Find Articles: Library Databases
About Databases
A database is a collection of information that is arranged and tagged for easy searching and retrieval. Think of a database like an online storage container: It stores different publications, journals, books, magazines, and newspapers and makes it possible for you to access them. The library subscribes to over 300 databases that are available for Holy Cross students to use. Visit our A-Z Databases list to see what is available.
General Databases
General databases include information and journals that cover many subjects and academic fields. These can be a good place to start if you’re not sure what subject your topic falls under, if your topic is interdisciplinary and falls under multiple subject areas, if you want to see perspectives from different fields about your topic, or if you simply want to find general information.
To find general databases, go to the A-Z Database List. In the dropdown menu labeled "Subjects," select "_General" and click "Search." You will see a list of general databases, with some highlighted as "Best Bets." Some general databases are listed below.
- JSTOR Arts & Sciences This link opens in a new window
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
- ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, magazines, and news in almost every subject area.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, magazines, and news in almost every subject area.
- CrossSearch(on the Libraries' homepage)
Subject Databases
Subject databases include journals and publications from a specific academic field. They may include a number of different publications, but they are all within the same academic area. These can be helpful if you want to look at one specific subject or field.
To find subject databases, go to the A-Z Database List. In the dropdown menu labeled "Subjects," select your subject area and click "Search." Click through the tabs at the top of this box to see some subject databases that may be helpful for the subjects covered in your class.
Encyclopedias and Reference Sources
These resources can be a good place to start for background research. They may not include scholarly articles, but can give you a general understanding of a topic and help you identify key terms and important events in history.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica Online This link opens in a new window
Encyclopaedia Britannica Public Library Edition.
- Encyclopaedia of Islam Online This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedia of the Islamic faith and culture around the world.
- Oxford Reference Books: Society & Culture This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference books dealing with the study of society and culture, published by Oxford University Press.
History
- Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, book chapters and magazines about the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450-present.
- JSTOR Arts & Sciences This link opens in a new window
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
- World History (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, magazines, primary sources, audiovisual and other credible sources relating to world history, beginning in the ancient world.
Political Science
- Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, book chapters and magazines about the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450-present.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, magazines, and news in almost every subject area.
- ProQuest Political Science This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, working papers, conference proceedings and other publications dealing with political science and international relations.
Sociology / Social Science
- SocINDEX This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, and citations for books, conference proceedings, and other resources, in the field of sociology.
- ProQuest Social Science This link opens in a new window
Academic and professional journal articles, dissertations, magazines, and news dealing with a variety of social science fields.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures.
- Anthrosource This link opens in a new window
Journal articles published by the American Anthropologial Association (AAA).
- JSTOR Arts & Sciences This link opens in a new window
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
- Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings This link opens in a new window
Field collections created by ethnomusicologists and focused on music traditions all around the world.
World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
- Index Islamicus This link opens in a new window
Citations for journal articles, books and chapters about Islam and the Muslim World.
- HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index This link opens in a new window
Citations for journal articles, book reviews, and literary works about Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Hispanics/Latinx in the United States.
- Africa Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts for journal articles in African studies, searchable by region, country and subject.
- Slavery, Abolition & Social Justice This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1490-2008
Primary sources created by and about enslaved individuals and abolition movements. - JSTOR Arts & Sciences This link opens in a new window
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
- China: Culture and Society This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1750-1929
English-language primary sources about Chinese history, religion, culture, and everyday life. - Arte Público Historical Collection Series 1 This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1746-2006
Newspaper and magazine articles, and other primary sources, related to Hispanic history, literature and culture in the United States. Mostly in Spanish.
Find Books: Library Catalog
Library Catalog
Use the Library Catalog to find print books, print journals, and ebooks in the library's collection. Access the Library Catalog search through the library home page (https://www.holycross.edu/library). Above the search bar, select "Library Catalog." To use more advanced searching options, click on the "My Library Account" link below the search bar to go directly to the catalog, where you can search by keyword, title, subject, or call number.
Call Numbers
Books on the shelves are organized by call number. A call number is an address for a book that tells you where the book is located on the shelf. Call numbers identify different subject areas, so books with similar call numbers will cover similar subjects. This way, when you find a book on the shelf, you know the books around it are on similar topics. You can see full lists of call numbers from the Library of Congress here.
Some specific call number ranges to consider:
- D: World History (Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania)
- DS Asia
- DT Africa
- DU Oceania
- E: History of the United States
- F: History of the Americas
- F 1-975 United States local history, by geography
- F 1201-3799 Latin America
- F 1201-1392 Mexico
- F 1421-1440 Central America
- GR: Folklore
- H: Social Sciences
- HN Social history and conditions
- HT Communities. Classes. Races
- J: Political Science
- JL Political institutions and public administration (Canada, Latin America, etc.)
- JQ Political institutions and public administration (Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Area, etc.)
- JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
The handout linked below shows how to read a call number and where call numbers are located in Dinand Library.
Call Number Example
Find Articles, Books, and More: CrossSearch
CrossSearch is a one-stop search tool that lets you search most of the informational resources available through the library, including:
- Books, ebooks, archival materials, media and music scores owned by the Holy Cross Libraries.
- Research databases like Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, ARTstor and ProQuest Central.
- E-journal collections like JSTOR and ScienceDirect.
- The Holy Cross digital repository CrossWorks.
- Open Access collections such as HaithiTrust Digital Library
As you can see, CrossSearch looks in many different places and for many different types of sources. In one search, you might see results for academic journal articles, books in the library’s collection, films, newspaper articles, and more. This can be a good place to start if you want to see a broad scope of the resources available on your topic. However, because CrossSearch includes so many types of resources, you might find you need to filter these results more than you would in a more specific database.
CrossSearch is best accessed through the library home page (https://www.holycross.edu/library).
- CrossSearchFind CrossSearch on the Libraries' home page. It is the purple search box in the center of the page.