What should I do if I don’t know my UW Colleges username and password?
If you don’t know your username and/or password, select “Access your UW Colleges logon information” on the webpage UWC Student Account Help. You can also contact the Information Technology Staff at your local UW Colleges campus, or the Help Desk at the UW Colleges.

How do I find/get books, videos, DVDs, CDs, or other materials by/about American Indians held in the Colleges libraries?
Use the UW Colleges Web Catalog to identify books, videos, DVDs, CDs, etc. Items can be located by using either the Basic or Advanced search methods. For example, if you were researching forestry practices among the Menominee, using Basic Search, you might type Menominee Indians in the first search box. By default you would search these words as “all of the terms”. Instead use the drop-down menu to search the terms “as a phrase”. Then, at the “In:” drop-down menu, select “Subject Keyword”.

In the second search box, you might type forest? (the question mark truncates the word forest to include forests, forestry, etc.) At the “In:” drop-down menu, select Keyword (any field)..

Checking the And radio button (between the search boxes) will help locate items that include both of your search strategies, and will help narrow your results. The Or radio button would find records with either search string, widening your possible results. The Not button would eliminate items with any terms in the second box from your search results. The Not option should only be used as a last result as it may eliminate items unnecessarily. Finally, hit the Search button. (See screen capture below):

The next screen lists the titles, authors, and publication dates of the items found in the UW Colleges web catalog that include our search terms:

From this, click on Sustaining the forest, the people and the spirit / Thomas Davis to see more information about this title as shown below:

Note that this title is held at the Baraboo, Fond du Lac, Fox Valley, and Washington campus libraries.

It is important to know that there are differences between and Keyword (Any Field) and a Subject Keyword search. Keyword (Any Field) will give you the most comprehensive results as this search includes all fields, including title, author, subject, and notes of each record. Subject Keyword will only search the subject field of each record.

How do I check out materials from the UW Colleges libraries?

When you have located an item you want in the catalog, you can go to the library that owns the item and check it out, or request that the item be sent to a library near you, and check it out there. Use the Place Requests button at the top of the screen if you want to have the item sent to a UW Colleges library near you.

After selecting the Place Requests button, you will be prompted to enter your UW Colleges ID Number (barcode) and Last Name. Then hit Login.

You will see how many requests you have available, hit OK.

At the final screen select your pick-up location, re-enter your UW Colleges ID # and Submit Request. After completing these steps you should see the message “Your request was successful”. If you have any problems, please notify Online Library Support by calling 877-861-6203 or fill out our help form: http://library.uwc.edu/OLS/forms/askref.html

You can check the status of your request by selecting the Your Account button. The item you requested should be available at the campus you have chosen in 2-4 business days. You may want to telephone the campus library to make sure the item is available for check out.

Can I request items from all UW System libraries, not just the Colleges?

Yes, when searching the library catalog, select the More Libraries button. In the drop-down menu on the next screen select All Universal Borrowing/ UW System Libraries. This will allow you to search all four-year university libraries simultaneously. You can borrow most circulating items from them just as you would from the UW Colleges libraries.

Can I get library materials even if I cannot visit a UW System library?

Yes. If you do not live near a UW System library you may request to have items mailed to you by Online Library Support. You may place requests for items using ILLiad our Interlibrary Loan system.
 

Library Terminology and Research Practices

Why are journals, magazines, newspapers called periodicals? What is a scholarly journal?

Journals, magazines, and newspapers are called periodicals because they are published “periodically” at fixed intervals such as quarterly, bimonthly, monthly, weekly, or daily. Scholarly journals are periodicals that publish articles written by and for scholars, specialists, and students. These articles are reviewed by other experts in the field (“peer reviewed”) and cover original research and/or interpretations.

Scholarly journals in American Indian Studies, for example, include American Indian Art, American Indian Quarterly and American Indian Cultural and Research Journal. An example of a magazine is Native Peoples. There are also many newspapers that publish articles written by Native Americans and that cover topics of interest to Native communities. Some examples are News from Indian Country, Indian Country Today, and Navajo Times.

What is a full-text journal or full-text article?

Many databases will provide only basic citation information for an article. In these cases, you should try to find the full-text article in print in the library, or try to locate the article in another source using the Find It button, or you may place an interlibrary loan for the article using ILLiad.

Databases that include full-text articles allow you to read the complete text of the journal or the article online. You will usually have the option of viewing the full-text (complete) article in two formats: html or PDF. The html format includes only the text of the article and therefore usually loads faster than a PDF; however, PDF pages look just like the original paper documents. They retain the graphs, fonts, and margins of the original article, which may be of interest in your research.

Can I send a full-text article to my Email address?

Yes, you can send full-text articles to your Email address. The procedure involved may slightly differ from database to database, but most of them allow this option. Be sure to follow each database's instructions.

What are some tips for searching periodical databases/indexes?

