Selecting the best or most appropriate finding aid for identifying sources depends almost entirely on the context of your research assignment. There is no single database or web search interface that will work for every research context; instead, you'll need to match your specific research needs to a variety of options.
Library catalog searches (i.e., Primo) can be the better choice when you are seeking in-depth, book-length treatments of a topic.
Multidisciplinary databases (i.e., JSTOR) can be the most appropriate choice when you just want to get a sense of what's available on a topic and when it isn't so important that you pay attention to disciplinary lenses.
Subject databases (i.e., America: History & Life) are the best choice for identifying the widest range of sources on a topic within a specific academic discipline. Recommended subject databases for each discipline can be found on the "articles" tab in each library subject guide.
Let the Record Show: a political history of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by 
Activism Against AIDS: at the intersection of sexuality, race, gender, and class by 
After Silence: a history of AIDS through its images by 
AIDS and American Apocalypticism by 
The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the breakdown of Black politics by 
The Epidemic: a global history of AIDS by 
How to Survive a Plague: the inside story of how citizens and science tamed AIDS by 
Infectious Ideas: U.S. Political Responses to the AIDS Crisis by 
Moving Politics: emotion and ACT UP's fight against AIDS by 
Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic by 
Punishing Disease: HIV and the criminalization of sickness by 
The Secret Epidemic: the story of AIDS and Black America by These subject databases may be especially useful for your research project in this class.
An interdisciplinary journal archive. It includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. Includes the Artstor image collections.
How To Survive a Plague by Try these strategies to become a better, more efficient searcher -- and help you find articles that you can actually use:
If your article is not available at Collins Library, you've got another option for getting it. Use Tipasa, our interlibrary loan service.
Tipasa is linked to your library account so you'll need to log in to use it.
Once you are logged in, either go directly to Tipasa and manually enter the information, or, if you're using a database, look for a shortcut link to automatically fill out the form:
Allow at least a week for the article to come. If your article is delivered in electronic format, you'll receive an email with a link to follow as soon as it's arrived.
