Scavenger Hunt
History 300
Scavenger Hunt
1. What is a university press? Identify and cite two
books on Sacramento published by a university press.
2. Identify the
author of the following: “Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on
retentiveness. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat
it.”
3. Who coined the phrase “the big enchilada?” Cite your
source.
4. Where is the best place to find biographical
information on historians?
5. What is the purpose of the National
Union Catalog?
6. Locate and cite a map showing routes of the Pony
Express, the principle land grants in Mexican California, and the exact location
of the Modoc War.
7. Compare the treatment of Sacramento in the
9th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica with that in the
11th edition.
8. How can you locate book reviews in
the popular (non-academic) press without going to the actual magazines, journals
or newspapers? Identify three such sources.
9. Identify and cite
the five best academic journals for the study of California history.
Explain your choices. What is a refereed journal?
Response
This assignment is a scavenger hunt and as indicated, these are
believed to be very ineffective in teaching about the library. The point
of this assignment is probably to familiarize students with history
sources. Unfortunately, students rarely know where to begin to find
obscure facts and librarians end up finding the answer for them.
Consequently, students learn little from these assignments.