Always refer to the Help Screens for each database or index, they can save you a lot of time.There is no universal way of searching databases/indexes. But in general, just pick out a couple of keywords and start your search, then refine your search as you go using synonyms, more specific terms, etc. It is usually best to start with broad topics (eg., Native Americans) and then narrow your search (eg., Menominee Indians).

Understanding and using the following Boolean Operators (and, or, not) will also help you broaden or narrow your search:

• If you use the Boolean operator and to combine Wisconsin and Indians, your results list will contain articles that have both Wisconsin and Indians in the searchable fields. This option will generally narrow your results.
   

• If you use the Boolean operator or to combine the terms Wisconsin or Indians, your results list will contain articles that have at least one of the search terms. This option usually increases your results.
   

• If you use the Boolean operator not to combine the terms Wisconsin not Indians, your results list will contain articles that contain the term ‘Wisconsin’ but do not contain the term ‘Indians’.

Wildcard and Truncation symbols are also important to know. They are used to replace unknown characters or to extend the characters in search terms. Often the question mark (?) is used as a wildcard, and the astrisk (*) is used as for truncation. The symbols used by each resource for wildcards and truncation are not uniform, but are usually clearly stated on the database's Help screens:

• An example of using a wildcard would be to insert a wildcard symbol ? between m and n in wom?n to search for the terms women, womyn, and woman. The wildcard generally replaces one character.

• An example of truncation might be to add a truncation symbol * after the term forest* to retrieve articles with the terms forest, forester, forestry, and forests. Truncation may replace one or more characters.

What are primary sources?

In general, primary sources are the words and testimonies of those who participated in, witnessed, or claim firsthand knowledge of an event. These accounts may be written or oral. Treaties, official documents, speeches, laws, audio and visual recordings of actual events, and artifacts are also considered primary sources. (Benjamin, Jules R. A Student's Guide to History. 1991.)

The definition of primary sources may differ depending on the topic of study. For example, if you are studying American Government you might use the constitution as a primary document. But if you are researching civil rights, the constitution might serve as a secondary document.

What are secondary sources?

Secondary sources are those that describe or record the findings of someone who investigated or researched primary sources. Often, scholarly or research articles and books are considered secondary sources. (Benjamin, Jules R. A Student's Guide to History. 1991.)

How do I evaluate information sources?

You will find a lot of information on the Web, in print, or in media formats. Just because something is published, doesn't mean that its content is reliable. As a researcher, here are 4 criteria you can use to help you evaluate information sources.

1. Objectivity. Is there a bias in the information? What is the purpose of the document/article/discussion? Why was it written and for whom?

2. Accuracy. Who wrote the piece? Is the author qualified? Has the content been reviewed by the author's professional peers?

3. Publication date. When was the information source published? Is the publication date critical to the relevancy/currency of the contents? If there are Web links, are they up-to-date?

4. Authority. Who or what organization published the Web page, journal, article, or book? Does the publisher have a reputation for reliability?

(Adapted from Kapoun, Jim. "Teaching undergraduates WEB evaluation" (College & Research Library News. V. 59 (July/August 1998) p. 522-533.

How do I contact UW Colleges Online Library Support for more help?

You may call us toll free at 877-861-6203. You may also send an email message to Online Library Support at ols@uwc.edu. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have!

Using Electronic Resources

Are there electronic books available online for checkout?

All UW Colleges students have access to netLibrary, a collection of ebooks that you can read online. You can find netLibrary listed in the Electronic Resources and Online Databases list. One of the benefits of electronic books is the ability to search the full-text of the book for any keyword. In the example below we searched for Wisconsin and Indians as subject terms:

We found three titles with those terms:

The UW Colleges have more than 36,000 periodical titles available electronically in our various databases. All of these titles can be located in our Find e-Journal list: http://sfx.wisconsin.edu/uwc/azlist/default

To find a specific journal, navigate to the Find e-Journals page, and either search by title or click on the first letter of the title to browse the list alphabetically. This will help you locate the title, and issn #, and a list of databases containing that title. Note that the title holdings in each database may vary.

How do I get articles that are not from periodicals listed in the full-text e-journals list database?

A fast way to get articles that are not in our eResources is through our interlibrary-loan system, ILLiad. Login to ILLiad with your barcode # and last name (lower case) as a password. Then you will have the option of placing either a book, article, or other request. Articles will be delivered electronically via your UW Colleges email account.

How do I locate the full-text of articles when all I have is the citation?

Citation Linker helps you track down articles when you already have a citation. Fill in the appropriate blanks with the information you have and Citation Linker will attempt to locate that specific article in one of our databases. If the journal you want is not available you will still be able to place an interlibrary loan request using ILLiad.

Do some electronic periodical databases/indexes cover American Indian Studies more extensively than others?

There is a difference in depth of coverage. Below are a few titles for you to try. It is often best to search several databases and not limit yourself to just one or two. To help you decide which databases will be most appropriate for your research, read the database descriptions found on the Electronic Resources and Online Databases page.

