Subject Headings in Libraries
You may or may not know that different systems of book classification exist in libraries.
Our library, like most university libraries, uses the Library of Congress Classification system (the curious can learn more HERE) to determine how we organize our bookshelves.
Field-specific vocabulary used to classify where a book should go is called a subject heading, and each library uses these various subject headings to "tag" books and make them searchable. Your job is to find out the subject headings that will produce the results you want.
Reminder: the keywords and subject headings used for academic journals and newspapers do not follow the systems libraries use, meaning that more relevant and contemporary vocabulary might get used in a popular magazine, but would not show up as good of search results compared to the standardized subject headings.
Use these to begin your research in our catalog, Primo:
Image at right taken from our search catalog, showing examples of subject headings and how many titles are within each. For example, "Puerto Ricans" has two titles if we select it.
There might be specific topics about immigration upon which you would like to focus, so here are some helpful steps to expand or limit your search results toward a chosen direction.
Keep track of these subject heading terms, as they can be used on other research databases, and even at other libraries!
For instance, the book featured at the right, American Passage: The History of Ellis Island, by Vincent J. Cannato from 2009 (linked HERE) provides us with several subject headings that cater to just Ellis Island and the ports of entry into New York City, which might or might not be helpful to you.