| Finding
Books
Reserve
Books
Subject
Headings
Reference
Sources
Finding
Articles
Web
Resources
Evaluating
Sources
Citing
Sources
Additional
Help |
Film Subject Guide
Subject
guides are designed to help students begin the research process,
find reputable sources, and save time.
Searching
the Library Catalog for Books & Other Materials
To
locate books and other materials in CCSF Libraries, select the Library
Catalog from the Library's Homepage. You will notice
many ways to search, such as Title, Author, Subject, Subject Keyword,
etc.
Examples of Subject searches include:
Motion pictures, Motion picture acting, Motion picture authorship,
Cinematography, Africans Americans in motion pictures, Feminism
and motion pictures, Musical films, Animated films, Historical films,
Motion picture and history, Documentary films, Science fiction films,
Western films, Horror films, Monsters in motion pictures, Film noir,
Silent films, Women in motion pictures, Homosexuality in motion
pictures.
Reserve Materials
Reserve Materials
include books, sample tests, class notes, and other items that instructors
put at the library for class use. The check out time is shorter
than regular circulating books.
To search for
a book on reserve in the Library
Catalog, select from the pulldown menu, either Reserve
Materials by Course or Reserve Materials by Instructor.
When you have
located the materials, write down the Call Number and Title and
present this to a staff person at the Circulation Desk.
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Browsing the Library Collection
Materials in the
Library are shelved by call number according to the Library
of Congress classification system. Books are arranged on the
shelves by subject. Relevant areas in the collection to find materials
on film include:
|
SUBJECT HEADING
|
CALL NUMBER RANGE
|
| Motion
Pictures |
PN
1993-1999 |
| Film
criticism |
PN
1995 |
| Documentary
film |
PN
1995.9.D5 |
| Women
in motion pictures |
PN
1995.9.W6 |
| Motion
picture authorship |
PN
1996 |
| Cinematography |
TR
845-899 |
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Using
Key Reference Sources
Reference books
provide background information and overviews on a given topic. Some
relevant reference books in film include:
The
Motion Picture Guide.
Chicago: Cinebooks,
1985-
REF
PN 1993 .M334 Rosenberg Reference
International
Motion Picture Almanac.
New York: Quigley Publications.
REF PN 1998 .H433 2001 Rosenberg Reference
Halliwell's
Film and Video Guide.
Robert Jean Campbell. New York, New York: Oxford University Press,
1996.
RC 437 H5 1996 Rosenberg Reference, John Adams Reference.
Nowell-Smith,
Gefffrey, ed. The Oxford History of World Cinema.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
REF PN 1993.5.A1 O96 1995 Rosenberg Reference
Vincendeau,
Ginette, ed. Encyclopedia of European Cinema.
New York: Facts on File, 1995.
REF PN 1993.5.E8 E52 1995 Rosenberg Reference.
Magill, Frank
N., ed. Magill's Survey of Cinema.
Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press, 1981.
REF PN 1995 .M3 1981 Rosenberg Reference.
Thomas, Nicholas,
ed. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers.
Chicago: St. James Press, 1990.
REF PN 1997.8 .I58 1990 Rosenberg Reference.
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Searching
for Articles in Periodical Databases
Periodical databases
group together journal, magazine, and newspaper articles by subject.
They also usually provide abstracts (brief summaries) and the full
text of the articles. Do you need help identifying the differences
between scholarly
journal v. popular magazine articles?
Note:
Most periodical
databases are part of the private, passworded Web, so you
will need to have a current CCSF ID card with a barcode to access
those that CCSF subscribes to. You get the free barcode from the
Library either in person or online.
Infotrac
Web
Infotrac is a brand name for several databases with coverage from
1980 to the present. Most
useful for film topics are the InfoTrac Expanded Academic ASAP,
OneFile. A few examples
of magazines and journals included are: Film Comment,
Film Culture, Film
International, Film Quarterly, Films
in Review, Literature-Film Quarterly,
American
Film, and Journal of Film and Video. Infotrac
allows you to limit your results to articles only from scholarly
journals by checking the box "Refereed titles."
Proquest
Newspapers
Provides full text indexing of the Christian Science Monitor,
Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street journal, and
Washington Post -- Time periods vary.
Ethnic
Newswatch
Comprised of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority
and native press in America, this unique body of materials covers
a wide range of current topics and countless other social, political
and educational subjects. More than 200 publications covering 1995
to the present are represented, and searchable in both English and
Spanish.
SFPL - Electronic
Resources, Magazines, and Newspapers
San Francisco Public Library subscribes to many periodical and reference
databases. You must have a San Francisco Public Library
card number to access them, so even after you
complete your City College courses, you can still access online periodical
and reference
databases using SFPL.
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Finding
Web Resources
Below
are some examples of academic/scholarly web sites for fim and film
studies. If you use a search engine, such as Google,
remember to evaluate
the quality of the results.
The Internet
Movie Database
http://www.imdb.com/search
Collection of movie information close to 150,000 film titles, including
cast lists, plot summaries, awards, trivia, etc.
CineFiles
http://www.mip.berkeley.edu/cinefiles
CineFiles is a database of reviews, press kits, festival and showcase
program notes,
newspaper articles, and other documents from the University of California,
Berkeley, Pacific Film Archives (PFA) Library's collection.
Film-Makers
http://www.film-makers.com
A practical site for filmmakers, film students and film-buffs. This
site also has good tips for
film students to get started in the industry. In addition, it offers
film discussion and film
criticism.
Chicago
Reader on Film
http://www.chireader.com/movies
This is an excellent site for film connoisseurs. It offers brief
reviews of more than 15,000
movies and also has an archive of long reviews of films.
All
Movie Guide
http://allmovie.com
This site allows searching by name (names of two people in the same
film), author of work
on which the film is based, title of work, by location, etc.
Earlycinema.com
http://www.earlycinema.com
This site provides information about the first decade of cinema
and the developments which help shaped cinema as we know it today.
Cinema
Sites
http://www.cinema-sites.com
This site has links to reviews, previews, screenings, magazines,
journals, festivals, and more.
Cinemaniac
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~jpurcell/Cinema/cinema.html
A good site to find information on production, directors, actors,
philosophy of cinema, reviews, and societies.
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Need
More Assistance?
Librarians welcome your questions and can help you
with your research. For additional help you may go to the Reference
Desk at any of the 5 CCSF campus libraries or telephone:
- Rosenberg Library: 415-452-5543
- Alice Statler Library: 415-239-3460
- John Adams Library: 415-561-1946
- Southeast Campus Library: 415-550-4353
- Downtown Campus library: 415-267-6513
eRef
Electronic Reference Service to CCSF students, faculty, staff and
registered community users. Use this service when you are NOT in
a CCSF library.
Library
and Web Research Workshops
FIfty minute workshops are given throughout the semester on effective
methods in searching for books, articles and information on the
Internet.
Evaluating
and Citing Information Sources
Several useful sources for evaluating the quality of web pages,
how to prepare citations for a "Bibliography" or "Works Cited" list,
and how to avoid plagiarism.
Purdue's
Online Writing Lab
One of the most thorough and easy to navigate writing labs avaialble!
A+ Research
and Writing
Hosted by the Internet Public Library.
Writing
Process @ CSU
Colorado State University developed these guides which "focus on
a range of composing processes as well as issues related to the
situations in which writers find themselves."
Send comments or suggestions
to:
Sirous Monajami
Subject Selector
(415) 452-5469
smonajam@ccsf.edu
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Last updated March 21, 2003
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