The Trexler Library: Muhlenberg College

Governments and Politics of Africa

Need help with your research? Contact:

Jen Jarson
Social Sciences Reference Librarian
phone: x3552
email: jarson [at] muhlenberg [dot] edu
IM (AIM, Yahoo, MSN): jjarson1 (add @hotmail.com for MSN)

Need help after hours?
IM the Library at TalkToTrexler (for Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo; add @hotmail.com for MSN)
Online Sunday-Thursday 2pm-10pm.
See Ask a Librarian for more information and other ways to get help.

Selected Reference Materials

Almanac of African Peoples and Nations (1999)
Location: Trexler Library 305.8096 Y15a

CIA World Factbook
Location: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Credo Reference
Credo Reference is a collection of hundreds of reference works, including general and subject specific dictionaries, encyclopedias, guides, companions and more--all online, all searchable from one search box.
Location: http://0-www.credoreference.com.library.muhlenberg.edu/home.do or search the library catalog by title

Encyclopedia of Africa (2010)
Location: Trexler Library 960.03 E56o

Encyclopedia of African History (2004)
Location (Online): http://0-www.credoreference.com.library.muhlenberg.edu/vol/482 or search the library catalog by title
Location (Print): Trexler Library 960.03 56o v.1-3

Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History (2003)
Location: Trexler Library 960.3103 E56o

Europa World Year Book (2011)
Location: http://0-www.europaworld.com.library.muhlenberg.edu/ or search the library catalog by title
Note: Previous editions (1966- ) in print at 341.1 E89.

Historical Dictionary of Civil Wars in Africa (1999)
Location: Trexler Library 960 A752h

Political Handbook of the World (2010)
Location: http://0-library.cqpress.com.library.muhlenberg.edu/phw/ or search the library catalog by title
Note: Earlier editions (1928-) in print at 329 P769.

U.S. Department of State: Background Notes
Location: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/

SPECIFIC TO NORTH AFRICA

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (2004)
Location: Trexler Library 956.003 E56o v.1-4

SPECIFIC TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara (1997)
Location: Trexler Library 967.003 E56o v.1-4

STATISTICS

Human Development Report (2011)
Location: http://hdr.undp.org/ or search the library catalog by title
Note: Previous years in print at 338.9 H918d.

International Historical Statistics, 1750-2000 (2003)
Location: Trexler Library 310 M681i v.1-3
Note: Volume 1 covers Africa, Asia & Oceania.

Statistical Yearbook (2010)
Location: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/syb/default.htm or search the library catalog by title
Note: Every 5th year (1965- ) in print at 310 U58s.

World Development Indicators (2010)
Location: Trexler Library 330.91 W927d
Note: Previous editions in at same call number.

World Development Report (2012)
Location: http://wdronline.worldbank.org/ or search the library catalog by title
Note: Previous editions (1978-2008) in print at 330.91724 W927 .

Finding Books

TREXLER LIBRARY

Search the Trexler Library Catalog to find out what books, government publications, journals, videos, etc. the library owns.

GETTING THERE: Use the shortcut search box on the Library Homepage or Library Homepage -- Library Catalogs (in the Quick Links box) -- Trexler Library Catalog

OTHER LIBRARIES

To find books held by other libraries, search WorldCat, a database of over 60 million library records from around the country and world. Use the ILL button to request a book from another library. (ILL can take 10-14 days.)

GETTING THERE: Library Homepage -- Library Catalogs (in Quick Links box) -- Other Library Catalogs -- WorldCat

Finding Articles: Databases & Indexes

SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES

See a list of all article databases via the Library Homepage -- Databases A to Z (in the Quick Links box).

Check the Subject Guides (linked from the Library Homepage) for other recommended databases for this and other subject areas.

Political Science and International Relations Databases

Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)
Full text of working papers, policy briefs, conference proceedings, journal articles and more in the area of international affairs theory and research.

PAIS International
Citations from 1972 to the present from scholarly journals, gray literature, government publications, and more from 120 countries on political, economic, social and public policy issues.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Indexes international serials literature in political science and complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy.

Other Subject-Specific Databases

Anthropology Plus
Comprehensive, international index to anthropology and archaeology literature.

EconLit (Economic Literature)
Index to scholarly publications in economics.

Historical Abstracts
Index to historical literature for all regions excluding the U.S. and Canada, 1450-present.

Sociological Abstracts
Provides access to the latest research in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.

Interdisciplinary and News Databases

Academic Search Premier
Full text access to scholarly and non-scholarly publications in a wide variety of disciplines and subject areas.

LexisNexis Academic
Full text of thousands of newspapers, magazines, broadcast transcripts, business publications, legal materials, and more.

Omnifile (Wilson Web)
A database with some full text articles covering various academic subjects including general sciences, humanities, social sciences, and business.

GETTING THE ARTICLES

When searching for articles in library databases, you may find the full-text of an article linked in the database.

If not, you need to search the Trexler Library Catalog to see if we own the journal in which the article is published.

Most databases have a Get It! link embedded. Click the link to check our holdings.

Otherwise, search the catalog by journal title or by ISSN . Verify that we have online, print, or microform access to the year/volume you need.

If we do not own the journal you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan.

Some databases have a Request on Interlibrary Loan link embedded. Click the link to fill out the form. Click Submit.

Otherwise, use the Interlibrary Loan Journal Article Request Form (Library Homepage -- Interlibrary Loan (in the Quick Links box) -- Articles request form). Fill out the form with as much information as possible. Ask for help, if you have questions.

U.S. Government Documents

Muhlenberg College receives about 30% of all materials published by the U.S. Federal Government. These items cover a wide range of subject areas--from legal materials and the records of Congress to health and education information and in-depth research conducted by the Smithsonian. All of the government documents that we receive have records in the Trexler Library Catalog.

Selected Websites

GATEWAY SITES

African Studies Center (University of Pennsylvania)
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/AS.html

African Studies Internet Resources (Columbia University)
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/

World Legal Information Institute: Countries
http://www.worldlii.org/countries.html

World Legal Materials from Africa (Cornell University Law School)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/world/africa.html

SELECTED ORGANIZATIONS

African Union
http://www.africa-union.org/

International Monetary Fund: Country Information
http://www.imf.org/external/country/index.htm

United Nations
http://www.un.org/english/

Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (UN)
http://www.un.org/africa/osaa/

Economic Commission for Africa (UN)
http://www.uneca.org/

World Bank: Sub-Saharan Africa
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/

World Bank: Middle East & North Africa
http://www.worldbank.org/mena

World Trade Organization
http://www.wto.org/

REGIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS

CEN-SAD: Community of Sahel-Saharan States
http://www.cen-sad.org/

COMESA: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
http://www.comesa.int/

ECCAS: Economic Community of Central African States
http://www.ceeac-eccas.org/index.php?lang=en&pageId=0 (English)

ECOWAS: Economic Community Of West African States
http://www.ecowas.int/

IGAD: Intergovernmental Authority on Development
http://www.igad.org/

SADC: Southern African Development Community
http://www.sadc.int/

CONFERENCE PAPERS

International Studies Association Paper Archive
http://www.isanet.org/paperarchive/

Citing Your Sources

For help using Chicago Style, consult the following resources:

The Chicago manual of style (2003)
Location: Reference Desk Reserve 808.027 C632m (at Reference Desk)

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (1996)
Location: Reference Desk Reserve 808 T929m 1996 (at Reference Desk)

Trexler Library handout on using Chicago style: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/chicago_example.pdf
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website. Library Homepage -- Citation Guides (in the Research Help box).

Writer's Handbook (Writing Center, University of Wisconsin--Madison):
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChicago.html