IDS 3300 -- Migrant Farmworkers
Sources and Strategies for Finding Library & Web Information Related to Migrant Farmworkers in the U.S.
This guide serves to provide a starting place for directing researches to key resources but does not intend to be exhaustive. For more information and assistance visit the Library Reference Desk, try Ask a Librarian service, or sign up for a RAP Session .
FINDING BOOKS ON THE TOPIC OF MIGRANT FARMWORKERS IN THE U.S.
Getting books from ASU Library & UNCA & WCU via ABC Express van service
The ASU library spends thousands of $ every year on new books in in the social sciences, so many important books related to migrant workers will likely be in the Western North Carolina Library Network.
1. Check the ASU Library Catalog for books related to your research at ASU, UNCA, and Western Carolina Univ. (Books from UNCA and WCU are available via ABC Express van service within a couple of days)
Some subject headings to consider searching:
- Migrant Agricultural Laborers
- Migrant Labor
- Children of migrant laborers
Finding books from other libraries - Interlibrary loan
2. To search thousands of library catalogs of the world simultaneously (approx. 40 million records) , use the Library's WorldCat database.
ARTICLES
Use library databases to find articles in the area you wish to do research (accessible on & off campus). Some databases that include both scholarly& popular materials provide a means of limiting to scholarly works (also referred to as "refereed" or "peer-reviewed")
ASU Library has grouped related resources together for your convenience under Databases by Subject in the Electronic Resources section of the Library Website. When researching issues related to migrant farmworkers you may wish to search article databases found in one of these groupings::
ASU Library Electronic Resources in Sociology
ASU Library Electronic Resources in Education
ASU Library Electronic Resources in Health
Examples of some general article databases:
Academic Search Elite | Full Text | To limit your search to only scholarly articles check the box beside "to refereed publication"
Infotrac OneFile | Full Text | To limit your search to only scholarly articles check the box beside "scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals "
Ingenta , 1988-present (updated daily)
Available on & off campus | See ingenta services for more information
Contains more than six million citations to articles from over 20,000 international magazines and journals.
Examples of some subject specific article databases:
Sociological Abstracts Covers many areas of criminal justice and political science. Includes all aspects of sociology, such as community development, culture and social structure, demography, environmental interactions, family and social welfare, law, group interactions, welfare services, and women's studies.
ERIC Covers education related resources. Includes adult, career, and vocational education information; technology assessment and evaluation; language and linguistics; disabilities and gifted education; reading and communication
Citing Sources
Explains how to cite web and internet sources using MLA, APA, and Chicago Manual of Style
Web Resources
General Migrant Farmworker Sites
- Fact Sheets About Farmworkers from the National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH)
- Hispanic Americans and Migrant Workers in North Carolina Resource guide from Joyner Library, East Carolina University. Contains links to N. C. laws and statistics related to migrant workers, as well as links to health and education resources, and articles specific to migrant laborers in N. C.
- Rural Migration News - Contains current and back issues of their publication as well as web links to information related to agricultural migrant workers. The parent site, Migration Dialogue , provides timely, factual and nonpartisan information and analysis of international migration issues.
- National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights A national organization composed of local coalitions and immigrant, refugee, community, religious, civil rights and labor organizations and activists. It serves as a forum to share information and analysis, to educate communities and the general public, and to develop and coordinate plans of action on important immigrant and refugee issues.
History
- The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers' Struggle - Video site that contains history and timeline of the United Farmworkers (UFW) and Cesar Chavez's life.
- Cesar E. Chavez Foundation Information on the philosophy of Cesar Chavez and foundation programs on education, arts and culture, civic engagement, sustainable communities and non-violence.
- Cesar E. Chavez Institute for Public Policy Pictures, audio clips of speeches and documents related to Cesar Chavez via San Francisco State University.
