Open Access

The First Amendment encyclopedia

News & the Internet

Middle Tennessee State University. (2019). The First Amendment encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment.

Description: This online encyclopedia is a collection of articles about free expression in America, curated by faculty of the Middle Tennessee State University.

Why I trust it: This resource is presented by the Free Speech Center and the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies. It was edited by two scholars, one of whom, Dr. John R. Vile, is a professor of political science and dean of the University Honors College at MTSU. The other scholar, David L. Hudson, Jr., is a former member of the Nashville First Amendment Center, and he now teaches at the Nashville School of Law and Vanderbilt Law School.

Use: First amendment issues are all over the Internet, and understanding them will help you think critically about the information you consume. Use this encyclopedia to understand more about freedom of speech and expression. A unique aspect about this encyclopedia is that it provides you with direct contact information for its collaborators. If you have questions, reach out to these experts for an interview.

Access: Users can access this online encyclopedia using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

Reference and user services quarterly

Current Issues

Reference and User Services Association. (2018). Reference and user services quarterly [online archives]. Retrieved from https://journals.ala.org/index.php/rusq/issue/archive.

Description: This open-access publication offers up-to-date, trustworthy suggestions for further authoritative reading on a broad range of topics.

Why I trust it: This resource is published by the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. Its mission is to provide libraries with information on topics ranging from reference services to readers’ advisory, and it follows a double-blind, pre-publication review process.

Use: Use the archive search engine to search using keywords relating to a topic you want to learn more about. Then, find the resources listed at your library.

Access: Users can access this online reference collection using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.