Research: Guides: Courses

Course Guide: Introductory Spanish (101/102)

Fall 2007
Instructor: Carla González

This guide supports the research needs of students in Spanish 101/102, Introductory Spanish.
For additional research assistance, contact:

Sean Knowlton, Reference Librarian & Bibliographer
Sean@Tulane.edu
504-247-1870

Overview of Today's Session

• Collections at Tulane University
• Using Keywords & Subject Headings
• Reference Resources
• Searching: Tulane University Libraries Catalog
• Web Portals
• Library Subscription Databases

 

An Introduction to Collections at Tulane University

The Latin American Library

What resources are available to you?

• Specialized dictionaries and encylopedias on countries, cultures, languages
• Guidebooks
• Historical dictionaries by country
• Reference works in English on Spanish grammar

 

Keywords

Before you begin your search, break your topic down into several discrete concepts or keyword search terms. Databases, including the library catalog, will be able to retrieve more relevant materials this way. For more flexible searching, think of various ways to express these search terms -- synonyms, broader terms, and narrower terms.

Then, think about what kind of information resources you need and select appropriate indexes and databases in which to search for material. This step is crucial to efficient identification of quality sources for your research.

 

Subject Headings

Subject Headings are "controlled vocabulary;" you must do a "subject search" exactly as written. Knowing how to use subject headings, and remembering the important ones, will speed up your research.

• Spanish language
• Spanish language -- dictionaries
• Spanish language --Dictionaries --English
• Hispanic Americans
• Spanish language--Textbooks for foreign speakers--English

You can use Subject Headings in keyword searches too. For example:

SEARCH: Hispanic? Latin? encyclopedias
The question mark (?) is a truncation device. Use it to find variations: Latin, Latino, Latina, Latinidad, etc.

 

Reference Resources

Do a keyword search in the Tulane University Libraries Catalog using terms like dictionaries or encyclopedias and general terms like Mexico or spanish language

Dictionaries: Spanish Language

Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean
2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Latin American Library Reference
Call Number: F1406.C36 1992

Concise Encyclopedia of Mexico
Subject: Mexico --Civilization --Enyclopedias
Latin American Library Reference
Call Number: F1210.E629 2001

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures
Edited by Daniel Balderston, Mike Gonzalez and Ana M. López. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Latin American Library Reference
Call Number: F 1406.E515 2000

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture
London ; New York : Routledge, 1999.
Subject: Spain --Civilization --20th century --Encyclopedias
Howard-Tilton Reference (non-circulating)
Call Number: DP 233.5.E63 1999

Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Art
New York: Grove's Dictionaries, 2000.
Latin American Library Reference
Call Number: N6502.E53 2000b

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture
New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1996.
Latin American Library Reference
Call Number: F1406.E53 1996

Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America
David Carrasco, editor in chief. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Latin American Library Reference
Call Number: F1218.6.O95 2001

Reference works on Hispanics/Latinos in the US

 

Guide Books and Historical Dictionaries

When researching the culture of a country, guide books and historical dictionaries can be a great alternative to browsing the web. Guidebooks often contain brief histories, culinary information and brief introductions to other cultural areas, such as music, dance, literature, and architecture.

To identify them, use the following terms in your keyword searches in the Tulane University Libraries Catalog.

• Guatemala guidebooks (The word guidebooks is a Subject Heading)
• Historical dictionary of country (The Scarecrow Press has many titles in this series. Search the catalog to see if there is a recent one for your country of interest)

 

Searching

Tulane University Libraries Catalog

Web Portals for Latin America

Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC) (University of Texas at Austin)

LANIC provides access to Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America. Resources are both academic and popular in nature. Use LANIC to identify sites about artists, culture, cooking, sports, countries, and more.

Wikipedia (en español)

CIA World Factbook

A quick reference guide to the languages, politics, economy and other statistical information of the countries of the world.

Databases: Latin America

This guide provides access to the scholarly databases for research on Latin America.