KEAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
GUIDE
History of the 1920s -- Research Resources
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The Kean University Library offers a variety of print and digital research tools. From the
Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu), you can find:
 Books, E-books, Videos & More (Kean Catalog)
 Articles & More (Databases)
 Periodicals List (list of Journal, Magazine, & Newspaper subscriptions)
 Research Guides (Subject-Focused Research Resources)
Reference Book Collection
The Reference Collection is an important part of the Library’s holdings. Subject encyclopedias in the Reference Collection
are good sources of background information on topics within specific subject areas. Reference books are full of topic ideas,
as well as ideas for narrowing broad topics.
Listed below are select print reference titles provided for quick look-up by call number in the Reference Collection (located
on the first floor of the Library) or in the Reference Collection Annex (located on the second floor of the Library). The first
column displays the reference call number. The second column displays the corresponding title.
Call Numbers
Ref E 169.12 .A419 1994
Ref E 173 .C66 1973 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref E 174 .R67 2003 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref E 174.5 .C55 1997 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref E 176.1 .R295 2000 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref E 184 .A1 G15 1999 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref E 185 .A79 1998 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref E 766 .G74 1995
Ref HN 13 .G68 2006
Ref HN 57 .W355 2009
Ref HQ 518 .F3357 2006
Ref HQ 1410 .C85 2000 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Ref JV 6450 .I565 2006
Ref NX 512.3 .A35 E53 2004
Ref PN 1995.9 .U64 C65 2003 – Ref Annex (2nd floor)
Reference Titles
American Decades: 1920-1929
Documents of American History
Penguin Encyclopedia of American History
Chronicle of America
Reader’s Companion to the American Presidency
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America: Primary Documents
The African-American Atlas: Black History and Culture
Modern America, 1914 to 1945
Government, Politics, and Protest: Essential Primary Sources
Social History of the United States: The 1920s
Family in Society: Essential Primary Sources
Encyclopedia of Women’s History in America
Immigration in U.S. History
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
Columbia Companion to American History on Film
You can find additional Reference books, as well as books shelved in the Main Collection (on the second and third floors),
by searching for your research topics in the Kean Catalog. Visit the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu), then click
Books, E-books, Videos & More to access the Kean Catalog.
Periodicals
The Library subscribes to more than 37,000 electronic journals, magazines, and newspapers. Check the Periodicals List
available from the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu) for information about specific journal, magazine, and
newspaper title holdings.
Research Databases
You can find articles and other information by searching the Library’s research databases available from the Articles &
More section of the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu). Select a few of the research databases listed below (refer
to the brief descriptions provided), then search using the directions that follow:
Biography Reference
Bank (H.W. Wilson)
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Biography Collection
Complete
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Biography Reference Bank provides approximately 500,000 biographies.
To search Biography Reference Bank for biographical information:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter B on the alphabetical menu.
Click Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson) (EBSCOhost).
Type a person’s name in the first search box. For instance, type: Capone, Al
Click Search.
Result: The first 10 results will be displayed. Results may include links to the person’s
name and/or article titles. Click the person’s name to access links to biographies. Click
article titles to access articles about the person.
If the full-text article is available online for a specific item, you will see one or more of the
following links immediately below the item: HTML Full Text, PDF Full Text, or Linked Full
Text. Click one of these links to view the full-text article.
E-mail the article you are currently viewing by clicking E-mail located on the right-hand
side of your screen.
If full-text link options are not present, click the TOUR button to check the availability of
full-text for the article in other Kean University Library databases.
To search Biography Collection Complete for
biographical articles:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter B on the alphabetical menu.
Click Biography Collection Complete (EBSCOhost / JerseyClicks).
Type your key terms in the search box.
Use the “and” operator to combine terms and retrieve items that contain all of the terms.
Use the “or” operator to retrieve one or more of the grouped terms (not necessarily all of
the grouped terms). Use the asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol after a word root to retrieve
articles with the word root and all of its possible word endings. For example, type:
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Click Search.
Result: The first 10 retrieved article titles will be displayed. If the full-text article is
available online for a specific item, you will see one or more of the following links
immediately below the item: HTML Full Text, PDF Full Text, or Linked Full Text. Click one
of these links to view the full-text article.
E-mail the article you are currently viewing by clicking E-mail (envelope icon) located on
the right-hand side of your screen.
If full-text link options are not present, click the TOUR button to check the availability of
full-text for the article in other Kean University Library databases.
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Sage Knowledge
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Gale Virtual Reference
Library
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Facts on File Online
Databases
HINT
The Facts on File
Online Databases
provide access to
primary source
materials, images,
videos, maps, and
charts.
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To search Sage Knowledge for encyclopedia and other reference book articles using your
key terms:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter S on the alphabetical menu.
