Consider the Source: A Critical Guide to 100 Prominent News and Information Sites on the Web

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF 070.579 B78C

Using news or newspapers in your research?  Not sure of the quality, the bias or the history of the source?  Consider consulting this volume.

Focusing on 100 news and newspaper sites this book provides an overview, type of coverage, leaning and the authors’ personal rating of each site discussed.

Examples include: Asia Times Online, BBC, Congressional Quarterly, Times of India, Rotten Tomatoes.

Helpful for: Humanities IV, Humanities V,  Media Watchers, Journalism, Those conducting news and newspaper related research

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The following is an excerpt from an article found in the Alumni Horae Digital Archive, now available online.  The Spring 1991 issue of the Alumni Horae celebrated the then newly completed and dedicated Ohrstrom Library.  In her article, The Libraries of St. Paul’s School, Librarian Rosemarie Cassels-Brown wrote her reflections on the place Ohrstrom Library would fill in this ongoing history:

On a cold, sunny, but as yet snowless January day, just after the School returned from Christmas vacation, a colorful line of students and faculty, clad in parkas and heavy winter coats, stretched across from Sheldon to Ohrstrom. Piles of books were handed along, to be placed on the shelves in our new library. Conversations in the line were animated; the mood was one of celebration. . . . Although in terms of the number of books moved in this fashion it was a largely symbolic gesture, to those participating in the book brigade it meant: this is our library, . . .

I sometimes wonder, as I move through this extraordinary building or take visitors around, what those who dedicated so much of their time and energy to the library in the early years of the School would think if they could see our new Ohrstrom Library —a spacious building, full of light, where students and teachers can pursue serious research as well as read for pleasure; . . . I hope our predecessors might be persuaded that in spite of much that would be new or unfamiliar to them, we are still concerned to be “an effective agency in the literary culture of the [students].”

To read the full article click HERE to access the Alumni Horae Digital Archive, then under the “Browse” tab, in the “1990 – 1999″ folder, look for the “Spring 1991″ folder for The Libraries of St. Paul’s School article in that edition of the Alumni Horae.

Article Source:

Cassels-Brown, Rosemarie. “The Libraries of St. Paul’s School.” Alumni Horae
Spring 1991: 16. Alumni Horae Digital Archive. Ohrstrom Lib., St. Paul’s
School, Concord, NH. 2 June 2009 <http://archives.sps.edu/>.

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1. Alumni Horae Digital Archive Launch
2. New Archives Online Exhibit: The Rectors of SPS
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Gathering primary sources for your Fifth Form paper?  Ohrstrom Library offers the following sources and suggestions:

Online Databases:
These databases, available through the Library’s website, are those most commonly used by Fifth Formers looking for primary source periodical material.

• London Times – Provides the full-text of this newspaper from 1785-1985.

• Historical Newspaper Collection – Provides the full-text of 6 major U.S. newspapers from 1851 through the early 2000s.

• JSTOR – features a collection of 750+ journals, most dating from at least the 1800s forward.  (Note, be sure to watch the date.  A recent article on your topic represents current research, not a likely primary source.)

Books – More Primary Source Potential:
You can locate primary sources published in book form by using the following terms as subject searches in the Library’s Online Catalog.  Or, conduct a keyword search using one term below combined with your topic (i.e. Correspondence, Darwin; or Sources, Inquisition).

• Correspondence
• Diaries
• Interviews
• Personal narratives
• Speeches
• Sources

Frequently, primary sources are embedded within books considered secondary sources.  For example, a book about the Cold War may contain the text of a relevant speech, letter and/or legal document.

Venturing Online – Visit the Library @ Delicious:
The Library has begun collecting high quality websites in its own Delicious account.  Click on the “Primary Sources” tag to generate a list of websites housing exceptional collections of primary sources.  Top picks are also listed in the Fifth Form paper research guide.

Google Advanced Search Techniques:
As a final online tip, try searching your subject in Google, but first, limit the domain to .edu and add the word archives to your search string.  If a University or College library has digitized a special collection in your area of research, this search could help you find it.

Related posts:

1. The Primary Source Hunt: OAIster
2. Desperately Seeking Primary Sources: The 4th Form Paper Research Guide
3. A Friend Indeed: Fifth Form Paper Research Guide

Just in time for the Fifth Form Humanities research paper assignments, Ohrstrom Library staff members have prepared an online research guide to help you through the process. The Fifth Form Paper Research Guide has been added to the Ohrstrom Blog and contains key information, such as:

• A list of reference books in the library that can help you find a topic
• Step-by-Step guide to the research process
• Search strategies for finding periodical articles in magazines, newspapers, scholarly journals, reports, and more
• A list of librarian approved web resources for accessing photos, artwork, video and other documents and primary sources
• A link to our Delicious account where you can access more, newly added librarian approved web resources

You can access this research guide by clicking HERE. There are also permanent links in the blog sidebar under the “Research Guides” list heading, a link in the fly-out menu of the Ohrstrom Library website under “Research > Research Guides”, and a link on the Ohrstrom Library main page in Blackboard (Click on “Ohrstrom Library” in your course list).

This research guide will be your best friend over the next few weeks, so be sure to bookmark it and visit it often throughout the research phase of the assignment. For additional research assistance contact Ms. Sanborn or any of the Ohrstrom Library Staff.

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In honor of the upcoming Earth Day Celebration Ohrstrom Library would like to highlight two environmental magazines in the periodicals collection.  First up is The Ecologist, a magazine that proclaims itself to be “The world’s leading environmental magazine”.   The Ecologist is published in London, but it features articles that are universally relevant.  In the April issue, “Sick as a pig” focuses on the rise in antibiotic resistance that is being transferred from farm animals to humans.  Another article, “Possum or polar bear” cautions that polar bears are not the only species facing threats from global warming.  In fact, there are many tropical species suffering from rising global temperatures.  The Ecologist is published ten times a year, and an online version is available at www.theecologist.org.

