Finding Ethnographies   Tags: anthropology, cultural, culture, customs, ethnography, people  

Kenyon's library does not place all of its ethnographies together on a shelf. Due to the wide range of topics, subject areas, and geographic regions covered in our collection of ethnographies, the books are scattered throughout the building. For example, ethnographies may be shelved in the library under Religion (B), Social Sciences (H), Music (M), or Medicine (RA). 

Reference books can be helpful if you don't know where to begin. If you find a topic or subject of interest, check the bibliography for the title of an ethnography, the name of an anthropologist, or see if the author of the encyclopedia's article has written an ethnography.

Encyclopedia of Anthropology

Call Number: Reference Section: GN11 .E63 2006

ISBN: 0761930299

Encyclopedia of World Cultures

Call Number: Reference Section: GN307 .E53 1991

ISBN: 0816118094

Peoples, Nations, and Cultures: An A-Z of the Peoples of the World, Past and Present

Call Number: Reference Section: GN316 .P38 2005

ISBN: 0304365505

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life

Call Number: Available Online

ISBN: 0787605522

1. Think about your interests.
• Is there an area of world that intrigues you?
• Have you traveled somewhere and want to learn more about the local people in that area?
• Do you want to learn more about a specific custom or way of life?
2. Encyclopedias and other reference books can be helpful if you don't know where to begin. If you find a topic or subject of interest, check the bibliography for the title of an ethnography or see if the author of the encyclopedia's article has written an ethnography.
3. Search the library's catalog using Keywords (words that you create), the Title of a specific book, or the name of an Author.
4. Using Library of Congress Subject Headings may also be helpful. Every item in the library's catalogs is categorized by a subject. Subjects Headings are controlled vocabulary terms which use simple terms to define a topic or subject. Examples of relevant subject headings, in CONSORT and OhioLINK, for ANTH 113, include:
   
   • Aleuts -- Social Life and Customs
   • Indians of South America -- Peru -- Social Life and Customs
   • Mbuti (African people)
   • Kafr al Ilw, Egypt -- Social conditions
   • Villages -- India -- Case Studies
5. When Browsing the shelves of either the reference collection or the main stacks, try to be familiar with the Library of Congress Classification Scheme.
   • Class G: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation
     • GN301-674: Ethnology. Social and Cultural Anthropology
     • GT1-7070: Manners and Customs
   • Class D: World History and History of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
   • Class E: History of the Americas
   • Class F: History of the Americas

1. The CONSORT catalog can be used to locate books (and other matierials such as videos, sound recordings, government documents, and special collections materials) available in the Kenyon, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, and the College of Wooster libraries. Items requested from Denison should arrive in 24-36 hours, and Wooster/Ohio Wesleyan requests will arrive in 3-5 days.
2. Kenyon students also have access to OhioLINK, the combined catalog of 88 academic and public libraries throughout Ohio. Books requested through OhioLINK will take 3-5 days to be delivered.
3. WorldCat is a catalog of library holdings throughout the country and world. It contains records for many types of materials: books, sound recordings, video recordings, manuscripts, etc. You must use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) to request items not available via CONSORT or OhioLINK. Delivery time will vary depending on the location of the material. Some requests may take up to 6 weeks.