Academic Search Elite via EbscoHost. Indexes and abstracts articles from nearly 2,880 journals with full text for over 1,250 sources, covering a range of academic areas such as business, social sciences, humanities, general academic, general science, education and multi-cultural subjects.

America: History & Life via ABC-CLIO. A complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Published since 1964, the database comprises almost 400,000 bibliographic entries from over 2,000 journals.

Ethnic NewsWatch via Proquest. Indexes newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Many newspapers from American Indian communities are full-text in this database.

Humanities Full-Text via WilsonWeb. Topics include literature and language, history, philosophy, archaeology, history, andreligion. When you link to this database, you will default to the WilsonWeb homepage. At the homepage, select Humanities Full Text.

JSTOR. A digitized archive of major research journals in a variety of academic disciplines, many of which date back to the 1800s. JSTOR contains the back files of journals; the most recent volumes are two to five years behind the latest issues, depending upon agreements with the journal publishers.

ProQuest Newspapers via Proquest. Includes full-text coverage of several Wisconsin newspapers.

Social Sciences Full-Text via WilsonWeb. Topics include anthropology, family studies, minority studies, political science, and sociology. When you link to this database, you will default to the WilsonWeb homepage. At the homepage, WilsonWeb indexes are listed in the Search In area. However, Social Sciences Full-Text is not immediately visible. To find Social Sciences Full-Text, hit the scroll down bar and then check Social Sciences Full-Text.

What are some helpful Web sites for studying Wisconsin Indian Nations?

Wisconsin Indian Education Association's (WIEA) gives you information about the association and its activities. Contact information is also provided.
Brothertown Indians of Wisconsin official website includes mission, leadership, events and news.
Brothertown site from the Milwaukee Public Museum includes history, culture, sovereignty, and treaty rights.
Brothertown history reprinted from the book A Man Called Sampson by Will and Rudi Ottery in 1989.
College of the Menominee Nation website links to the EBooks collection on Native Americans hosted by the University of Virginia. You can also search the College of the Menominee Nation Library from the site.
Ho-Chunk Nation official website includes government, heritage, and language of the Ho-Chunk.
Menominee Clans Story describes the clan structure of the Menominee Indian Nation.
Mohican Nation Stockbridge-Munsee Band official website includes government, history, news and events.
Stockbridge-Munsee site from the Milwaukee Public Museum includes culture, oral tradition, history, sovereignty, and treaty rights.
Woodland Community Radio/WOJB is a public radio station broadcasting from the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation

Wisconsin Early History
Gottschall Rockshelter: An Archaeology Mystery
First People of Wisconsin (Dr. Pleger)
Archaeological History (Milwaukee Public Museum)
Introduction to Aztalan (Madison Metropolitan School District)
History of Aztalan (Madison Metropolitan School District)
Aztalan Tools (Madison Metropolitan School District)

Crandon Mine
Wisconsin Stewardship Network opposes the mine permit near Crandon as it is currently proposed and will work to strengthen mining laws. Provides links to other mining sites.
Wisconsin Resource Protection Council founded in 1982 to help counter the lack of information about the effect of large-scale metallic sulfide mining.
Wisconsin Review Commission Report (3/24/1995) on the Track Records of Exxon and Rio Algom.
Rio Algom's track record according to the Midwest Treaty Network
Exxon home page.
Midwest Treaty Network is an alliance of Indian and non-Indian groups supporting Native American sovereignty.
Trout Unlimited conserving, protecting, restoring North American coldwater fisheries.

In addition to the Wisconsin sites, are there other helpful Web sites that cover community issues, cultures, and histories of American Indian Nations?

AIROS is American Indian Radio on Satellite. AIROS has links to tribal websites, Native artists, authors, and musicians, and Native organizations.
NativeWeb is a resource database for indigenous cultures throughout the world. The site's resource database links and its links through hosted pages is extensive.
WWW Virtual Library-American Indians is an index of Native American Resources on the Internet. Over 30 topics are covered and the number of links is extensive.
CodeTalk is a federal inter-agency website designed to deliver electronic information from government agencies and other organizations to Native Americans.
Cherokee Nation Phoenix the first American Indian newspaper, continues to be published by the Cherokee Nation.
Indian Arts and Craft Act of 1990 Public Law 101-644. Protection for Products of Indian Art and Craftsmanship
Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is a non-profit organization that assists Indian tribes, organizations and individuals nationwide.
National NAGPRA Legal Mandates and Guidance has the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Links are also provided to resources that assist museums, agencies, and Native American communities in carrying out NAGPRA.
National Congress of American Indians was founded in 1944 and is the oldest and largest tribal government organization in the United States. NCAI serves as a forum for consensus-based policy development among its membership of over 250 tribal governments from every region of the country.
Native American Authors provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal websites. This Website is maintained by the Internet Public Library.