The Day You Were Born 
Reference books Newspapers Popular magazines Historical Almanacs and Yearbooks
Internet sources

For MDS 111 -- Zepper

Research Assignment
Investigate what was happening on the day and/or week you were born. To complete this assignment, you must use a minimum of four library resources: one book from the reference collection; one or two general or popular magazines (periodicals); and one or two national newspapers (such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc). Use these resources for acquiring many details about events coinciding with your birth date (celebrities who may have died or been born, sports teams that won crucial games, political events that may have occurred, etc.). 
    Incorporate the information you dig up into an essay (roughly 500 words) that focuses on your reaction to what you’ve discovered. What surprised you? How might some of what you discovered have helped shape who you are today? Perhaps you will want to interview your parents or other relatives or older friends to see how their recollections of events correspond to the facts you’ve uncovered. Use whatever writing strategies you feel are appropriate for the goals you set out. Remember to begin your writing by asking yourself these questions about your subject and audience: What do I want to say? To whom do I want to say it? 
    This assignment will require you to cite your sources parenthetically in the body of your essay. In addition, you must include a Works Cited list on a separate page at the end of the essay. So, make sure you obtain all the bibliographic information you’ll need from the books, periodicals, and newspapers you draw information from. Rely on A Writers Reference for guidance in making proper citations.

Library Reference Books 

• Day By Day series 
  Reference books that give you daily events for the respective century, in many categories.  This is an excellent way to find out about the more important events surrounding your birth date. Definitely try these sources!
• Day by Day: The 80s, by Ellen Meltzer  (Note: There are also Day by Day books for the 1920s-1970s.)
  Ref/D848/.M45/1995

• Chronicle of the Twentieth Century  
  Ref/D422/.C57/1987

• The 1980s, by Richard Tames.   
  Pictorial 1980s history -- aimed at children.  
  Curriculum/909.82/T157n (2nd Floor)

• Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates
  REF/E/174.5/.C3/1987
   

Historical Almanacs and Yearbooks 

The Library has almanacs and yearbooks that will likely cover the year you were born. These often include information about sports, current events of the year, political information, statistics, and more. Remember that the chronology of a year's events will appear in an almanac the next year.  Thus, for events from 1982, you will need the almanac for 1983.  Many of these are kept in storage, so ask at the Reference Desk for these titles.

• World Almanac and Book of Facts 
  REF/AY67/.N5/W7 (STORAGE)
   
• Information Please Almanac, Atlas, and Yearbook
  REF/AY/64/.I55  (STORAGE)
   
• Britannica Book of the Year
  REF/AE5/ .E364  (STORAGE)

Newspapers 

• Newspapers on microfilm
  One of the best ways to check out the news on the day you were born is to look at the newspaper starting the day after your debut. For fun, also look at the Sunday edition following your birth date to see the lists of the best-selling books and most popular music. The New York Times and other titles are available on microfilm on the first floor of the Library. Ask at the Reference Desk for help. Here are some of the newspapers we have for the1980s. 
  * New York Times
  * Washington Post
  * Minneapolis Star Tribune
  
  
• New York Times and other newspapers online (via  ProQuest Newstand Complete)
  The index helps you to locate the date & page that articles on your topic were published. Especially helpful if you want to know how an event that happened on your date turned out. 
  You can limit your search by YEAR and also by journal/magazine/newspaper, such as the New York Times  --

Popular magazine articles 

EBSCO - Academic Search Premier
This resource contains full text for nearly 3,400 scholarly publications. This collection provides full text journal coverage for nearly all academic areas of study - including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.  

EBSCO - MasterFILE Premier
Provides full text for 1,830 periodicals covering nearly all subjects including general reference, business, health, and a wide variety of general interest topics.

Wilson Web OmniFile Full Text Mega
Wilson OmniFile Full Text, Mega Edition is a multi-disciplinary database providing the complete content -indexing, abstracts, and full text - from six of Wilson's full-text databases: Standard CatalogsEducation Full Text, General Science Full Text, Humanities Full Text, Readers' Guide Full Text, Social Sciences Full Text, and Wilson Business Full Text. 

Periodicals in Paper in the Library
Go to the Periodicals section on the 2nd floor and browse magazines such as Time, Life, People during the day/week/month of your birth.  By browsing through these, you will get a real feel for the events and culture of the time.

Back to Library Web Site