Subject headings are words and phrases which constitute a "controlled vocabulary" to categorize books by subject field.  Subject headings often indicate the contents of books in terms that their titles do not use, which often may be very general. Subject headings in online databases are often referred to as descriptors, but they serve the same purpose in locating valuable resources.

Use general subject headings for searching a broad topic or more specific subject headings for a specific aspect of your research topic. You will find (more) headings specific to the subject category within item record.  Here are some you may want to try:

New York (N.Y.) -- History

Immigrants -- New York (State) -- New York

Architecture -- New York (State) -- New York

Italian Americans -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 19th century

New York (N.Y.) -- Social Conditions

Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)   Race relations

Minorities -- New York (State) -- New York 

Need to find something we don't have here at Brooklyn College or CUNY?  Need to research editions of a specific work?  Worldcat to the rescue!  Worldcat allows you to search for material beyond what we have available through CUNY.