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Finding resources- archived

Finding resources

Special Collections

The University's Special Collections are located in the Wash Houses building at the Aldgate Campus, and contain a number of collections and archives of primary source material spanning a range of subject areas. This material can be searched on the Special Collections catalogue. The oversized books (mostly around art and design) topics and Artists' Books are also kept here too. 
 
London Met students can visit the Reading Room on the second floor of the Wash Houses during opening hours without an appointment, but if you want to look at something in particular, it's best to get in touch in advance in case it is something which requires retrieval. You will find further visitor information, including opening hours for the Reading Room, on the Special Collections webpages. 
 
The Special Collections team has created some online resource lists to highlight material in the collections around different topics and themes. More lists will be added over time so do keep checking back to see what's new.

Exhibition catalogues

An Exhibition Catalogue is a printed publication which accompanies an exhibition or installation held at a museum, art gallery or any other spaces. It often includes a list of works exhibited and can include further information about the artists on show.
 
We hold subscriptions of some museums and galleries in our campus libraries. These can be searched via the Library Catalogue under the title of Museum or Gallery, i.e. British Museum exhibition, Serpentine Gallery exhibition etc.

Screenshot of the Library Catalogue search box showing a search for British Museum exhibition to find exhibition catalogues.

Finding Reference material to confirm information and facts

Reference material
When writing up your essay assignment, don't guess or rely on memory and if in doubt regarding a fact or idea consult the well known reference resources online.
Sometimes you may need to check out a fact, confirm a detail about a person, country or subject. You then need to use:
  • almanacs - lists nautical, astronomical, weather and major calendar events
  • biographies - life facts and history
  • catalogues - collections of special or archived content
  • chronologies - overview historical timelines
  • dictionaries - translations
  • directories - information on people and trades
  • encyclopedias - subject or topic background and established knowledge
  • research guides - explore the content or research available on a specific topic
  • research handbooks - a ready reference providing background on subject, theories and research
 
Credo Reference provides most types of reference publications.

Screenshot showing a search in Credo Reference for items that contain Who is or WHOIS.
 
Almanacs
Biographies
  • Who's Who and Who was Who - biographical information on the most influential people in specific countries or the world.
Catalogues
 
Chronologies
  • Search the Library Catalogue using the keyword chronology to find sources. There are chronologies on historical events, famous authors and various subjects.
Dictionaries 
  • Search the Library Catalogue for language dictionaries, subject dictionaries for example economics, politics and so on.
 
Encyclopedias
  • General or specific subject encyclopedias
 
Research Guides
  • a ready reference providing background on subject, theories and research such as Sage or Routledge handbooks available via the Library Catalogue.

Statistics

Part of researching for your coursework may involve finding some statistics. There are a range of e-resources that can provide statistics. Some are local, some are national and some are international. 

A good place to start can be Statista, but there are a number of others to try, depending on your area of study. The Library's web page on statistics provides a list and each named resource has a description to help you decide which ones to try.

Just remember that statistics can be presented and interpreted in different ways, so always consider this when quoting them in your work.