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Research at the Harvard Public Library


What are periodicals?  
What are scholarly journals?
Where are the periodicals located?
How do I find an article about my topic?
How do I access InfoTrac and NewsBank?
How do I find the full text of an article if the online database does not have the full text?  
How do I find articles that are too old to be in an online magazine database?
I need a newspaper article for my report. What newspapers do you have?  
How do I search the newspapers online?
What is a primary source?
Where can I find primary sources at the Harvard Public Library?



What are periodicals?

Periodicals are publications that appear regularly at fixed intervals. Some examples of periodicals are:

  • Magazines
  • Newspapers
  • Newsletters 
  • Scholarly journals

What are scholarly journals?

Scholarly journals:

  • Report the research of scholars
  • Are prepared for a specific discipline
  • Are intended for the use of professionals and students
  • Are long research articles with tables, graphs and charts
  • May be referred to as peer-reviewed or refereed journals

Where are the periodicals located in the Harvard Public Library?

Periodicals are available in different formats including:

Print

  • The current year’s issues of periodicals are kept on the wall rack just past the reference desk.
  • Most periodicals are kept in print for three years with the last two years stored in the Hapgood room.
  • Most newspapers are kept for 3 to 6 months.

Bound

  • A small selection of magazines is kept in book format.

Microfilm/microfiche

Online databases

For assistance in locating a particular periodical please ask the reference librarian.

How do I find an article about my topic?

There are several online databases available for article searches. Some of the databases will have articles in full text that can be e-mailed or printed. The date indexing begins varies for each magazine and newspaper, but, generally, articles are indexed from the 1980s to present and are available full-text from the 1990s to the present. Try one of these databases:

Infotrac

Infotrac is a collection of databases providing full-text articles from periodicals, journals, research reports and reference books back to 1980.

You may choose from the following databases

·  Contemporary Literary Criticism Select
·  Biography Resource Center
·  Health Reference Center Academic
·  Business and Company ASAP
·  General Business File ASAP
·  Expanded Academic ASAP 
·  General Reference Center Gold
·  Info Trac K-12 Kids Edition
·  Info Trac K-12 Junior Edition
·  Info Trac K-12 Student Edition
·  Professional Collection
 ·  Kids InfoBits

Newspapers Online  

An online resource that provides instant full-text access to the following newspapers:

Massachusetts Newsstand (12 newspapers)   Plymouth County Business Review 
The Berkshire Eagle Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg)
The Boston Herald The Sun (Lowell)
The Boston Globe Telegram & Gazette (Worcester)
BusinessWest (Chicopee) Gazette (Haverhill) 12/31/92 to 8/9/97 only
North Adams Transcript  Standard Times (New Bedford) 1/4/92 to 8/19/97 only
Patriot Ledger (Quincy)

 
How do I access InfoTrac and Newsbank?

From inside the library

You can access InfoTrac and NewsBank databases from, any of the library’s workstations by clicking on the InfoTrac or NewsBank shortcuts on the desktop. 

From home

  • Go to Harvard Public Library’s web site’s homepage

                         www.harvardpubliclibrary.org

  • Click on “Newspapers, Infotrac and other databases”.
  • A list of our databases will appear.  Choose the database you are interested in searching.
  • A screen will pop up asking for your library card number.  This is the bar code number on the back of your library card.

How do I find the full text of an article if the online database does not have the full text?

Print out the article citation or write down the following information:

  • Title of article
  • Author(s) of article
  • Journal or magazine the article is in
  • Volume and /or  Issue Number of the journal or magazine
  • Date of the journal or magazine
  • Page(s) the article appears on 

If the article is less than three years old look in the library catalog to see if the library owns that title and issue.

If the article is more than three years old consult the microfiche list. 

If Harvard Public Library has the magazine on microfiche you will be able to read it and print it from the microfiche reader.  Ask the reference librarian for assistance.

If Harvard Public Library does not have a copy of the magazine in either print or on microfiche Harvard Public Library can still get a copy of the article through Boston Public Library.  Generally we can get any article requested; however, it may take 1 to 3 weeks to obtain. Speak with the reference librarian about your specific request.

How do I find articles that are too old to be in an online magazine database?

To locate articles that are not available online Harvard Public Library has the following resources.

National Geographic

Harvard Public Library has copies of National Geographic from 1918 to the present.

Three National Geographic indexes are available to research articles.  Please see the reference librarian for assistance in selecting the best index to search in.

American Heritage

American Heritage magazine features articles on art, literature, politics and travel. It covers topics such as the events, politics, and culture that have shaped our nation.

Harvard Public Library has copies of American Heritage from 1955 to the present.

