Barnard College Library
Research Guide
Librarian: Jenna Freedman
212.854.4615 AIM BarnardLibJenna

BC3997 - Fall 2005
Research Seminar in Religion
Professor Alan Segal
 

Image: Torii Gate, Itsukuma Shinto Shrine

This guide is intended as a starting point in your research; the databases and reference tools listed here are a selective list. Remember that you can ask for assistance at the Barnard Reference Desk at any point in your research, or you can always request a consultation. 

Reference Books | Searching CLIO
Online Databases | Other Library Catalogs | Subject Guides
Websites | Interlibrary Loan | Request a Consultation

Reference Books: Use for getting an overview of a topic, background information, and finding bibliographies.

Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics  BL31 .E4
Encyclopedia of Religion  BL31 .E46 1987
Religion and Politics : a Reference Handbook  BL65.P7 S76 2002
Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism  BL238 .E63 2001
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism BL1105 .L63 2002
Historical Dictionary of Islamic Fundamentalist Movements in the Arab World, Iran, and Turkey BP60 .M36 1999
Encyclopedia of Early Christianity  BR162.2 .E53 1997
Encyclopedia of Religious Freedom  BV741 .E47 2003
Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean : Greece and Rome  DE59 .C55 1988
The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism BL1202 .B72 2002
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world BP40 .E525 2004
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World DS35.53 .O95 1995
Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanies)  DX115 .K46 1998
Encyclopedia of World Terrorism  HV6431 .E53 2003
International Encyclopedia of Human Rights : Freedoms, Abuses, and Remedies  JC571 .M3243 2000


Searching CLIO

CLIO (Columbia Libraries Information Online) is the on-line catalog for materials added to the Columbia University Libraries since 1981.  

  • For a title search leave off the initial article (the, an, le, etc.)
  • For an author search put last name, then first name
  • For a keyword search you must use and, or or not between the terms, or quotes for a phrase
  • In a keyword search with relevancy ranking, do not use and, or or not between the terms, but put + in front of terms that must be in the record; if + is not used, or is assumed
  • You can limit to books in the Barnard library using the More Limits or Post Limits options


Databases/Indexes 
For a more complete list of electronic databases for religion select Philosophy and Religion in the Browse Subjects box.


Other Library Catalogs The following library catalogs may be of interest or relevance to your research. These libraries' holdings are not in CLIO

  • ALEPH - Jewish Theological Seminary The holdings of the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.
  • BobCatPlus (NYU Libraries) This is the online catalog of NYU's libraries.
  • CATNYP The online catalog of the New York Public Library research collections.
  • LEO The online catalog of the New York Public Library circulating collections.
  • WorldCat A catalog of catalogs--contains records for the holdings of 24,000 libraries.


Additional Barnard and Columbia Resources:


Websites:

  • Al Qaeda Training Manual -- This site, from the U.S. Department of Justice, presents excerpts from the "Al Qaeda Training Manual." Material is selective, as the Department "does not want to aid in educating terrorists or encourage further acts of terrorism." (description from Librarians' Index to the Internet)
  • Responsibility for the Terrorist Atrocities in the United States, 11 September 2001: An Updated Account -- This revised and updated document presents evidence that Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida terrorist network were responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States. Background information on and history of the Taliban and al-Qaida network are provided, as are parallels with the East African embassy bombings and the bombing of the USS Cole. From 10 Downing Street, official site of the British prime minister. (description from Librarians' Index to the Internet)
  • Te Puna Web Directory -- This is a searchable directory of New Zealand and Pacific Island Web sites. Maori listings are extensive. It is fascinating to browse the sites of well-known (Hawaii, the Galapagos) and not so well-known (Niue, Wallis, and Futuna) Pacific Islands. Maintained by Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa (the National Library of New Zealand). (description from Librarians' Index to the Internet)
  • Timeframes -- Over 20,000 images from the Alexander Turnbull Library collection cover "the social and natural history of New Zealand, the Pacific and Antarctica from the earliest European contact to the present." The database features "items of cultural value to Maori people and other New Zealanders." Browsable by subject, and searchable. From the National Library of New Zealand. (description from Librarians' Index to the Internet)


Interlibrary Loan/BorrowDirect Books, articles and dissertations unavailable from the Columbia University Libraries may be obtained from other libraries usually without cost to the reader. Request It services. 


Consultation Requests Complete an online form  requesting a consultation on your research, or come to the Reference Desk on the second floor of the library to fill out a paper request. To contact a reference librarian, e-mail refdesk@barnard.edu or call 212-854-3953. 

Last modified 01/24/06 by Jenna Freedman, Coordinator of Reference Services and Zine Librarian