Labor
- United Farmworkers of America Official site, with information on current union campaigns, history of the UFW and Chavez
- Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) Subdivision of the AFL-CIO
- AFL-CIO Offers a wide range of information on labor and union issues
- National Farmworkers Ministry
A national interfaith organization supporting farm workers as they organize for justice - Sin Fronteras Organizing Project
Information on the history of the bracero program and on farm labor issues and the border
Education
- U.S. Dept. of Education - Office of Migrant Education - Programs Administers grant programs that provide academic and supportive services to the children of families who migrate to find work in the agricultural, fishing, and timber industries. The programs are designed to help migrant children, who are uniquely affected by the combined effects of poverty, language and cultural barriers, and the migratory lifestyle, to meet the same challenging academic content and student academic achievement standards that are expected of all children.
- Interstate Migrant Education Council (IMEC) - Contains a list of all recent IMEC publications and IMEC's proposed changes in the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) to enhance services to migratory students.
- The Kentucky Migrant Technology Project - Large collection of course materials online, in both Spanish and English.
- The National PASS Center Web Site - PASS stands for Portable Assisted Study Sequence and PASS courses can help students complete credits after a course interrupting move or after leaving school altogether.
- East Coast Migrant Head Start Project - Provides quality Head Start services to migrant farmworkers and their families.
Health
- The National Center for Farmworker Health (NCFH) a private, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to enhancing the capacity of Migrant Health Centers (MHCs) to provide access to care and eliminate the health status disparities between farmworkers and the general population in the U.S.
- U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services, Bureau of Primary Health Care, Migrant Health Program
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) - Agriculture
- Healthfinder.gov - Migrant Health
Statistical Background Information
. General
- Statistical Abstract of the United States Compiles a wide variety of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States. Selected international data are also included. [To search this online government document you must either search the Index or Tables. For more detailed searching of this resource, use Statistical Universe
- Statistical Universe [Library subscription database} Statistical Universe provides indexing and abstracts of statistics compiled by the U.S. Government. Includes thousands of full text sources covering crime, demographics, economics, and health statistics, and much more. Indexing from U.S. federal and state government sources, international agencies, Statistical Abstract of the United States , and the American Statistical Index.]
. Demographic Data
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Excellent guide from George Washington University Library to the vast U.S. Census Bureau Website
- Julian Samora Research Institute (Michigan State University)
- Numerous on-line research studies on the social, economic, and health conditions of Latinos in the United States
- Special focus on the Midwest, including data on migrant workers and Latino history in Michigan
North Carolina Web Sites -- related to research regarding migrant farmworkers
- State of North Carolina [In left column select "Learn about N. C.]
North Carolina State Data Center - North Carolina Farm Labor Regulations by Charles L. Moore.
- Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) Organizing Campaign in North Carolina
International Information for comparing workers of different countries
- United Nations : www.un.org [Example: Select Economic & Social Development button - then Human Rights - then statistics ]
U nited Nations Statistical Division : unstats.un.org/unsd/ [Can be found in the Index of the UN site. Includes international demographic, social, housing, energy, environmental, & industrial statistics. Example: Select Demographic - then Mortalit y - etc.]
U.N. Human Development Report Contains the full text of Human Development Reports, annual independent reports commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the status of people's long term well-being throughout the world. Each report contains a wealth of statistical data dealing with human development.
World Bank : Besides a considerable amount of information on itself and on topical issues (including news releases, speeches, and summaries of new projects), the World Bank offers a wealth of information on development and growth topics. Their "Country Data" (part of the "Data" area) offers "Country Briefs" (several thousand word descriptions of economic policies and events) and "Country-at-a-Glance" (summary statistical information, with many cross-country comparisons). They also offer "World Development Sources (WDS)" which has some 6,000 searchable World Bank reports (the search engine is quite sophisticated).
United Kingdom Statistics : Includes the latest comprehensive range of official UK statistics and information about statistics. Statistics are arranged in themes: agriculture, commerce & industry, compendia & reference, crime & justice, education & training, health & care, labor market, natural & built environment, population & migration, social & welfare, travel & tourism, and other. There are also the latest economic indicators.
- CIA World Factbook Contains information drawn from many government agencies about each country in the world. For example, it covers geography, people, governments, economics, communications, transportation, and defense. It also includes abbreviations for international organizations, selected international environment agreements, weights and measures, estimates of gross domestic products on an exchange rate basis, and regional maps.
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Compiled by Allan Scherlen ( scherlnag@appstate.edu)
