Search Tips
Search Tips: Finding Co-operative Information in Libraries
Please note: This information was developed to assist students searching for co-operative information sources in the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives and University of Saskatchewan libraries. While the general information, including the list of Library of Congress Subject Heading examples, is relevant to searching catalogues and indexes in other libraries, available journals and indexes will vary. Please refer to your local catalogue for the availability of specific resources.
Library Resources
You will find information on co-operatives in a variety of sources covering a range of disciplines including: agriculture, anthropology, business administration, commerce, economics, education, history, international studies, sociology, women’s studies, law, etc.
The Library at the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives is an important source for current and historical co-operative information on campus.
The University of Saskatchewan Library catalogue also includes some excellent resources on co-operatives, located throughout the many branches of the University of Saskatchewan Libraries.
Other online catalogues holding resources on co-operatives include:
ILO library catalogues – International Labour Organization publications catalogue dating back to 1919.
COPAC publications – Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives
NICE – The Netherlands Institute of Cooperative Entrepreneurship. Includes a lists of relevant journals, and full text papers and proceedings.
Some useful Library of Congress Subject Headings:
Consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings and/or specific thesauri for additional useful search terms.
| Agriculture, Cooperative | Credit unions |
| Banks and banking, Cooperative | Dairying, Cooperative |
| Collective settlements | Education, Cooperative |
| Community development | Housing, Cooperative |
| Consumer cooperatives | Marketing cooperatives |
| Cooperation — Societies | Producer cooperatives |
| Cooperative societies | Women in cooperative societies |
Abstracts and Indexes
Some useful electronic indexes currently available through the University of Saskatchewan Library.
| AGRICOLA | Multidisciplinary Journal Index |
| CAB Abstracts | PAIS (Public Affairs International Service) |
| CBCA | Sociological Abstracts |
| CISTI Source | Web of Science |
| Expanded Academic ASAP | Women’s Resources International |
| FAO Documentation |
Some additional print indexes available in the Main library:
World Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology Abstracts / HD101.W92
International Labour Documentation / Z7164.L1I.58
Journals
The following is a selection of some of the key journals for information on co-operatives. The interdisciplinary nature of research into co-operatives results in articles published in many other discipline-specific journals as well as these titles. Keep this in mind when choosing which article indexes to search.
| Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics [abstracts] |
CSC – not currently received Main – not currently received |
| American Cooperation |
CSC – ceased publication |
| Canadian Journal of Development Studies | CSC – currently received |
| Canadian Review of Social Policy | CSC – currently received |
| The Community Development Journal [abstracts] |
CSC – currently received Main – currently received |
| Économie et Solidarités Revue de CIRIEC Canada | CSC – currently received |
| International Labour Review [abstracts] |
CSC – not currently received Main – currently received |
| Journal of Co-operative Studies [partial - full text] |
CSC – currently received |
| Journal of Cooperatives [abstracts] |
CSC – ceased publication |
| Journal of Rural Cooperation | CSC – currently received Main – not currently received |
| Journal of the Community Development Society [abstracts] |
CSC – currently received Education – currently received |
| Land Reform, Land Settlement and Cooperatives [full text] |
Main – currently received CSC – not currently received |
| Review of International Co-operation [full text] |
CSC – currently received Main – not currently received |
| The World of Cooperative Enterprise | CSC – currently received |
Tips for Searching Library Catalogues and Journal Indexes
Most subject headings and thesaurus terms used to describe the content of items in library catalogues and article indexes use the unhyphenated form word “cooperative”. If you are using keyword searching, which may include words appearing anywhere in subject, title, author, abstract or other selected fields, or the full text of a document, you may want to structure your search to include both forms of the word. This will return results which include organization names, or document titles, that use the hyphenated form as well as items with subject headings which use the unhyphenated form.
Please note: Most databases do not recognize hyphens as characters, but rather, treat them like a blank space. Searching for “co operative” (no hyphen) in keyword is necessary for successful results when searching the CSC catalogue. It will also produce successful results in U of S Library catalogue word searches.
Use truncation marks when necessary to find plurals or other variations of a word. Each database has its own truncation symbol(s). The following search examples will find plural and singular forms of the words as well as other words beginning with the letters indicated. E.g. cooperatively, co-operatively, cooperativism, co-operativism.
E.g. U of S Library catalogue: WORD co operativ* or cooperativ*
E.g. CSC catalogue: KEYWORD co operativ? or cooperativ?
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives Library
The Library is located in the Diefenbaker Centre, room 191. The library is open for public access weekdays from 9:00 to 5:00 and closed over the lunch hour. For library hours, or to arrange for assistance from the librarian, please call 966-7917.
Some Suggested Websites – Co-operative Research Centres and Organizations
The Centre for Co-operative and Community-Based Economy, University of Victoria
Canadian Co-operative Association
Centre for Cooperative Studies – Ireland
Center for Cooperatives, University of California
Co-operatives Research Unit, Open University – United Kingdom
Coady International Institute, St. Francis Xavier University, Antoginosh, Nova Scotia
Enterprise and Cooperative Development Department, International Labour Organisation
The International Co-operative Alliance
National Cooperative Business Association
University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives
USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives, North Dakota State University
For further information:
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives Library
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives
101 Diefenbaker Place
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B8 CANADA
Phone: 306-966-7917
fax: 306-966-8517
coop-studies@usask.ca
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