This page lists several resources for your research paper.
If you're not sure what you need, or how to begin, come in to the RTC Library, call us at (425) 235-2331, or email us at librarian@RTC.edu. We'll be glad to help!
Finding Materials for Your Surveying Research Paper
Journals, Newspaper, and Magazine Articles
ProQuest - This database offers journal, magazine, and newspaper articles. You can find it at the RTC Library Database page (there are several other databases on that page - Gale Academic OneFile, eLibrary, Directory of Open Access Journals, JSTOR, Greenfile, National Academy Press, and Open Access Library that might be useful to you).
You can use these databases on or off campus. If you are off-campus (i.e. on a non RTC computer) you will be asked for your RTC user name (your RTC student email address) and your email password.
Also try your local public library. King County Public Library and Seattle Public Library have some excellent databases. Look for these: Expanded Academic ASAP, General OneFile, General Reference Center Gold, and New York Times Historical (1851 - 2006). You will need a library card from that library to access them, but library cards are free and you can do it over the internet.
Another place to find useful information is Google Scholar. Google Scholar finds peer-reviewed books and articles - the downside is that not all of what it finds is easily available. But that is what Interlibrary Loan is for. If there is a book that you need that you cannot access from the RTC Library, the King County Library, or the Seattle Public Library you can click here and fill out the form. If there is a journal article that you cannot get from our databases you can also use Interlibrary Loan, but you fill out a different form. However. Interlibrary Loan is not fast, responses can take from a few days to a few weeks.
Books
RTC Library Catalog - Lists books and videos in RTC Library. Many of the books are available as eBooks. You can use this catalog from off-campus; you don’t even need to sign in.
EBSCO Community College eBook Collection - Over 47,000 non-fiction books on science, the humanities and social sciences.
WorldCat - Lists books, videos, multimedia and more, held in libraries around the world. You can use this resource anywhere; you don’t need to sign in. (This is another source that you might want to make an Interlibrary Loan request for.)
Google Books - Searches millions of books. Some are full text, others may offer “snippets” – small sections around your search term.
Internet
Try the Web Sites tab above for links to surveying history or geography topics.
Library of Congress Map Collections - Four centuries of maps of the United States - and more!