FTV/LGBTS/WS M98T
Queer Women &
Hollywood
Winter 2007
Library Research
Guide
Ellen Broidy
Librarian for
Women’s Studies and LGBT Studies
11360 YRL
(310) 825-1324
This guide is designed as an introduction to print (“real”) and online (“virtual”) resources critical for accessing materials on topics related to queer women and Hollywood at the UCLA Library. It is extremely selective, both in terms of the sources cited and the research strategies recommended. In other words, there is a lot more out there; hopefully, this will provide some useful suggestions for completing your major research paper.
The guide covers the following areas:
I. Basic research strategies and tips
II. UCLA Library Homepage
III. Finding books and other library materials
IV. Finding articles
V. Full-text journals on the web
VI. Other useful websites
I. Basic research strategies and tips
I.1. Search tips ~Systems and Serendipity: Successful research is often a combination of systematic approaches and, when appropriate, serendipity.
I.2. Topic Identification and Description: Identify a topic of interest and describe it as narrowly/focused as possible. Consider subtopics, perspective you wish to take, geographical and/or chronological focus. Ask: What? Who? When? Where?
I.3. Search Vocabulary: Make a list of search terms (keywords) that describe your topic. Include synonyms, relevant proper names, etc. Avoid very common words if possible, but also include some general (e.g., cinema) as well as precise descriptors.
I.4. Truncation: Use truncation symbols (?, *, or #) building on the root of a word or within a term to expand your retrieval. Specific symbol depends on the system you're using (UCLA Library Catalog (OPAC), MELVYL®, or a database).
Examples:
wom#n = woman or women
lesbian? = lesbian, lesbians, lesbianism
I.5. Call Numbers: Call numbers are determined by the first/primary subject heading of the publication. Thus, most (but not always necessarily all) books on lesbianism in motion pictures, for instance, will be classed and shelved together. Once you find a promising call number(s) for your topic, browse the shelves in that area for serendipitous discoveries of other items that might be of interest/use.
I.6. Search Documentation: Keep careful track of your research process: sources consulted, date ranges covered, search terms used, as well as promising citations. Use a notebook, index cards (print or online version), and/or email messages to yourself, etc.
I.7 What to consider when assessing the quality and usefulness of an item (for print and electronic resources):
Author: Credentials?
Scholar? Academic Field? Other publications?
Publisher: Academic or trade press? Small press? Other?
Notes: Bibliography? Index? Footnotes?
Journal: Scholarly journal or popular magazine?
Date:
Original publication date (unless revised); critically important.
Reviewed: If a book, can you locate (favorable) book reviews on this item?
This is the front door to a wide variety of print and
electronic resources in Film and Television Studies; MELVYL®, the union catalog
for the
III. Finding books and other library materials
Identifying and locating books on your topic is most conveniently done through a keyword or subject (heading) search using the UCLA Library Catalog or the UC systemwide MELVYL® Catalog. Keyword searching (when available) is the most flexible, usually producing the largest retrieval (often including "false drops"), while subject searching can often be more precise since it relies on authorized Library of Congress Subject Headings.
III.1. Library of Congress Subject Headings
Although the advent of online catalogs with keyword search capabilities has sounded the death knell for rigidly structured subject heading/classification schemes, it is still worth considering how language is used to organize materials in a research library. For example, it is possible (and frequently extremely beneficial) to do a subject search in the UCLA Library Catalog (the OPAC) or MELVYL® using Library of Congress subject headings.
A subject heading is a word or term that describes, often quite broadly, the contents of a book, journal article, videotape, dataset, etc. All nonfiction books and media are assigned one or more subject headings, allowing for multiple points of access to the same item. "Authorized" headings are found listed in Library of Congress Subject Headings, a four-volume set with a bright red cover located in YRL Reference (Z695.Z8 L524a).
