For large libraries that acquire a lot of material, searching the catalog is an excellent way to find out what recent, older, and classical books exists on a topic. Com or Barnes and Noble are two large book store catalogs that can be used to identify books on any topic. The books will tend to be recent. Once you have identified potentially useful books, check the ECVL page on interlibrary loan for more information on obtaining books and for the details on our special service for obtaining books for excelsior College Students. Reports Reports written by government officials or individuals working for think tank type organizations or research centers can be quite useful.
Reports often contain helpful bibliographies and attempt to analyze or study a topic.
Government agencies are prolific writers of reports. Many agencies have extensive web sites that contain their reports. The many government agencies regulate or monitor an amazing range of topics. These reports tend to be nonpartisan. Think tank and research centers on the other hand, can be partisan or nonpartisan.