When you are beginning to explore a topic, go first to the database Religion and Philosophy Collection. This database allows searching by author, title, subject terms, geographic terms and can be limited to the date of publication. JSTOR is also an excellent choice, but generally does not have any article published in the last few years.

The best way to search in these or other databases is to go to the ADVANCED SEARCH option. This allows you to control your search terms and do a better, more controlled and in-depth search. Search by the author or subject or geographical term you find best. Combining them using the terms offered, AND, OR, and NOT, can narrow or widen your search depending upon the results you get.

There are times when a database will find the articles you are searching for in both PDF and HTML format.  If you believe the article will have charts and graphs, choose PDF – that will give you a better visual representation. If you think the article will have terms with which you may not be entirely familiar, or includes many names you may not yet know, HTML will have hyperlinks for you.

When searching in Religion and Philosophy Collection or Ebsco Academic Search Premier, 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. 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.

 
You can also search the Directory of Open Access Journals online. They have over 80 journals that focus on Religion and over 160 that concentrate on Philosophy. They only allow searching on two words, but that should be enough to get a good idea of what is available.

If you know the title of the book or the author's name (last name, first name), try searching those in our catalog - Felix and 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. If your set of results is too big, you might try adding another term to narrow the focus of the search. If one of your search terms is a phrase, place those search terms within quotation marks. As you look down the resulting list of titles, choose one that looks like it is about the subject you're researching.

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.

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 available in our library or in ConnectNY, check 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.

Encyclopedia of Religion (Three Volumes)
BL31 .E46 2005

Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature (Two Volumes)
BL65.N35 E53 2005

Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Two Volumes)
BQ128 .E62 2004

Encyclopedia of Christianity
BR95 .E8913 1999

World Christian encyclopedia: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in the Modern World (Two Volumes)
BR157 .W67 2001

Encyclopedia of Early Christianity
BR162.2 .E53 1998

Encyclopedia of Hinduism
BL1105 .E53 2008

New Encyclopedia of Judaism
BM50 .E63 2002

Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic cultures (Six Volumes)
HQ1170 .E53 2003

History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia
BL245 .H57 2000

Most books on Religion are shelved together on the 2nd floor of Stevenson. Here is the Library of Congress classification for Religion and Philosophy.

B	Philosophy (General).
BC	Logic.
BD	Speculative Philosophy.
BF	Psychology, Parapsychology, Occult Sciences.
BH	Aesthetics.
BJ	Ethics. Social Usages. Etiquette.
BL	Religion.
BM	Judaism.
BP	Islam, Bahaism, Theosophy.
BQ	Buddhism.
BR	Christianity.
BS	The Bible.
BT	Doctrinal Theology.
BV	Practical Theology.
BX	Christian Denominations

American Theological Library Association Selected Religion Websites

Religious Studies Web Guide - Texts (University of Calgary)

Religious Studies Web Guide - E-Texts (Links) (University of Calgary)

Tables of Contents of Journals of interest to classicists (University of Toronto)

Islamic Philosophy Online

Syriac Studies Reference Library

RAMBI: The index of articles on Jewish Studies

Fides Quaerens Internetum (The Christian theology page)

Gnosis Archive

Abbreviations - a listing of those commonly found in theology and Biblical studies.

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.

For older newspaper and magazine articles, our collection of the index The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature extends back to the 1890s. It’s located on first floor of Stevenson, on the shelves closest to the rugby field. C19: The Nineteenth Century Index indexes newspapers and magazines from the 19th century.

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)

From Oxford University, a listing of many online pages relating to religion.