Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Citation Styles

For further research assistance, please contact the Reference Department at Portland (780-4272), Gorham (780-5344), or Lewiston (753-6540), or use our online Ask A Librarian service.

Finding Books

In order to find books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials held in the University of Maine System you will need to consult URSUS, the online catalog. Because journal article citations are not individually included in URSUS, you will need to use a discipline-specific index to find this information (see Resources by Subject).

If you do not know the exact subject heading describing the topic you need, try doing a keyword search using other word/s related to that topic and then click on the subject heading links found within the relevant records to find additional, useful resources.

The Library of Congress provides a breakdown of the call number classification scheme. Click on any of the listed subcategories to see more detail. Broad subject headings such as American Literature, Art, History etc may be narrowed by adding a geographic location such as United States, New England, Maine.

To obtain materials not located at your USM, but still within URSUS, you will need to click on the Request button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number (found under the barcode on your USM Card, which begins with 25022....). Your barcode will need to be activated at the Circulation Desk.

If the item is not available through the University of Maine System (URSUS) or MaineCat you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (Illiad).

Finding Articles

Because of the lengthy publishing cycle for a book, information in a book is not always current. Periodical articles are current sources of information. There are two main types of periodicals: scholarly and popular. Scholarly periodicals are usually referred to as journals. Articles in journals contain reports of primary research; the articles are written by experts in the field and for other researchers/scholars; use terms and language specific to that discipline; may include graphs, charts, etc. related to the topic; most often are peer reviewed via an editorial board; are published by professional organization or society, university, research centers, scholarly presses; and often include a bibliography. Popular periodical articles contain general information; are written using easily understood language that appeals to a varied audience; are usually written by journalists or others who are not experts in the field; do not include citations; has a limited or non-existent editorial review board; and may contain glossy photographs. The Finding Articles tutorial provides more information on how to find articles.

Indexes

Biography Index
POR/GOR Ref Z 25301 B5
Annual cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. (Use URSUS to determine whether USM owns particular titles referenced.)

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
POR/GOR Ref CT 103 M27
A consolidated annual index to biographical sketches in current and retrospective biographical dictionaries. (Use URSUS to determine whether USM owns particular titles referenced.)

Biographical Sources

American National Biography
POR/GOR Ref CT213 A68
Includes bibliographic information and indexes.

Current Biography
POR/GOR Ref CT 100.C8
Essay-length biographies; updated monthly.

Dictionary of American Biography
POR/GOR Ref E176 D56

Dictionary of National Biography
POR/GOR Ref DA28 . D47
Biographies of deceased individuals from Great Britain and its colonies.

Twentieth Century Culture: A Biographical Companion
POR Ref CT 120 T88

Directories

Below are only a few of the "Who’s Who" series; offering brief biographical entries.

International Who’s Who
POR Ref CT 120 I5

Statesman's Year Book
POR/GOR Ref JA 51 S7

Who’s Who in America
POR/GOR Ref E176.W642

Who’s Who in Maine
POR F18.B83

Who’s Who in Congress
POR Ref JK1012 W5

Specialized Directories

The libraries own many sources of specific bibliographic information like those that follow. The list is extremely selective, and serves only as an example of the libraries’ biographical information.

African Writers
POR Ref PL 8010 A453

Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth Century Philosophers
POR Ref B104 B5

Contemporary Authors
POR/GOR Ref Z12224 C6

Dictionary of American Nursing Biography
POR Ref RT34 D53

Dictionary of Literary Biography
POR Ref PN451 D5
Modern Language Association international bibliography on books and articles on the modern languages and literatures

Dictionary of Scientific Biography
POR Ref Q14 D5
Excludes the living.

The Encyclopedia of Native American Biography: Six Hundred Life Stories of Important People from Powhatan to Wilma Mankiller
GOR Ref G89 569

Encyclopedia of World Scientists
POR Ref Q141.025

Harlem Renaissance and Beyond: Literary Biographies of 100 Black Women Writers 1900-1945
POR Ref PS 153 N5 R65

The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Modern Political Biography
POR Ref D412.6 H88

Nobel Prize Winners
POR/GOR Ref AS911 N59

Profiles of African American Stage Performers 1816-1960
GOR Ref PN 2286 P46

American National Biography
Updated monthly. Contains several thousand chronological and contextual biographies, along with bibliographies. Organized by name and occupation.

LION (Literature Online) For literary biographies.

Literature Resource Center. Indexes a number of the databases, including Dictionary of Literary Biography and Contemporary Authors. Searchable by genre and author’s name, and by countries of origin.

Women and Social Movements A collection of documentary projects pertaining to women and social movements in the United States.

There is no authority control for the Internet. In choosing Internet resources it is imperative to evaluate the authenticity of the source. Thinking Critically about Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources (UCLA College Library) provides excellent evaluation criteria. The following selected resources have been chosen because of authenticity and comprehensiveness of coverage.

American Library Association Recommended Biography Resources Excellent annotated bibliography of Internet biographical resources. Covers a wide range of subject areas.

ArtNet.Com A comprehensive list of artist biographies.

Distinguished Women Past and Present "This site has biographies of women who contributed to our culture in many different ways. There are writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists, entertainers, and others."

Internet Public Library/Biographies Excellent compendium of biographical resources on the Internet.

Uncle Sam: Biographies of federal officials, judiciary, members of Congress, past and present.

World Biography Index: About 2.4 million short biographies of individuals from North and South America, Western and Central Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. Compiled index to other archives.

Citing your sources is very important, and not as difficult as it may seem. Not to do so is not only an indication of sloppy research practices, but it is also plagiarism. The following websites can help you understand the proper citation format for your paper.

USM has a site license for Endnote, a personal reference database program. The main functions of this program include maintenance of a database of references, downloading references from other databases, using the database to link to references in word-processed document, and generating a bibliography in the correct style for publications. See the Endnote Help for further information.

Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement

Citing Online Sources

Citing Sources Within Your Paper

Assembling Your Works Cited List

Style Sheets for Citing Resources (UC Berkeley)

Plagiarism-The Do's and Dont's: Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism (University of California-Davis)

Plagiarism Examples (Indiana University School of Education

Last update: 06-02-2005
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