WorldCat is the union catalog of all libraries in the huge library network called "OCLC." Most items are cataloged using the same Library of Congress subject headings used at Dartmouth. Items not available in the Dartmouth collection can be requested via : Interlibrary Loan & BorrowDirect
Relevant titles fall throughout our collection, but the key call number sections are:
Our general stacks collection is large enough to make browsing a bit unwieldy, but you can browse online catalog records using the catalog's Library of Congress Call Number search.
E-F | History of the Americas |
E75-99 | Native American history |
E75-77 | General history |
E78 (A-Z) | Regional history (alphabetical by state, province, region, etc.) e.g., E78.A3 = Alaska; E78.C2 = Canada ; E78.N78 = Northwest Coast |
E81-87 | Wars & captivities |
E89-90 | Biographies |
E91-93 | Gov't relations E91=General; E92=Canada; E93=US |
E96-97 | Education |
E98 (A-Z) | Special topics, A-Z e.g., E98.C6 = Claims; E98.L3 = Land tenure; E98.T77 = Tribal Gov't |
E99 (A-Z) | Tribal histories, A-Z e.g., E99.C5 = Cherokee; E99.S28 = Seminole |
K | Law |
KE | Canadian Law |
KE7701-7749 | Canadian First Nations Law |
KE 7701-7722 | Canadian First Nations Law (Federal) |
KE 7735-7739 | Canadian First Nations Law (Indigenous legal systems) |
KEA-KEZ | Canadian Law (Provincial & Local) |
KF | US Law |
KF 8201-8210 | US Federal Indian Law |
KF 8220-8224 | Tribal Law (collective) |
KF 8228 (A-Z) | Individual Tribes (A-Z) |
KFA-KFZ | US Law (State & Local) |
Keyword search
Keyword searches can be simple -- searching across the full catalog record:
Or complex & field-specific (the "S:" in this example limits the search to the subject fields; the wildcard/truncation character "*" finds word stems):
When searching the library catalog, pay attention to the subject headings assigned to relevant titles. Refining your search using the same subject heading terminology may yield more precise results.
Subject search
We use standardized subject headings to describe the content of our collection. Browsing the headings in subject search results can be especially useful for broad or unfamiliar topics. Subject searches also tie in to a cross-referencing system, pointing to alternative or related headings. [Keyword searches don't tie in to these cross-references.]
The Library of Congress uses the heading "Indians of North America" to describe the broader Native American community. This heading is usually qualified with subheadings -- usually set off with hyphens to indicate geography, time period, topical subdivision, etc.
"Indian" also qualifies many specific headings, either as a main heading (e.g., Indian Art ) or a sub-heading (e.g., American literature -- Indian authors.)
Related headings include:
In addition to these broad headings, try searching by individual community or cultural topic.
Also be aware of these common subheadings applied at the pan-Indian & individual level:
Rather than searching a database, try browsing a print bibliography on the subject.