Finding Books & Films |
Using Reference Sources |
Finding Journal Articles, Conference Papers, and Dissertations
Obtaining Information from Other Libraries |
Other WWW Resources for Film Studies Research |
Citing Sources
The following page contains general information about resources and tools available at the University Library to assist researchers in the study of film. The research process for each researcher will be slightly different, so this guide cannot cover every possibility. Please feel free to contact the Reference Department staff at 603-862-1544 or at the Reference Desk on the main floor (Level 3) of the Dimond Library should you have any questions regarding your individual research project.
The library's holdings are best accessed through our online catalog, called Triple I (III). This system can be searched by author, title, subject, journal title, or key word. Help in using the online catalog is available onscreen and at the Reference Desk. The library catalog can be accessed from your home, dorm, or office via the Internet.
You can use the list of Library of Congress subject headings to draw up a list of subject headings related to your topic. These are located in the Reference area on the main floor of Dimond Library. You can also use the "related subjects" entries, the "Show Similar Items" feature on the online catalog, or click on the subject links in the Web version of the catalog to extend your original subject search. Examples of possible subjects include:
Film theory encompasses a number of approaches such as auteurism, star studies, genre studies, psychoanalytical studies, and industrial histories, among others. In addition to these broader categories, don't forget that specific people, company names, genres, etc. may also be searchable as subject headings. Examples of subject headings that might be useful for finding books on various aspects or approaches in film theory include:
The University Library's books are arranged by the Library of Congress classification system. In Dimond Library, the general collection is located on Level 4 (A through L call numbers) and Level 5 (M through Z call numbers).
To find a specific film in the UNH multimedia collection, you can search the library catalog by the title of the film. To find films by a particular director or leading actor, search the catalog using the director's or the actor's name in the author field. To get more general listings of films in the UNH collection, try some of the following subjects:
Films in the UNH-Durham collection may be on VHS or DVD and are located by call number on shelves in the Multimedia Center on Level 2 of Dimond Library. The Multimedia Center has facilities for individual or group viewing of films; contact the Multimedia Center Supervisor at 862-1756 for additional information about equipment and services relating to this collection. Videos and DVDs may be borrowed.
WorldCat allows searching of authors, titles, and subjects across multiple library catalogs. Subject headings used in the UNH catalog will work in this database as well. Remote access to this database is limited to UNH students, faculty, or staff. Read these instructions for more information about accessing WorldCat from off campus. Interlibrary loan requests for books and films not owned by the UNH Library may also be placed through WorldCat; see Obtaining Information from Other Libraries below for additional information.
The reference collection not only has general encyclopedias and dictionaries such as the World Book Encyclopedia and Webster's Dictionary, but also has many specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries as well. Other reference works include directories, statistical sources, and bibliographies. Some of the reference works you may find useful for researching topics, terms or people in film studies and film theory include:
Journal indexes are generally arranged by subject. Many indexes are subject-specific, while some are very general in nature. Be sure to check the library catalog by searching for the title of the journal to see if the Library has the journals you need and where they are located. In Dimond Library, journals are located on Level 2: current periodicals are arranged by title, bound periodicals are organized by subject and shelved by Library of Congress classification numbers, and periodicals stored on microfiche or microfilm are found in the Microforms Room on Level 2.
Electronic SourcesMany of the Internet-accessible indexes the UNH Library subscribes to are limited to use by UNH faculty, students, and staff. Read these instructions for more information about accessing such restricted databases from outside the library.
Depending on the aspect being researched (for instance, history or film music or the psychological aspects of motion pictures), indexes in other subject areas may also be useful. Some examples include:
Following is a selective listing of some relevant and interesting journals in the area of film studies and film theory. While it can often be useful to browse journals in a field to identify possible research ideas or to see what topics are of current interest, it is recommended that you also use some of the above indexes to identify articles on your topic that will appear in journals other than those listed below.
Camera Obscura (A journal of feminism and film theory) (held by UNH 1997+)
Cinema Journal
(held by UNH 1980+) (issue contents
listing online but no full text)
Film Comment (held by UNH 1970+)
Film Quarterly (held by UNH 1958/59+)
Journal of Film and Video (held by UNH 1984+)
The Journal of Popular Film and Television: JPF&T (held by UNH 1981+)
Literature Film Quarterly (held by UNH 1973+)
Screen (held by UNH 1997+)
Sight & Sound (held by UNH 1972-1990/1991; full text of articles in
Art Index 2000+)
The Velvet Light Trap: Review of Cinema (held by UNH 1997+)
Bright Lights Film Journal
(online journal 1995+)
Film-Philosophy (online journal 1997+)
Framework: The Journal of Culture and Media (online 1999+; print 1971-1992 -
not held by UNH)
Images: The Journal of Film and Popular Culture (online)
The Journal of Religion and Film (online 1997+)
Kinema: A Journal for Film and Audiovisual Media (online 1993+)
Scope: An Online Journal of Film Studies (online)
Screening the Past (an international, refereed electronic journal of visual media and history)
(online)
Senses of Cinema (an online film journal devoted to the serious and eclectic discussion of cinema)
(online 1999+)
If you allow enough time for your research (i.e. begin your research well in advance of the due date for your paper or presentation), you may be able to take advantage of the library's Interlibrary Loan service to obtain books, journal articles, and other materials not available at the University Library. Interlibrary Loan requests are submitted online through a system called ILLiad. The first time you use ILLiad, you must set up your individual account. After that you simply need to login to ILLiad and complete the form for the type of material you are requesting. Please include as much information as you can for each item you request. Interlibrary Loan materials are generally received within 10 days to 4 weeks; the average time is about 2.5 weeks (but can take longer). Undergraduates are limited to six requests (books and articles) per week. This service is available only to UNH students, faculty, and staff.
You may also request a book (not journal articles) that our library does not own by using the ILL (InterLibrary Loan) icon when searching WorldCat. Submit a search in WorldCat and if our library does not own the book, click the ILL icon on the screen and fill out the ILL request. For further help with this library service, ask a librarian at the Reference desk.
There is a wealth of information (and sometimes misinformation) available on the WWW. Any researcher must use critical judgement to evaluate the quality of Web resources just he or she would any other source, whether in print, on television, or through personal communication. See the research guide on Evaluating Web Sites for Quality for some guidelines. The following listings are a sampling of some sites on the WWW focusing on various aspects of film studies or film theory:
Appropriate citation of sources and references is an important part of the research process. The Reference Department website has a page of examples of footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography entries for books and periodicals following the style of Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Other style manuals, such as the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, and The Chicago Manual of Style are available at the Reference Desk. Citing electronic sources can be difficult and is a developing area at this time. There is some online guidance for citing electronic resources in MLA style and APA style. Also, Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information is located at the Reference Desk and provides many additional examples.
Please send questions or comments on this research guide to
Louise Buckley, Reference Librarian, University Library lbuckley@cisunix.unh.edu Last updated July 18, 2007.