Click Sage Knowledge.
Type your key terms in the search box. For example, type: prohibition
Click the magnifying glass icon to run the search.
The results list will include links to reference books (labeled as Encyclopedia, Handbook, or
Dictionary) and to articles (labeled as Encyclopedia Entry or Handbook Chapter). Click an
article title to view a full-text encyclopedia entry or handbook chapter. Click a link to an
encyclopedia or handbook to browse the entire e-book.
E-mail an article by clicking the envelope icon toward the top right corner of the screen.
To search Gale Virtual Reference Library for encyclopedia and other reference
book articles using your key terms:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter G on the alphabetical menu.
Click Gale Virtual Reference Library (Gale Cengage Learning).
Type your key terms in the basic search box.
Use the “and” operator to combine terms and retrieve items that contain all of the terms.
Use double quotes (“”) to retrieve items that contain specific phrases. Use the asterisk (*) as
a truncation symbol after a word root to retrieve articles with the word root and all of its
possible word endings. For example, type: jazz age
Click the magnifying glass icon to run the search.
Result: The first 20 retrieved article titles will be displayed. Examine retrieved items. Click
either the View Text or PDF link immediately below the item to view the full-text article.
E-mail an article from the View Text option by clicking E-mail toward the top-left corner of
the screen.
To search for articles in one or more of the Facts on File Online Databases,
including African-American History Online, American History Online,
American Indian History Online, American Women’s History Online, or Modern
World History Online:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter F on the alphabetical menu.
Click Facts on File Online Databases.
Click the desired database from the Available Databases list.
Select options from the Browse menu on the left, or type your search terms in the Search box
toward the top right corner of the screen, then click Go.
Search across multiple history databases by clicking Search Other History Databases in the
top right corner of the screen.
Click the checkbox to the left of more than one of the databases listed, then type your
search terms in the Search box and click Go.
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America: History and Life
HINT
Look for the CLIO
Notes link along the
top of the America:
History and Life
screen to access a list
of topic ideas and
chronologies of
events.
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EBSCOhost Research
Databases
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To search America: History and Life for scholarly articles using
your key terms:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter A on the alphabetical menu.
Click America: History and Life (EBSCOhost).
Click CLIO Notes on the top blue toolbar to access topic ideas and chronologies of events
for various time periods in U.S. history.
Click New Search on the top blue toolbar to access a search box.
Type your key terms in the search box.
Use the “and” operator to combine terms and retrieve items that contain all of the terms.
Use the “or” operator to retrieve one or more of the grouped terms (not necessarily all of
the grouped terms). Use the asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol after a word root to
retrieve articles with the word root and all of its possible word endings. For instance, type:
(jazz age or roaring twenties or 1920s) and (ethnic* or race*) and prejudic*
Limit your results to articles reviewed or judged by scholars in the field (in other words,
scholarly or peer reviewed articles) by selecting Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals under the
Limit your results heading.
Click Search.
Result: The first 10 retrieved article titles will be displayed. If the full-text article is
available online for a specific item, you will see one or more of the following links
immediately below the item: HTML Full Text, PDF Full Text, or Linked Full Text. Click one
of these links to view the full-text article.
E-mail the article you are currently viewing by clicking E-mail (envelope icon) located on
the right-hand side of your screen.
If full-text link options are not present, click the TOUR button to check the availability of
full-text for the article in other Kean University Library databases.
To search the EBSCOhost Research Databases for scholarly articles using
your key terms:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter E on the alphabetical menu.
Click EBSCOhost Research Databases (EBSCOhost).
Click EBSCOhost Web.
Select databases pertinent to your research topic, such as Academic Search Premier, America:
History and Life, Biography Collection Complete, Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson),
Historical Abstracts, History Reference Center, Humanities International Complete, MasterFILE
Premier, and/or SocINDEX with Full Text.
Click Continue.
Type your key terms in the search box.
Use the “and” operator to combine terms and retrieve items that contain all of the terms.
Use the “or” operator to retrieve one or more of the grouped terms (not necessarily all of
the grouped terms). Use the asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol after a word root to
retrieve articles with the word root and all of its possible word endings. For instance, type:
(jazz age or roaring twenties or 1920s) and (organized crime or racketeer*)
Limit your results to articles reviewed or judged by scholars in the field (in other words,
scholarly or peer reviewed articles) by selecting Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals under the
Limit your results heading.
Click Search.
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Project MUSE
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JSTOR
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Result: The first 10 retrieved article titles will be displayed. If the full-text article is
available online for a specific item, you will see one or more of the following links
immediately below the item: HTML Full Text, PDF Full Text, or Linked Full Text. Click one
of these links to view the full-text article.
E-mail the article you are currently viewing by clicking E-mail (envelope icon) located on
the right-hand side of your screen.
