Introduction

This pathfinder has been created for Mrs. Hoffman's Government class. You may use the library computers to access books, databases and reliable websites for your research. Mrs. Hoffman asks that you document the sites you use.

Keywords and Dewey Numbers

Library Catalog

To find books in the library, click on the Library Catalog icon at left . Click the Power Search tab, type your search in the Everything box, change Type to book, click GO.

Search keywords like president, presidency, your president's name, his wife's name, presidential timelines, other names associated with your president, like Henry Kissinger, and events associated with your president, like Watergate.

Use the following Dewey numbers to simply locate areas of the library that may have books about your president:

B (biographies)

973s

920s

Print Resources - these have been pulled and are on a library cart. Please return these and any other books you take from the shelves to the cart(s).

• The Presidency A-Z  - R 973 P (on cart)
• Facts About the Presidents - R 973 K (on cart)
• American National Biography - R 920 A (in reference section)
• American Decades books - R 973.92 A (on cart)
• Encyclopedia Americana - R 031 E (on cart)
• World Book Encyclopedia - R 031 W (on cart)

Online Databases

    Powersearch

• Leave Type of Information at Special Mix to search for general informaton about your president.
• Change Type of Information to Reference Facts to search for reference articles from encyclopedias - search "presidential timelines" & "american presidents" here.
• Change Type of Information to News & Reports for newspaper, magazine, and journal articles about your president.
• Change Type of Information to Biography for basic biographical information about the life of your president.
• Change Type of Information to History for "history timelines" & historical information about your president's time in office as well as his personal life.

Websites

  netTrekker

Click on the netTrekker icon at left to search RELIABLE databases for information on your president.

For a picture of your president, click on the netTrekker icon at left, then click on IMAGES near the top left of the page. Finally, type in your president's name and click search.

Finding a website on your own? Use these resources for evaluating the site.

• Web Evaluation for Secondary Grades
• Evaluation Criteria from "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources
• Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
• Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools
• Blue Web'n Site Evaluation Rubric

To find more information on your president 1. Click on the Grolier Online Passport icon at left. 2. Click on Encyclopedia Americana at the left of the page. 3. Type your president's name in the "Find It Fast" box at the top of the page.

 

Try these links for more information:

POTUS - Presidents of the United States:

http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/

 

Try these links for census information:

Census totals by decades:

http://www.census.gov/population/censusdata/table-2.pdf

Largest cities and other urban places:

http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html

 Look down to a section titled "Detailed Tables" for largest cities.

Estimated U.S. population today:

http://www.census.gov/

 

Citing Sources

Don't neglect to cite your sources. Use these sites for MLA documentation.

• Citation Maker
• Citation Machine
• OttoBib
• Easy Bib