Appendix: sources on politics
This guide is mainly intended for use by British students on under-
graduate courses with access to a university library and the Internet.
Some of the obscurer sources mentioned would perhaps only be
likely to be used by students writing dissertations – but could earn
extra credit if used in ordinary assignments. Large city libraries may
also provide many of the same resources and increasingly owners of
personal computers with modems can gain access via the Internet to
much of the world’s knowledge. Non-university readers may not
realise that many academic libraries will give reference access to non-
members of the university with very little formality (although you
are less likely to be able to borrow directly). Most public libraries can
also obtain items not in stock on inter-library loan at minimal cost to
the reader. Schools and public libraries also usually provide access to
the Internet.
BOOKS
Too many students search for material by going to what they think is
the right shelf in the loan section of the library, finding little or
nothing and then reporting back to their tutor in all seriousness,
‘There is nothing on it in the library’. If you have some authors and
titles in mind (for instance references from this book) look these up in
the catalogue – they may not be where you think – and view adjacent
entries in the catalogue and on the shelves. The catalogue may lead
you to restricted loan collections, reserve stacks or departmental
collections, which may not always be obvious. You should also check