If full-text link options are not present, click the TOUR button to check the availability of
full-text for the article in other Kean University Library databases.
To search Project MUSE for scholarly articles:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter P on the alphabetical menu.
Click Project MUSE.
Type your key terms in the Article Search box.
Use double quotes (“”) to retrieve items that contain specific phrases. Use the “and”
operator to combine terms and retrieve items that contain all of the terms. Use the “or”
operator to retrieve one or more of the grouped terms (not necessarily all of the grouped
terms). Use the asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol after a word root to retrieve articles with
the word root and all of its possible word endings. For example, type:
prohibition and “organized crime*”
Click Search.
Result: The first 10 retrieved citations will be displayed. If the full-text article is available
online for a specific item, you will see an HTML Version link or a PDF Version link
immediately below the article citation. Click one of these links to view the full-text article.
E-mail the article you are currently viewing by going back to the results page and clicking
the checkbox to the left of the article’s citation. Click Saved Marked Results, click Close
Window, then click View Saved Results toward the top of the screen. Select E-mail next to the
heading Export marked results to. Click Export and proceed.
To search JSTOR for scholarly articles:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter J on the alphabetical menu.
Click JSTOR.
Click Search to access the Advanced Search form.
Type your key terms in the first and second search boxes.
Use the “AND” operator to combine terms and retrieve items that contain all of the terms.
Use the “OR” operator to retrieve one or more of the grouped terms (not necessarily all of
the grouped terms). Use double quotes (“”) to retrieve items that contain specific phrases.
Use the asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol after a word root to retrieve articles with the
word root and all of its possible word endings. For example, type:
First search box: baseball
Second search box: “organized crime” OR racketeer*
Click Search.
Result: the first 25 retrieved citations will be displayed. Click PDF to view the full-text
article.
E-mail selected article citations by clicking Email Citations at the top of the results list. From
the Citation Format drop-down menu select printer-friendly, fill out the rest of the email
form, and click Send.
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ProQuest Historical
Newspapers: The New
York Times (1851-2008)
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To search ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times for
newspaper articles using your key terms:
Go to the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu).
Click Articles & More to access the Databases page.
Click the letter P on the alphabetical menu.
Click ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008).
Click Advanced Search.
Specify a particular date or date range in the Date range section.
Type your key terms in the search boxes.
Use the “and” operator to combine terms and retrieve items that contain all of the terms.
Use the “or” operator to retrieve one or more of the grouped terms (not necessarily all of
the grouped terms). Use the asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol after a word root to
retrieve articles with the word root and all of its possible word endings. For instance, type:
First search box: Al Capone
Second search box: racketeer* or gangster*
Click the search button.
Result: The first 20 retrieved article titles will be displayed.
Look for the Sort results by menu to the right of the results list. Select Publication date (oldest
first) on this menu, then click Sort.
Click the Full text - PDF link to view the full-text article. Click Page view – PDF or Page view
(clickable) to view an image of the page on which the article appeared.
E-mail the article you are viewing by clicking Email located at the top left-hand side of
your screen.
Additional Databases: Primary Documents
Several other Library databases provide access to primary documents. The databases listed below are available from the
Articles & More section of the Library’s home page (http://library.kean.edu). Simply click on the first letter of the database
name on the alphabetical menu, then click the desired database name to access a database:
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Black Thought and Culture: African Americans from Colonial Times to the Present (Alexander Street Press)
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Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600-2000 (Alexander Street Press)
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Internet Resources: Primary Sources
The web sites listed below provide access to primary source materials. These sites are freely available on the Internet.
AMDOCS
Documents for the Study of American History
http://www.vlib.us/amdocs
American Memory
Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
American President
An Online Reference Resource
http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident
American Studies Hypertexts
University of Virginia
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hypertex.html
History Matters
The U.S. Survey Course on the Web
Making Sense of Evidence
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/makesense
Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History
(HEARTH)
http://hearth.library.cornell.edu/h/hearth/index.html
Memorial Hall Museum Online: American Centuries
http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu
New York Public Library: Digital Collections
http://www.nypl.org/collections
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women/time/wh-20s.html
Temperance and Prohibition
Ohio State University
http://prohibition.osu.edu/why-prohibition
Avalon Project
Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
http://avalon.law.yale.edu
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Online Exhibits
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits
Clash of Cultures in the 1910s and 1920s
http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/clash/default.htm
Women in Leadership Database: Image Gallery
Rutgers University
http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/wild/images.htm
American Women Through Time: 1920s
Historical Census Browser
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus
Copyright © 2012, Kean University Library
Originally compiled by Linda Cifelli.
Revised by Linda Cifelli, Shirley Horbatt, Chrisler Pitts, Janette
Gonzalez, Eleanor McKnight, and Craig Anderson.
November 21, 2012.
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