Three American Heritage indexes are available to research articles.  Please see the reference librarian for assistance in selecting the best index to search in.

Current Biography

Current Biography is monthly magazine of biographies of the men and women who make today’s headlines and tomorrow’s history.

Harvard Public Library has copies of the magazine from 1940 to the present. 

There are several indexes available to research articles in Current Biography.  Please see the reference librarian for assistance in selecting the best index to search in.

Facts on File

Facts on File is a weekly distillation of the news and current information as reported from the U.S. and around the world.  The digest provides a record of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, finance, government, crime, the environment, science and medicine, arts and entertainment, personalities and sports, with statistics, background boxes, chronologies, key events, text excerpts, maps, tables, and photographs. 

Harvard Public Library has Facts on File from 1941 to 1983 on microfilm and from 1983 to the present in print located in reference

To search Facts on File use the indexes at the end of each year.

I need a newspaper article for my report.  What newspapers do you have?

Harvard Public Library has subscriptions to several newspapers. 

Print copies of the following newspapers are kept at the Harvard Public Library:

Boston Globe         6 months  
Worcester Telegram          3 months  
New York Times       3 months  
Wall Street Journal   3 months  
Barron's         6 months  
Harvard Post                           1973 to the present  
Harvard Hillside            1996 to the present  


The Harvard Post is also available on microfilm from 1973 through 2000 and The Bolton Common is available on microfilm from 1988 through 1995.

In addition to the print copies of the above newspapers, the Harvard Public Library through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commission has an online subscription to Newspapers online  which includes full-text articles of the following newspapers:  

Massachusetts Newsstand (12 newspapers)   Plymouth County Business Review 
The Berkshire Eagle Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg)
The Boston Herald The Sun (Lowell)
The Boston Globe Telegram & Gazette (Worcester)
BusinessWest (Chicopee) Gazette (Haverhill) 12/31/92 to 8/9/97 only
North Adams Transcript  Standard Times (New Bedford) 1/4/92 to 8/19/97 only
Patriot Ledger (Quincy)


How do I search the newspapers online?

From inside the library

You can access these databases from any of the library’s workstations by clicking on the Databases shortcut on the desktop. 

From home

  • Go to Harvard Public Library’s web site’s homepage

                         www.harvardpubliclibrary.org

  • Click on “Newspapers, Infotrac and other databases”
  • Scroll down to Newspapers Online and click on it
  • Enter your library card number (the bar code number on the back of your library card) and click "Log in"
  • Choose the newspaper(s) you would like to search.  

What is a primary source?

  • A primary source is a firsthand testimony or direct evidence of a topic such as a letter, speech, interview, diary or official records.
  • A magazine or newspaper article published during the time of the topic would also be a primary source.  For example if the topic is about the space shuttle Challenger explosion a newspaper article from January 29, 1986 would be a primary source.

Where can I find primary sources at the Harvard Public Library?

Harvard Public Library has primary sources in several formats.   A selected list of primary sources in the Harvard Public Library follows. Please note it does not represent all of the primary sources available at the Harvard Public Library. For assistance in locating primary source material relevant to your topic please consult with the reference librarian.

Some Examples of Primary Sources:

Letters

  • Letters of The Century: America , 1900-1999 
  • Abraham Lincoln: Complete Works, Comprising His Speeches, Letters, State Papers and Miscellaneous Writings
  • Hard Marching Every Day: The Civil War Letters of Private Wilbur Fisk, 1861-1865

Speeches

  • Representative American Speeches, 1937-1997
  • The State of the Union Messages of the Presidents, 1790-1966
  • Speeches of the American Presidents
  • In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century

Diaries

  • The Lewis and Clark Journals
  • The Journals of Louisa May Alcott
  • The Log of Christopher Columbus  

Newspapers

For newspaper articles from 1980 to the present see NewsBank.  For newspaper articles prior to 1980 see these sources:

  • Great Stories of the Century: The Major Events of the 20th Century As Reported In the Pages of the New York Times. 
  • Debating The Issues In Colonial Newspapers: Primary Documents on Events of The Period

Specialized Encyclopedias

Many subject encyclopedias also include primary sources.  For example:

  • Dictionary of American History -includes archival maps and primary sources from the Colonial Period through 2001
  • Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, And Military History -includes speeches, letters, memorandum and government documents from 1920 to 1995.
  • Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, And Military History –includes UN Resolutions, telegrams, speeches, directives and reports.

Other Examples of Primary Sources Collections

  • American Decades Primary Sources
  • The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence . 
  • Documents of American History
  • 100 Key Documents in American Democracy
  • Presidents From Nixon Through Carter, 1969-1981: Debating The Issues In Pro and Con Primary Documents
  • Reporting Civil Rights.