Finding Books:

Online catalogs: In the Melvyl® catalog combine subject headings and limit your results to Berkeley campus items, e.g., [subject] ethnic neighborhoods and [subject] african american; select [location] uc berkeley. See the Brief guide to Melvyl for search tips, or take a drop-in class at Moffitt Library.  Note that most headings can be modified by a place name, e.g., community development urban oakland. NOTE: ***The American dream*** is NOT a catalog subject term. Instead, search the phrase "American dream" as a keyword search. Or deconstruct the concept into its components, e.g., home ownership or educational attainment.

Acculturation Alienation (Social psychology) Americanization Assimilation (Sociology) City and town life--[place name] Community Community development, Urban Community life--[place name] Discrimination in housing [Ethnic or racial group], e.g.:  Afro-American# Asian-American# European American# Hispanic American# Indians of North America Italian American# Japanese American# Racially mixed people [Ethnic/racial group]--Cultural assimilation

[Ethnic/racial group]--Economic conditions [Ethnic/racial group]--Educational attainment [Ethnic/racial group]--Segregation [Ethnic/racial group]--Social conditions [Ethnic group]--Ethnic identity Ethnic neighborhoods--United States Ethnicity Gentrification Hispanic American neighborhoods Home ownership Housing Human geography [Religious or sexual orientation group]--Identity Immigrants--United States Metropolitan areas Migration, Internal Minorities--[place name] Minorities--[place name]--Economic conditions Minorities--Cross-cultural studies

Minorities--Housing--[place name] Minorities--United States--History Multiculturalism--[place name] Neighborhood Popular culture [Racial group]--Racial identity Racism Residential mobility Segregation [Place name]--Social life & customs Social values--United States Suburban life--[place name] Suburbs--[place name] Success United States--Ethnic relations United States--Race relations Urbanization--United States Working class whites--United States Zoning, Exclusionary

Bibliographies:  To find a bibliography, or a list of books, on your topic in Melvyl®, search by subject, adding the term bibliography to your subject word(s).

Newspapers:  Sometimes the only record of a hot community issue is in the local media. In addition to the indexes listed here, some newspapers are available full-text on the web; information regarding archives of older issues is sometimes available at these sites. For a list of online full-text American and international newspapers, go to the The Library's home page; go to Find Information and select Articles, and then select News Article Databases.

Selected Readings:  Here is a taste of the readings available about American communities. Use the subject headings in this guide to discover more.

Selected Libraries & Societies:

African American Museum and Library at Oakland Oakland Public Library 14th St. & Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, CA http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/AAMLO/index.html Anthropology Library Anthropology and ethnography collections. 230 Kroeber Hall http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ANTH/ Bancroft Library Western Americana non-circulating collections.  Primary source material, including images. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BANC/ Chinese Historical Society of America 965 Clay St., San Francisco, CA Dedicated to the study, documentation, and dissemination of Chinese American history. http://www.chsa.org/ Doe Reference Center General reference service & non-circulating collection; emphasis on the social sciences and humanities.  2nd Floor, Doe Library http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/reference.html

Earth Sciences & Map Library Includes map  collections. 50 McCone Hall http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/ Environmental Design Library City planning, environmental planning, architecture, & landscape architecture collections. 210 Wurster Hall http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/  Ethnic Studies Library Asian-American, Chicano, and Native American Studies collections.  30 Stephens Hall http://eslibrary.berkeley.edu/ Institute of Governmental Studies Library 109 Moses Hall  American public policy non-circulating collections, with an emphasis on California & the SF Bay Area. http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/library/

Originally compiled in 2001
Compiled by Deborah Sommer
City Planning Librarian
Environmental Design Library

To top
To Environmental Design Library