Here are some possible subject headings for Queer Women & Hollywood topics:
lesbianism in motion pictures
women in motion pictures
women in television
homosexuality and motion pictures
homosexuality in motion pictures
homosexuality in television
bisexuality in television
gays in popular culture
sex in popular culture
III.2 Keyword/title/author searching
Other good ways to identify subject headings for your
topic include doing a keyword, author or title search in the UCLA Library
Catalog or MELVYL® and then displaying results in a format that shows subject
headings. Note subject headings for the most promising items, click on
subject heading to execute a search on that subject.
III.3 UCLA Library Catalog and beyond
The UCLA Library Catalog provides quick and efficient access to the holdings of the UCLA Library. The catalog should be your first stop for books, periodicals, media and other monographic materials. In addition, it is one of the places to search for electronic resources as well.
For materials not held at UCLA, try the MELVYL® Catalog which lists the
holdings of the entire
IV. Finding articles: periodical indexes and abstracting services
The most convenient direct access to periodical indexes and abstracts is also through the UCLA Library Homepage. Click on search and find and then on article databases or electronic resources. If you know a particular title, you can search for it here.
Film Literature Index
(FLI Online)
The FLI Online contains approximately 700,000 citations to
journal articles on film and television, film reviews and book reviews
published between 1976-2001.
Film Index
International – combined with AFI
Provides in-depth indexing of over 115,000 films - from the first silent movies to the latest blockbusters - and biographical information for almost 57,000 personalities. Its rich content also includes coverage of international film awards and prizes as well as searchable plot summaries and full cast and crew lists. Links to articles follow the plot summaries, cast and crew lists.
FIAF:
International Film Archive Databases
International index to film periodicals, 1972- ; International index to television periodicals, 1979- ; List of periodicals indexed; Treasures from the film archives; International directory of film and TV documentation collections; and Bibliography of FIAF members' publications.
International Index
to the Performing Arts – IIPA Full-Text
Covers arts and entertainment industry-including dance, film, television, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, broadcast arts, circus performance, comedy, storytelling, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic.
A resource for literature regarding gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues. Contains indexing and abstracts for more than 120 GLBT-specific core periodicals. Also contains data mined from over 40 priority periodicals as well as data mined from over 1400 select titles. Includes over 50,000 records relevant to all areas of GLBT studies selected from Sexual Diversity Studies database.
The Contemporary Women's Issues database provides full-text access to global information on women. Journals, newsletters, and research reports from non-profit groups, government and international agencies are easily accessed through CWI. Information on women in over 190 countries is compiled in a single collection bringing together such disciplines as sociology, psychology, health, education, business administration and political science. Coverage: 1992-present.
Contains the full text of publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas from the 1970's to the present. Provides in-depth coverage of subjects that are uniquely central to women's lives. Publications include academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets and pamphlets, conference proceedings, and government, non-governmental organization, and special reports. The complete text of journal articles is available on the database for all or some of the journals indexed.
Provides selected full-text articles and images from 2,600 scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers, with the earliest citations dating back to 1980. Spans all academic disciplines from arts and humanities to social sciences, science, and technology.
V. Full-text journals
on the Web
Full text of core scholarly journals from their beginning to approximately three-five years ago. Disciplines include botany, business, ecology, general science, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, statistics. Browsable by discipline and full-text searchable across all disciplines. Titles of interest to FTV 98 include:
Cinema Journal (1966-2003)
Film Quarterly (1958-2004)
PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art (1998-2001)
Feminist Review (1979-2001)
Feminist Studies (1972-1999)
Frontiers (1975-2001)
Gender and Society (1987-2003)
Signs (1975-2002 – plus link to current issues)
Full text of current issues (from about 1990) of scholarly journals published by university presses, chiefly in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Browsable by titles and full-text subject searching across titles. Titles of interest to FTV 98 include:
Camera Obscura (2000-2004 only)
Cinema Journal (1999- )
Film & History (2004- )
Film History (2005- )
Moving Image (2003- )
Velvet Light Trap (2003)
GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies (2000- )
VII. Other useful
websites