Monsters, Marvels and Messiahs: Europe during the Age of Discovery

Library Catalogs
Reference Books
Indexes and Databases
Tips for Efficient Research

Professor: Dallas Denery
Librarian: Ginny Hopcroft
Spring 2007


Library Catalogs

Bowdoin College Library Catalog
Search this catalog for books, videos, microfilm, web sites, etc. owned or subscribed to here at Bowdoin.

MaineCat
Search the combined holdings of most Maine Libraries; users make ILL requests online; materials arrive from Colby and Bates in two days.

NExpress
Locate books and articles within the combined collections of Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Williams, Northeastern and Wellesley; users make ILL requests online.

WorldCat
A union catalog for book/monograph holdings for academic libraries nationwide.

In these catalogs, you can search either by keyword or by subject heading. Some useful subject headings for this research in this class:

  • Voyages and Travels
  • Pilgrims and Pilgrimages
  • Travel (by country)
  • Ethnology
  • Discoveries in Geography

Reference Books

Europe 1450 to 1789
Main Ref D209 .E97

The Longman Handbook of Early Modern Europe
Main Ref D209 .C66 2001

Encyclopedia of European Social History
Main Ref HN373 .E63 2001

Indexes and Databases

Historical Abstracts
Index of the scholarly literature of history, 1475 to present, for all countries except North America.

Iter
Index for academic journal articles, books and dissertations in Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

Early English Books Online (EEBO)
Database of digitized literature written between 1475 and 1700; includes 125,000 titles.

Tips for Efficient Research

  • Consult Get Started with Your Research for information on choosing a topic, database searching, secondary and primary sources, etc.
  • Start with a keyword search in any online index, catalog or database.
  • Then, look for subject headings/descriptors in the individual records. Use them to expand your search or make it more specific.
  • When you find a relevant book, browse nearby shelves for others on the same topic.
  • Gather a few articles and books and read them before doing more research to understand your topic and to focus effectively.
  • As you read, check bibliographies and footnotes for more sources
  • Consult your department’s reference librarian, Ginny Hopcroft, at ghopcrof@bowdoin.edu or X3298 or the librarians at the reference desk