified by a number of different "Subject terms." Clicking on these subject terms will
call up other similar resources that you may have missed in your keyword searches.
Another way to find additional resources is to read through the bibliography of any relevant books or
articles you may have found. This will tell you which works the author consulted in his or her research
and hopefully lead you to more materials on the topic.
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Books and Print Journals
Some of the results you turn up in TOPCAT will be available online. For those resources, accessing them
is as simple as clicking the "Connect" button. Many of the resources you locate through TOPCAT,
however, will be actual physical resources within the library such as books, print journals, as well as
archive items, maps, government publications, and microfiche. In spite of the wealth of online materials
available to you, it is important to know how to locate and access physical resources in the library so
that your research isn't limited to what is available online. The next two modules will deal with finding
primary sources on microfiche, in the archives and elsewhere, and finding reliable scholarly journal
articles (both in print and online) in greater detail.
The Bata Library has a large history section on the 3rd floor. The general call number range for history
includes the C, D, E, and F sections, although you will also find resources outside this section. The
catalogue entry in TOPCAT will indicate where to find the resource. The location of the resource is listed
at the bottom of the catalogue entry:
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Stacks or Standard Shelving Location are the regular library shelves.
Oshawa items are in Oshawa for courses being taught there. You may request an Oshawa-stacks
item be sent to Bata. Oshawa - Reference and Oshawa - Reserves cannot be removed from
Oshawa.
Folio is a section on the 4th floor for books too tall for the regular stacks.
Curriculum is a collection of classroom resources for Education students on the 2nd floor.
Storage means that this low-use item has been packed up and put away. It may still be available
for you - ask at the Circulation Desk.
Reserve Desk are items that course instructors have set on reserve. These can be picked up at
the circulation desk, but can only be checked out for very short loan periods: usually 3 hours.
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Other Resources within the Library
In addition to reference materials, books and print journals, TOPCAT may return results for resources
not located in the stacks, such as:
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maps and government documents
microfiche
media
archive, special collections and rare books
For the most part, these items are primary resources and are dealt with in more detail in the section
entitled Library Skills: Finding Primary Sources.
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What is RACER (Interlibrary Loans)?
There will be instances where the Trent holdings will not have a particular text in its stacks, on reserve,
or as an e-book. When this happens you will need to use the Interlibrary Loan Service (ILL) also known as
RACER. RACER gives you the ability to search library catalogues for all Ontario Universities as well as
other selected catalogues. As a current Trent University student, faculty or staff member, you can login
to RACER and electronically request material from other libraries. Books, documents, theses,
photocopies, microforms, and media may be requested through interlibrary loans. The RACER system is
entirely online and linked to the Trent library website. Click here to connect to RACER or select the
RACER link on the Library Home page under the heading "Quick Requests." Please note that first-time
users must register before accessing this service. You will need a unique login for this site. Your Trent
login information will not work on the RACER site. Click here to register with RACER, or follow the links
from the Trent Library Home page. Things to keep in mind:
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It is important that you plan ahead as materials may not arrive at Trent for 7-10 business days,
and in some instances it may be longer than this.
Most loans are picked up from the Service Desk at Bata Library.
Book loans are usually 2 to 3 weeks in length – similar to regular loans – although renewals are
not normally an option.
Items that are available at Trent but are checked out currently cannot be requested through
interlibrary loans. You must send a request to the Circulation desk to do this.
RACER will be dealt with in more detail in a subsequent module. Please refer to this printable Help sheet
for more information.
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Other Library Services
The Trent Library has many other excellent resources for history students. Here are some of the
featured services that will assist you in researching your next history project.
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Ask a librarian allows you to seek research assistance for your assignment. Librarians will not do
the research for you, but can offer you invaluable advice on where, how and why you should
look in certain areas of the library. You can e-mail a librarian with your question. This feature
can be accessed from the Bata Library Home page, by clicking the "Ask a Question" link under
"Quick Requests."
Research by appointment provides students with an opportunity to book an appointment
online for individual assistance. This service is designed to eliminate some of the guesswork
associated with library resources that you may not have used previously. Librarians will help you
with the selection and use of books, journals, maps, archives, and databases. This feature can be
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accessed from the Bata Library Home page, by clicking the "Ask a Question" link under "Quick
Requests."
Group study rooms are available to registered Trent undergraduate students for group study or
projects related to your history courses and other disciplines. You can book a group study room
online. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis to groups of two to ten students.
Bookings are usually available for a two-hour time block. Keys are available from the Circulation
desk. This feature can be accessed by selecting "Book a Group Study Room" on the Bata Library
Home page.
Printing and photocopying services are available at the library. Printing in the library is the same
as printing in the computing labs. The PayPrint system allows you to put money onto your
printing account and whenever you use a printer the cost of printing is deducted from your
account. You can add money to your account at one of two PayPrint kiosks located in the
computing lab on the first floor of the Bata Library, and in the Otonabee College computer lab.
Black and white printing, and photocopies, cost $0.10 per page.