The Seventies

Mt. SAC subscribes to many databases, which provide access to articles from magazines, newspapers, and journals.  Many databases also provide access to book chapters and images.

By using article databases, you should be able to find articles that were written during the time the events of the novel, A Thousand Acres, take place.  These will give what the current perspective, issues, and thoughts were on that topic at that time.

To retrieve articles written during a specific time frame, remember to utilize the Advanced Search feature in the databases and search for the relevant year(s).  I would recommend a range, such as 1975-1981.

A primary source is a document or evidence written or created during the time under study, or by one of the persons or organizations directly involved in the event. Primary sources offer an inside view of a particular event.

Some examples include:

• Diaries, speeches, letters, minutes, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records

The video below explains the differences between primary and secondary sources.  

1. Search for names, titles, or themes. 
2. Combine your search terms using the Boolean operator, AND. 
3. Use quotation marks to search for phrases. 
4. Follow these examples:

• "jimmy carter"
• vietnam and draft
• gas* and shortage 
• pesticides and well*