MCC LIBRARY RESOURCES

Community Research

This guide has been prepared by the MCC reference librarians to assist you with research for your class. If you need further assistance, please stop by the reference desk to consult with a librarian.

Reference Sources

Reference Sources are a good place to start your research. They can give you a concise overview of your topic, background information, facts & statistics, plus help you define and spell words, and focus your topic. Reference Sources include both books located in the Reference Collection and databases accessible on the Library Web Site under the link Reference Databases.

Call Number Title
REF F540.M6 Progress of Women and Minorities in the Illinois Workforce: 2002 Annual Report
REF F547.M14.B66

Book of Lists: McHenry County

REF F547.M14.C6 CPA Community Profile Analysis: Consumer and Business Demographic Reports: McHenry County, IL
REF F547.M14.H58 McHenry County in the Twentieth Century, 1968-1994
REF F547.M14.M921 McHenry County Business Directory
REF F547.M15 Year 2000 Census Data and Selected Demographics: McHenry County, IL
REF HA201.I3 Census of Population and Housing (2000): Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics
REF HC101.A184 County Business Patterns: Illinois
REF HJ11.I3.C6667 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
REF KF390.A4.S44 Senior Citizens Handbook: Laws and Programs Affecting Senior Citizens in Illinois
REF KFI1554.I37 Illinois Environmental Law Handbook
REF QE.105.A45 Geologic Mapping for Environmental Planning, McHenry County, Illinois

Reference Databases:

Some reference sources are available not only in print, but also online through the library web site. These sources often combine a variety of information found in other sources. They are full-text, and most are available off-campus with passwords you may obtain from the Reference Desk. Some of the reference databases useful for this subject area are listed below:

Database Name

Description
GPO - Government Printing Office index to U.S. government publications (no full-text)

Sanborn Maps

historical Illinois maps

Books & Media

The Stacks contain books and audiovisual items that may be borrowed or "checked out" of the library. These resources are useful when you need a more in-depth study of a topic than can be provided in reference sources alone. Use the Library's Online Catalog to determine what resources are available on your topic and the call number and location in the library. If our library does not own the necessary resources for your research needs, you may request additional items be ordered through interlibrary loan.

Possible search terms to use for your topic are:

Keywords

McHenry County and [subject term]

Illinois and [subject term]
[city name] and demographics
Tip: Books on the broader topic (without the local focus) can also provide valuable context.

Article Databases

Periodicals consist of popular magazines, newspapers, trade and scholarly journals. Magazine & newspaper articles can be good sources to use for very current information, to focus on specific topics or aspects of a topic, to find reviews, and for opinions. Trade journals are helpful to follow trends and career opportunities within a field, and to find practical tips and techniques to use "on the job". Scholarly journals give details of actual research studies that have been conducted and/or scholarly treatment of discipline specific topics. All of these resources can be located using the article databases located on the library web site.

Recommended Databases for community research

Database Description
Chicago Tribune full-text of the newspaper, 1985 to present
Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for 35 national & international newspapers
ProQuest multi-disciplinary full text database
Regional Business News provides comprehensive full text coverage for regional business publications

Passwords to access the library databases from off-campus are available on the pink handout MCC Library Database Chart. If you have not received this handout, please ask for it at the Reference Desk.

Internet Resources

Recommended web sites for this subject are listed below. For additional web sites on this subject, refer to MCC Library's Web Sites by Subject link on the library web site.

Web Site Address
MCC Library (websites by subject Community Links, Government Links and Newspaper Links) www.mchenry.edu/library
American FactFinder: U.S. Census Bureau factfinder.census.gov
McHenry County http://www.co.mchenry.il.us/
Quick Facts, McHenry County, IL http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17/17111.html
Snap Shots of State Population Data http://emergency.cdc.gov/snaps/
Tip: Many useful documents are posted on the Internet. Try a Google search on your topic.  


Remember to carefully evaluate information found on the Internet. Unlike most traditional print sources, Internet sources may not go through any review process before the information is made available to the public. Anyone can create and publish a web site. If you need help evaluating your sources, please ask at the Reference Desk for guidance. For critieria to use to evaluate your sources refer to our handout on Evaluating Sources. It is available at the Reference Desk.

 

http://www.mchenry.edu/library