Library Pathfinder:

Locating Information About Your Community
Introduction to Community Services - Siena Heights


Suggested Books in the Hessel Library

Online Catalog

1. College Blue Book. /Reference Desk. 378.73 C6976a30. - Description of Lake Michigan College and Andrews University.

2. Comparative Guide to American Elementary & Secondary Schools. /Reference 371.010973 C73722a3. Covers all public school districts serving 1,500 or more students.

3. Counties USA. /Reference 917.30025 C85572a2. - Directory of US counties.

4. Extract : (2003) - A Concentrate of Fundamental Information for Southwestern Michigan, Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties. /Reference 317.741 E9694 2003. Prepared by the Southwestern Michigan Planning Commission. Phone number: 925-1137. Email: swmicomm@swmicomm.org

5. Gay and Lesbian Atlas./Reference 306.766 G2593. Useful for researchers, policymakers, and activists.Contains concentration of Gay/Lesbian couples by tract within each U.S. county.

6. Harris Michigan Industrial Directory. /Reference 338.09774 H31. - Companies sorted by city in alphabetical order in the geographic section. Includes address, sic number, executives/managers, number of employees, establishment date.

7. The Hispanic Databook : Detailed Statistics and Rankings on the Hispanic population, including 23 Ethnic Backgrounds from Argentinian to Venezuelan, for 1,266 U.S. Counties and Cities / Reference 305.868 H67314A2 2004. [editor, David Garoogian].

8. Michigan Facts: A Comprehensive look at Michigan Today, County by County. /Reference 977.4 C62. - Overview of Michigan counties.

9. Michigan Foundation Directory. 13th ed. /Reference 361.76 M6245a13. - Use geographic location in back of book to locate foundations for specific area in Michigan.

10. Michigan Place Names. Reference /917.74 R76. - Contains the history of the founding and the naming of more than five thousand past and present Michigan communities.

11. Profiles of America (Central Region). /Reference 307.76 P96446a2. 2003. - Statistics for cities, towns, villages, boroughs, postal areas, unincorporated postal areas, and census designated places. 38% of information is from 2000 Census and 16% from other Census Bureau data; 24% from government agencies other than the Census Bureau, and 22% from non-government sources.

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Other Libraries

NOTE: Search the Southwest Michigan Libraries Union Catalog via Library Online Catalog for Berrien County Holdings. After selecting Online Catalog, select Berrien County Libraries, select Begin, select Advanced Search.

The following are selected titles found in the Southwest Michigan Libraries Union Catalog.

Check libraries in your area for local histories of your town. The William Hessel Library has, for example:

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Other Ideas

· Telephone books - identify schools, churches, hospitals, etc. in your community.
· Local tourism guides or magazines, e.g., Lake Magazine, which the Hessel Library holds.
· Local newspaper for your community. NOTE: Both the public libraries in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, Michigan, have the Herald-Palladium on microfilm.
· Chamber of Commerce.
· Special events that happen each year in your community.
· Cultural centers - museums, local public library.
· Special libraries, i.e., Lakeland Hospital.
· Have any events taken place in your community that made headlines?
· Government documents from the Benton Harbor Public Library. They are a state and federal depository.

 

Web Sites

 

Getting information from a web site?

If so, know who is responsible, look for a contact person or email address. Is the information well written? Are there spelling errors? Are the sources of any factual information given included? Is the point of view evident? How current is the material? It should include the date when material was first placed and the latest date of revision. Who is the intended audience?



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Search Engines

Search for your city/village/town along with state to see what community related web sites come up.


Examples of search combinations to try when using search engines:

Coloma Michigan chamber commerce
Coloma Michigan average home cost
death rates Coloma Michigan
St. Joseph Michigan zoning
Chamber commerce Bridgman Michigan
Van Buren county Michigan
employment Berrien county Michigan
health statistics Berrien Michigan

 

Suggested Library Database on Social Issues

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Peer Reviewed Articles

What is a peer reviewed (refereed) journal?

  1. Please note that journals ARE magazines.
  2. What makes a magazine a scholarly journal is that the articles have been reviewed or refereed by the authors' peers, i.e., an editorial board of specialists in the field of research who evaluate the content and methodology of the author(s) work and results.
  3. Editorial board information generally appears on the inside cover page or title page.

Peer reviewed articles may be found on the databases listed below. Consult your database handout to locate off-campus passwords for these databases. Limit your search to Peer Reviewed or Refereed Publications, depending on the database selected.

EBSCOhost Research Databases:

InfoTrac Databases:

FirstSearch Databases:

 

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