Welcome to the UCL Library Services subject guide to Anthropology. This guide provides links to and information about resources relating to Anthropology subjects and covers both our printed and electronic collections:
Printed collections in UCL Library Services are described below. There is also information
about:
Library Blog for Anthropology
Visit Library news in Anthropology the library blog for Anthropology to keep up to date with new books and resources (both printed and electronic), Open Access, interesting events, useful websites and general library news.
WISE for Arts & Humanities, Laws, Social and Historical Sciences and SSEES
WISE is a comprehensive, step-by-step online guide to finding and using information effectively. It includes detailed information on how to use all the resources listed above. Go to http://www.ucl.ac.uk/moodle, and log in with your UCL userid and password. Click on WISE and select WISE for Arts & Humanities, Laws, Social and Historical Sciences and SSEES to start the course (If WISE does not appear in your list of courses click on “All courses” in the top left menu then select WISE and register yourself on the course.)
VIDEO: An introduction to the Anthropology collection in the Science Library
Training sessions
For Information about our Library Training Programme covering use of the library, ejournals or specific databases - please see the following page at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/infoskill.shtml or arrange individual tuition with the Subject Librarian (contact details below).
Printed collections
The principal collection for anthropology is located on
the second floor of the Science
Library (DMS Watson Building). There is also other relevant material
elsewhere in the Science Library and also in the Main
Library (Wilkins Building) or the Institute of
Archaeology Library (31-34 Gordon Square - 5th floor).
See separate pages for maps
and opening hours.
Book collections
The Library has its own classification scheme for arranging books on the shelves;
a typical classmark for an open-access book will consist of the name of a subject
(indicating a section of the Library) followed by letters and numbers denoting
its classified position on the shelves in that section; e.g.
ANTHROPOLOGY B 34 LEW for a book on primate evolution
ANTHROPOLOGY QG 330 PRI for a book on Neur religion in Southern Sudan
Some of the most important sections of the Anthropology collection are:
ANTHROPOLOGY A; for general introductions to anthropology and reference materials
ANTHROPOLOGY B; for physical and biological anthropology
ANTHROPOLOGY D; for social and cultural anthropology
ANTHROPOLOGY E; for arts and technology
ANTHROPOLOGY J TO X; for regional anthropology
Within the regional anthropology section the most important sections are:
ANTHROPOLOGY J OR JA; for anthropology of Britain or England
ANTHROPOLOGY Q; for anthropology of Africa
ANTHROPOLOGY RA; for anthropology of India
ANTHROPOLOGY S; for anthropology of Australasia and the Pacific Islands
ANTHROPOLOGY WX; for anthropology of the West Indies and Caribbean
The other collections you are likely to need are:
Archaeology (Institute of Archaeology - 5th floor)
is the main collection for archaeology and prehistory - this will also be the second
main collection for
joint anthropology and archaeology students.
Art (Main Library - Donaldson); contains more specific material on art for
a background to visual culture.
Biological Sciences (Science Library - 1st floor); has additional material
on evolution, ecology and conservation.
Economics and History (Main Library - South, 2nd floor); for background material
on both subjects.
Geography (Science Library - 1st floor); has duplicate copies of many key
texts in the human geography section - this will also be the second main collection
for joint anthropology and geography students.
Medical Sciences (Science Library - 2nd floor); for background
material on medical anthropology.
STORE (closed access); some of the Library's historic
source material for all the above subjects areas are kept off-site, whether
at the Special Collections site at 140 Hampstead Road or at the Library's
general Store at Wickford. For information about requesting material from
Store, see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/store.shtml.
Finally, remember to use eUCLid,
the Library catalogue to find out exactly where each book is held.
Journal collections
Journals are kept separately from the books. The main anthropology periodical
collection is shelved
in room 204, next to the anthropology reading room on the second floor. Older periodicals
are kept in store, but can be retrieved at 24 hours’ notice. eUCLid will
tell you exactly where each volume of a journal can be found.
Material in electronic form is available to registered members of UCL, often from off-site. The Athens username and password is now the same as your UCL IS computing username and password. You do need to set a cookie before your username and password is recognised - this just involves clicking on a link. Please see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/e-res.shtml for more information.
There are a small number of resources that require passwords other than Athens passwords - they are listed here - passwords (This web page is not available off-site).
Indexes and abstracts
The Library subscribes to a number of bibliographic databases,
of which the following might be particularly useful:
Anthropology Plus is a combination of two databases - Anthropology Literature and Anthropological Index Online (from the Anthropology Library at the British Museum). It indexes articles and essays on anthropology and archaeology.
IBSS (International
Bibliography of the Social Sciences), indexes journal
articles and book chapters in social science subjects including anthropology,
geography, economics and political sciences from 1951.
JSTOR is an collection
or database of electronic journals, some of which are very useful for anthropological
topics. It is an archive of journals - long back runs of journals are held
within the database but not current or more recent issues. The journals within
JSTOR are listed individually on the Electronic Journal webpages but the
collection itself is searchable.
Web of Science contains
three citation indexes which may be useful for Anthropology.
Other databases which may be of use are:
Medline indexes medical literature from 1966 onwards. See
You can also search Medline via Pubmed at http://www.pubmed.com
Art Full Text indexes
articles from art journals and reproductions of works of art that appear in
indexed periodicals from 1994.
PrimateLit indexes
material on the field of primatology from 1940.
PsycINFO indexes
psychological literature from 1887 onwards.
A range of journal titles is available electronically to registered
members of UCL.
To look for a specific title, go to the alphabetical list on
the Library's web pages at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/ejournal/.
You will also find details of the access arrangements for each title.
JSTOR is an collection
or database of electronic journals, some of which are very useful for anthropological
topics. It is an archive of journals - long back runs of
journals are held within the database but not current or more recent issues.
The journals within JSTOR are listed individually on the Electronic Journal
webpages but the collection itself is searchable.
The Senate House Library (University of London, in Malet
Street) has some relevant collections, especially in cultural anthropology,
the paranormal and occult, Latin American and Caribbean Studies and
journals.
Any
registered
member of UCL can join the
Library and borrow from
there. (Further information may be found at: http://www.ull.ac.uk).
The SOAS Library (School of Oriental & African Studies)
has excellent collections in African, Asian and Middle East material, which
is relevant for regional studies. It is available for reference use by any
member of UCL, but only academic staff and research postgraduates may borrow
from there. (The Library limits access to materials, which are designated for
its own taught courses.)
The LSE library holds the best collection in the UK for economics
and has substantial material on social sciences and anthropology. It is available
for reference use by any member of UCL, but only academic staff and research
postgraduates may borrow from there. (The Library may however limit access
to materials, which are designated, for its own taught courses.)
