Using one of the databases listed under the databases tab, go to advanced search. Key in a search term or two, or an author’s name and click on the search button. If you get too many hits, try adding a keyword (maybe words from the title of a specific work) that might narrow your subject down.

If you’re searching a citation database like Historical Abstracts, you’ll need to see if the library subscribes to the journal the article you want is in. Open up another window to our homepage and click on our Journals link (icon to the right). Type in the title of the journal, click on the Search button and then click on the links (if any) listed below.

 
If we do not subscribe to the journal you’re looking for, use ILLiad to request the article.

For more information on ILLiad, and to set up your account, click here. Once your account is set up, you can automatically populate the article request form from EBSCO databases – just click on the button. From other databases, or from citations you find in printed sources, type in the information.

If you know the title of a book or the author's name (last name, first name), try searching those in our catalog Felix or ConnectNY.

If you're looking to see what we have in a particular subject area, choose either a Keyword or an Advanced Keyword search. Key in one or two search terms that describe what you're looking for. As you look down the resulting list of titles, choose one that looks like it is about the subject you're researching.

As you look at the record that describes the book you picked, scroll down until you come to the subject headings assigned to that book. Every book (except some works of fiction) is assigned one or more subject headings in a controlled vocabulary developed by the Library of Congress. Each of these headings is a link. If you click on the subject heading that best describes your research, you'll get a list of all the subject headings used in our catalog that alphabetically surround the one you clicked on. The one you chose will be in the middle of this list. You can either click on that subject heading, or you can take a look at similar subjects. Whatever you decide to click on, you'll get a list of the titles of the books that have been described by that particular subject heading. Click on the title that you want to get the information that you need (location, call number, status) to find the book in the library.

Note any appropriate subject headings, they can be used for searches in other databases, like WorldCat and Project MUSE.

When you find a book in the catalog that you want to see, make note of its location. Books whose locations include the word Bard are here in the main library, Stevenson. We share our catalog with the Center for Curatorial Studies Library which is open to Bard students, but does not lend its books, and the library at the Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture. To use the Bard Graduate Center’s library, which is located in New York City, please contact the Reader Services Librarian at (212) 501-3035 or reference@bgc.bard.edu.

 
If a book is not available in our library, or if the subject you’re researching is not adequately covered by the holdings in our library, the next place to look is in the ConnectNY catalog.

Search ConnectNY as you would our catalog. When you find a book you want: make sure the status is “Available” then click “Request this Item” choose Bard from the drop down box then key in your last name and barcode number.

The book will be delivered in two to six business days and may be picked up from  Reserves Desk on the third floor of Stevenson. You’ll be notified by e-mail. The borrowing period for these books is three weeks with one three week renewal. ConnectNY books should be returned to the Reserves Desk.

 
If a book is not in our catalog or in ConnectNY, you may request it through ILLiad, our InterLibrary Loan service.

The database that serves ILLiad is called WorldCat. WorldCat is a catalog of thousands of library catalogs, including all the major research libraries. Repeat the searches you performed in our catalog and ConnectNY. If you find a book you want to read, use our ILLiad system to request it. For more information on ILLiad, and to set up your account, click here. Once your account is set up, you can automatically populate the book request form from WorldCat – just click on the button.

The Reference Collection of the library contains encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks pertaining to particular subject areas, sometimes very particular subject areas. This section is organized by call numbers that mirror the call numbers in the general collection, so if you have a book in hand about a particular subject, you can go the section of the Reference Collection with a similar call number and see consult the reference works on that subject.

The Reference Collection starts on the shelves by the Rugby Field on the first floor of Stevenson and continues into Kellogg.

A Companion to Roman Religion
Ref BL803 .C66 2007

Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World
Ref DE5 .O92 2007
Spanning almost one thousand years, from the first Olympic Games in 776 BC to the death of Marcus Aurelius in AD 180, this accessible and wide-ranging reference work draws on the groundbreaking Oxford Classical Dictionary to present more than 2,500 entries on the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome. The dictionary covers key aspects of ancient Greek and Roman life and literature, such as science, social structure, philosophy, and religion, and contains comprehensive articles on central figures, both real and mythological, from Achilles to Zeno.

Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
Ref U35 .C34 2007 v.1 and v.2
v. 1. Greece, the Hellenistic world and the rise of Rome -- v. 2. Rome from the late Republic to the late Empire

Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World
Ref & Ref Atlas G1033 .B3 2000

This section is a sampling of call number ranges and subjects from the LC Classification Outline, 7th ed. found in Ready Reference.

BL 300-325	Mythology - First Floor Kellogg
CB	History of Civilization - Second Floor Stevenson
CC	Archaeology - Second Floor Stevenson
D51-95	Ancient History - Second Floor Stevenson
DE	Greece - Second Floor Stevenson
DF	Greece - Second Floor Stevenson
DG	Italy - Second Floor Stevenson
PA227-1179	Greek Language and Philology - Third Floor Kellogg
PA 2001-2915	Latin language and Philology - Third Floor Kellogg
PA 3051-4500	Greek Literature - Ancient to ca. 600 AD - Third Floor Kellogg
PA 5000-5660	Greek Literature - Byzantine and Modern - Third Floor Kellogg
PA6001-6971	Latin Literature - Ancient Roman - Third Floor Kellogg
PA 8001-8595	Latin Literature - Medieval and Modern - Third Floor Kellogg

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook

Library of Congress Annotated List of Classical and Medieval Reference Websites - Huge trove of reference websites devoted to the Classics.

Classics at Oxford

Wess Web Classic Studies - “Classics Studies Web is designed to provide access to scholarly resources in Classics Studies. The geographical coverage includes the Mediterranean (particularly Greece and Rome) during the Classical and Hellenistic periods.”

NoodleBib is an excellent online utility for both generating a Chicago Style bibliography and footnotes and for organizing your research. Zotero is a similar database that downloadable from Firefox and has the added advantage of pulling the bibliographic data straight from the source into your research folder.

Style Guides:

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
LB2369 .G53 2009 (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

Concise Rules of APA Style
BF76.7 .C66 2005

Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker
PE1408.H277 2008

The Chicago Manual of Style
LB2369 .T8 2007 (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations : Chicago Style for Students and Researchers by Kate Turabian
LB2369 .T8 2007 (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles -- MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More by Charles Lipson
PN171.F56 L55 2006 (in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)