Primary Contact:
Sue Cody
Email:
codys@uncw.edu
Phone:
910-962-7409
IM Chat Name:
AIM: sueann53

Background & Overviews

These reference tools are useful for getting a quick overview of a topic. Use these resources to familiarize yourself with the important issues, terms, dates, and trends in the subject area.

The Cambridge encyclopedia of Russia and the former Soviet UnionUNCW Reference DK14 .C35 1994

Encyclopedia of Russian history : from the Christianization of Kiev to the break-up of the U.S.S.R.UNCW Reference DK36 .P39 1993

Modern Encyclopedia of Russian, Soviet and Eurasian History.UNCW Reference DK14 .M6

The newly independent states of Eurasia : handbook of former Soviet republics UNCW Reference DK17 .B34 1993 (a second copy is in the General Collection)

Subject Headings

The library catalog uses Library of Congress Subject Headings. The list of authorized subject headings is available in the 5-volume set at the Reference Desk. However, you can start with keyword searches to gather some relevant titles, then look at their subject headings to discover the official terms to use.

Here are some subject headings related to the final years of the Soviet Union:

Communist countries
Former communist countries
Former Soviet republics
Former Yugoslav republics
Glastnost
Perestroika
Post Communism
Russia (Federation)
Russification
Soviet Union -- Economic policies -- 1986-1991
Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- 1985-1991
Soviet Union -- History -- 1985-1991
Soviet Union -- Intellectual life -- 1970-1991
Soviet Union -- Politics and government -- 1985-1991
Soviet Union -- Social conditions -- 1945-1991
Soviet Union -- Social condition -- 1970-1991
Soviet Union -- Social life and customs -- 1970-1991

More on Subject Searching:

Catalogers use the most precise subject heading to describe a publication. For instance, books on several of the former Soviet republics will have the heading "Former Soviet Republics," while books on Ukraine will have the heading "Ukraine" but not necessarily also have the heading "Former Soviet Republics." However, a search on both headings is likely to turn up information on Ukraine. Searching both broad and narrow headings and looking for related headings will yield better results.

Just because an item's subject heading does not include "History" as a subdivision does not mean it has no history in it. In particular, look at the publication date. It may be a source contemporary to the period, i. e., a primary source.

Even if you are doing a keyword search, using phrases from the subject headings typically improves the relevance of your results.

Browsing

After finding some sources through searching the online catalog, be sure to browse the shelves near these times. The call numbers are devised to place materials on the same subject together on the shelf. In the catalog, the call number is presented as a link, so you can even browse the shelves when searching the catalog:

You may also wish to browse the Reference Collection to see what special sources are available. A basic outline of the Library of Congress Classification Scheme is at http://library.uncwil.edu/is/outlinelc.html. For more detail, see the outline from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html

Scholarly Journal Databases & Indexes
Use these databases and journal indexes to search for articles in journals and magazines.

ABSEESAmerican Bibliography of Slavic and Eastern European Studies. Citations to journal articles, book chapters, book reviews and dissertations. 1990 - present
Historical Abstracts Indexes and summarizes article and reviews about world history since 1450 published since 1954 in over 1, 700 journals.

JSTOR Full-text searching of an archive of over 40 history and 25 political science journals. Typically excludes the latest 3-5 years of publication.

PAIS International - This database contains references to journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference reports, publications of international agencies, microfiche, Internet material, and more. PAIS International includes publications from over 120 countries throughout the world. 1972 - present

More Databases
These databases lead to other useful information. The descriptions provide details on the publications types they lead to:

WorldCat The union catalog of over 9,000 member libraries. Over one billion bibliographic records for books, periodicals, videos, manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, and internet resources. Includes information on which libraries own an item, and links to the Randall Library Interlibrary Loan system (ILLiad).

Biography & Genealogy Master Index This resource indexes more than 12.7 million biographical sketches in more than 3,400 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world. After you find which resources contain a biographical sketch you need, search the online catalog for the book. References to Biography Index (Index CT100 .B6) will ultimately lead to books, book chapters or periodical articles.

Primary Sources

See the guide "Finding Primary Resources for Historical Research" for a more complete discussion of the library's resources. For public policy history, be sure to consider the following searches and sources:

Search the Randall Library catalog and WorldCatfor policy makers' names as authors. This should retrieve their memoirs, diaries and correspondence.

As you search subject topics in the catalog and WorldCat, note that the following subdivisions indicate primary source material:

correspondence*
diaries*
interviews*
personal narratives
pictorial works
songs and music
sources
speeches, addresses, etc.*
treaties

Don't miss these collections of source material:

Revelations from the Russian archives : documents in English translation. UNCW Reference CD1711 .R488 1997

The rise and fall of the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 UNCW Reference DK266 .S28 1999

Newspapers and Popular Magazines can provide both factual information and insight on the prevailing views of the period.

Current Digest of the Soviet Pressand Current Digest of the Post Soviet Press. Located in the Bound Journals Collection, 1991-1997.

Pravda -- 1987 only, on microfilm. Index for the year can be found in INDEX AI21 .P73 P7.

New York Times Archive Full-image online access for the NYT from 1851 to 2001. (The library also has access to current issues online through Lexis Nexis and ProQuest.)

Also search general databases such as MasterFILE Premier (EbscoHost) or Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe for popular press coverage of the period.

More Web Resources

The free web is becoming a rich resource for primary source material. In particular, try these resources:

Russian and East European Network Information Center.http://reenic.utexas.edu/reenic/index.html

Russia Profile. http://www.russiaprofile.org/index.wbp

REES Web.http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/reesweb/

Russia on the Web. http://www.ru/eng/index.html

Internet Modern History Sourcebook http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/Links to both primary and secondary sources on the web relating to many aspects of modern history.

Last Update: January 24, 2006