The Yale History Department requires all history majors to complete a library research colloquium as part of the senior essay process. To fulfill this requirement, and avoid a mark of "unsatisfactory" on the fall semester transcript, students must complete the library component of the senior essay during the fall semester of the senior year. Completing the library component is easy. Register for the library colloquium using the link at the bottom of this page (do not forget to submit your statement of intention here as well) and in late September a member of the Yale University Library will contact you to set up a one-on-one meeting to discuss the research for your proposed project. The library draws on curators, archivists, and subject specialist librarians to run this program and you will be meeting with a professional who not only has a background in the subject matter in which you are working but who has also read your statement of intent and has thought about the best way to tackle the research for your project.

The library asks students to consult chapters 3 & 4 of The Craft of Research (Booth, et al.), before their individual meetings with library staff. These chapters help students turn a general interest into a specific question or problem that can focus one's research. There are multiple copies of the third edition of The Craft of Research in the Bass Library. The library also offers access to an e-book version of the second edition here.

Register for the 2011-2012 senior essay colloquium.

For more information about the Library Colloquia for History Senior Essays contact Gregory Eow, Kaplanoff Librarian for American History and Librarian for British and Commonwealth History, Yale University Library.