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, 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.

Statistical Abstract of the United States
REF HA202.A5 (yr.)

Historical Statistics of the United States
REF HA202.H57 2006 (v. 1-4)

Elections in America
REF JF1001.E363 2005 (v. 1-2)

The Europa World Yearbook
REF JN 1.E85 1994-2010

United States Statutes at Large
REF KF50.U56

Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and Liberties
REF KF4748.E53 2006 (v. 1-3)

The Library of Congress call numbers for Statistics start with HC. In the general circulating collection, these books are located on the 2nd floor of Kellogg.

For Political Science, call numbers start with the letter J.  And for Law, the letter K. In the general circulating collection, both are located on the 3rd floor of Kellogg. For example, HA 29.H39 1990 Statistics a Tool for Social Research is on the 2nd Floor of Kellogg, while KF8742.Z9H64 2007 The Supreme Court, An Essential History is 3rd Floor Kellogg .

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

HC	Statistics
J	Political Science- General legislative and executive papers
JA	Political Science - Collections and general works
JC	Political theory. Theory of the state
JF	Constitutional history and administration
JK	Special countries
JL	British America. Latin America
JN	Europe
JQ	Asia. Africa. Australia. Oceania
JS	Local government
JV	Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration
K	Law
KD	Law of the United Kingdom and Ireland
KDZ, KG-KH	Law of the Americas, Latin America, and the West Indies
KE	Law of Canada
KF	Law of the United States
KJ-KKZ	Law of Europe
KJV-KJW	Law of France
KK-KKC	Law of Germany
KZ	International law. International relations

Google Scholar

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States

U.S. Census Bureau

United States Code

Miller Center, Univ. VA- The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institute that seeks to expand understanding of the presidency, policy, and political history, providing critical insights for the nation’s governance challenges.

University of Michigan - Government Documents Center - Highlights of the collections include:

• Federal and Michigan laws and legislation
• United States Congressional publications since 1789
• United Nations documents since 1946
• Statistical abstracts from around the world and foreign censuses since 1778
• U.S. Decennial Census since 1790

New York State Library - The New York State Library's collection is particularly strong in medicine; social sciences; education; history, particularly American and New York State; certain pure sciences; technology; and Federal, State, and international documents. NYSL Collections

The Library of Congress - THOMAS

The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library - Houses one of the largest collections of more than sixty thousand core human rights documents, including several hundred human rights treaties and other primary international human rights instruments.

Avalon Project - Yale - The Avalon Project will mount digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. We do not intend to mount only static text but rather to add value to the text by linking to supporting documents expressly referred to in the body of the text.

American FactFinder - The new American FactFinder offers a wide assortment of search, display, and save options within a powerful search engine, and access to significantly detailed data sets related to population, housing, economics, industry, and geographic data.

Public Library of Law - PLoL is a continuously updated database covering federal law and the laws of all 50 states. Separate portals include Case Law, Statutes, Regulations, Court Rules, Constitutions, and legal forms, which are continuously updated and available by state for a nominal additional fee. The site offers a user guide and tutorials.

For newspapers, start here: Newspapers.

New York Times From 1851 to 3 Years Ago is a great source for reviews and articles. It’s helpful to choose the document type when searching. If you’re looking for an obituary or review, try that document type, but if you can’t find anything, try “article”. For newspaper articles after 1985 for cities other than New York, try LexisNexis Academic .

Check with your professor to see what style of citation s/he would like you to use. 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)