Wildlife Conservation published by the Wildlife Conservation Society is another interesting environmental magazine available in the Library.  Published six times a year, it features articles detailing on-going research and conservation efforts worldwide.  Articles from the most recent issue include “The Great Barranquero City of El Condor”  which details efforts to save the nesting area of the world’s largest parrot colony along the South Atlantic shore in Argentina.  In “The secret family life of cougars” you can read about scientists who are using GPS technology and DNA analysis to track the movements of cougar “families”.

Take a moment and browse the back issues of these two journals.  Both are filled with thought provoking articles and stunning photography.

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Just in time for the Fourth Form research paper assignments, Ohrstrom Library staff members have prepared an online research guide to help you through the process.  The Fourth Form Paper Research Guide has been added to the Ohrstrom Blog and contains key information, such as:

• A list of reference books in the library that are chocked full of primary source materials
• A list of reference books in the library that feature chronologies and timelines
• Search strategies for finding other books on your topic
• Tips on finding periodical articles in magazines, newspapers, scholarly journals, reports, and more
• A list of librarian approved web resources for accessing photos, census data, artwork, video and other documents

You can access this research guide by clicking HERE.  There are also permanent links in the blog sidebar under the “Research Guides” list heading, a link in the fly-out menu of the Ohrstrom Library website under “Research > Research Guides”, and a link on the Ohrstrom Library main page in Blackboard (Click on “Ohrstrom Library” in your course list).

This research guide will be your best friend over the next few weeks, so be sure to bookmark it and visit it often throughout the research phase of the assignment.  For additional research assistance contact Ms. Sanborn or any of the Ohrstrom Library Staff.

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3. Library Research at ASP

Even with less than a week left until Election Day it’s still not too late to learn about the presidential candidates.

Are you 18 and old enough to vote?
Are you still undecided?
Do you want to learn more about the presidential campaign?

The print magazine collection at Ohrstrom Library contains a wealth of information and articles on the presidential campaign.  Ohrstrom Library maintains subscriptions to numerous weekly news magazines which closely follow the campaign.  You can spend time browsing Time, Newsweek or US News & World Reports.  Maclean’s Magazine will provide a Canadian view of the US elections, while The Spectator, published in the United Kingdom, offers a British take on things.

Ohrstrom Library has print magazines to suit everyone’s political views.  Below are three titles that you can find in the periodicals room at Ohrstrom.  The short descriptions were taken from the 2008 edition of Magazines for Libraries (Ref. 016 K15 2008).

“The Nation is a decidedly liberal publication.” (p. 723)

“The New Republic is pretty much the closest you can come to objective coverage of Washington from an insider’s perspective.” (p. 724)

“National Review is most certainly a conservative voice on current issues and news.” (p. 724)

Get informed and be sure to vote on Tuesday, November 4th!

Image courtesy of Clubjuggler under this Creative Common license.

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ProQuest offers access to English-language versions of several major international newspapers.  Follow the steps below to find the information you need:

Step 1: From the Ohrstrom Website – Select ProQuest Periodicals

Step 2: Click on “Databases Selected” to limit searching

Step 3: Select: International Newspapers

*Tip:  Click the “View Titles” option to browse by title.

Step 4: Select your paper and browse by date or search by keyword.

Helpful for:  Humanities III, Humanities in general, Newspaper readers

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The sidebar of Ohrstrom Blog now features feeds from all of the daily newspapers that we subscribe to with the exception of The Wall Street Journal.  If you are interested in a quick headline fix take a moment to check out today’s feeds, or add these feeds to your own feed reader using the links at the end of the post.

The Wall Street Journal doesn’t offer your average RSS feed, but instead has this overly clever flashy widget / gadget.  I can’t seem to format it to fit the width of the blog sidebar, so I have put it on this post page where it can spin and whirl in all its glory. You can change news categories by clicking on “Edit” in the upper right hand corner of the widget, which makes it whiz around like a slot machine.  You can then use the up and down arrows on the bottom to scroll through the headlines. I have included a permalink to this post in the sidebar with the rest of the RSS newspaper feeds.

Add these feeds to your reader and stay in touch with world beyond Millville:

Boston Globe Feeds

Concord Monitor Feed (local news feed – others available at www.concordmonitor.com by clicking the orange RSS feed buttons in the news category headings)

New York Times Feeds

Union Leader Feed

Wall Street Journal Newsreel Widget Add it to Facebook, Google, as a Vista desktop widget, and many other applications.

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3. The New York Times: All the news that’s fit to print (or surf)

There are several ways to access The New York Times through Ohrstrom Library – online or in the library, choose the one that fits your needs and stay connected to a great source of information.

Current News: Come to the library!  We love to see you!  The print version of  The New York Times is delivered to the library daily and is available in the periodicals room on the library’s main level.
Can’t make it in?  Try ProQuest (available from the library’s website HERE) providing access to the New York Times from 1980 to the present day.  Select the publications tab and search for “New York Times”.  Or, for instant gratification, use THIS LINK (so long as you’re online on campus).

Historical News: Feeling old-school?  We have The New York Times archive, 1851-2008, available on microfilm on the library’s lower level.

For Easier Access: Consider using The Historical Newspaper Collection.  This online database, available at the library’s website HERE, provides access to The New York Times from 1851-2001 (as well as a few other newspapers).

Fun search fact: Check out the search box in the upper right-hand corner to quickly search headlines appearing on your birthday.

RSS Feed: The Times offers a wide selection of RSS feeds in a variety of themes.  Customize the daily feed headlines coming to your feed reader to support your own special interests in news.  You can access the list of feeds HERE.

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