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       History

                         McFarlin Library

This is a selected guide to resources on History in the McFarlin Library collection. It is not a comprehensive list. It is intended to serve as a starting point for your research.

Approaches to Research

For information on how to do research in general, check Constructing a Research Paper.

Bibliographies

Dictionaries/Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias and dictionaries are a good place to start when you need an overview of a subject or when you want a quick summary of basic ideas. They can also be used to  familiarize yourself with the vocabulary of the discipline. Encyclopedia articles are often followed by selected bibliographies or lists of references to other works. The following are available in McFarlin Library:

 Finding Articles

Journal articles are important in your research. You should use periodical indexes to identify current journal and newspaper articles published in the professional and scholarly literature on topics relevant to your research project.  Indexes can be subject-specific for in-depth research or can be more general in nature.

Some indexes are in electronic format and others are in print format. All indexes provide a citation, many provide an abstract, and a few provide the full text of the article.  If the article is not available in full text, you must use the Library Catalog to find out if McFarlin Library subscribes to the journal that publishes the article you need.

To find out if McFarlin Library has a specific journal click on the Library Catalog  on the Libraries' Home Page and choose Journal Title. Type the journal title in the Search for box. If McFarlin subscribes to the journal, note the location of the periodical.  

To find articles about history, search the following electronic indexes:

America: History and Life

America: History and Life is a database covering the world's scholarly literature in the history of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present day. The index abstracts over 400,000 articles and book reviews from more than 2,100 journals published in about 40 languages (although about 90% are in English). Each journal citations includes an abstract of around 100 words that describes what the article is about. Book reviews are taken from 140 journals, most of which are published in North America. Dissertation information comes from Dissertation Abstracts International.

 

Historical Abstracts

Historical Abstracts is the most important index to scholarly literature on world history (excluding the U.S. and Canada). It provides access to over 500,000 articles, books and disserations concerning the period from 1450 to the present day. Historical Abstracts covers all types of history: political, economic, social, religious, scientific, etc. It also covers the historiographical and methodological concerns of historians. Articles in Historical Abstracts derive from over 2,100 scholarly journals published in more than 50 languages.

 

Humanities International Complete

 

The Humanities Index provides access to articles published in over 400 major English-language scholarly journals in the humanities. Topics covered by the index include: "archaeology and classical studies, area studies, folklore, history, language and literature, performing arts, philosophy, religion and theology" and other subjects somehow related to the humanities.

 

SocIndex with Full Text

 

The Social Sciences Index covers major English-language journals that deal with issues related to the social sciences. Topics include: "anthropology, areas studies, community health and medical care, criminal justice and criminology, economics, family studies, geography, gerontology, international relations, law, minority studies, planning and public administration, policy sciences, political science, psychiatry, psychology, social work and public welfare, sociology, urban studies, women's studies" and more.

 

 Finding Books

To find books located in McFarlin Library, use the library's online catalog.   In addition to books, the Library Catalog allows you to search for periodicals, government documents, audiovisual material, and Special Collections.

Call number classifications for History are:

Library materials for History are listed on the Library Catalog  under these suggested subject headings:

Broad Terms:

• History
• Historiography

Narrow terms:

• History, Ancient
• History, Modern
• Renaissance
• Social history
• World history

Check the Library of Congress Subject Headings for other more specific terms to search on the Library Catalog.

 Internet Resources

The Internet provides a great amount of information on the subject of history.  Listed below are some of the most well-established collections:

American Memory

 

"American Memory consists of primary source and archival materials relating to American culture and history. These historical collections are the key contribution of the Library of Congress to the National Digital Library. Most of these offerings are from the Library's unparalleled special collections."

 

Archiving Early America

 

"Our main focus is primary source material from 18th Century America-- all displayed digitally. A unique array of original newspapers, maps and writings that come to life on your screen just as they appeared more than 200 years ago. These authentic documents form an historical record of a significant time in the American experience. ... This unique resource is available at no charge to educators, historians, scholars and researchers for such noncommercial purposes as news reporting, classroom use or research. All other use or reproduction of the materials found here is proprietary and protected under the copyright laws."

 

Douglass - Archives of American Public Address

 

"Douglass is an electronic archive of American oratory and related documents. It is intended to serve general scholarship and courses in American rhetorical history at Northwestern University."

 

Historical Text Archive

 

Includes articles, books, documents and historical photographs.

 

History Channel

 

Website of the popular cable channel emphasizes a popular, rather than a scholarly, approach to history.  Includes an audio archive of great speeches.

 

History Net

 

"History Net is a joint effort of America's largest publisher of history magazines, the History Group of Cowles Enthusiast Media and the National Historical Society, a membership organization created to be the history enthusiast's one-stop resource for information, products and services."

 

Making of America

 

"Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection contains approximately 1,600 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. The project represents a major collaborative endeavor in preservation and electronic access to historical texts."

 

National Archives and Records Administration

 

"The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent federal agency that preserves our nation's history and defines us as a people by overseeing the management of all federal records."

 

Yahoo!'s History List

 

Large group of pointers, arranged by both subject area and time period. Highly recommended!

Reference Materials

The following reference materials on history can be found in McFarlin Library:

History Associations

 

Below are some of the websites related to the professional activities of historians:

American Association for State and Local History

 

"The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) is a not-for-profit professional organization of individuals and institutions working to preserve and promote history. The Association, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is dedicated to the 'promotion of effort and actividy in the fields of state, provincial and local history in the United States and Canada.'"

 

American Historical Association

 

"The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest professional historical organization in the United States, bringing together nearly 5,000 institutions and more than 15,000 individuals, including college and university faculty, public historians, independent scholars, archivists, librarians, and secondary school teachers."

 

American Jewish Historical Society

 

"The mission of the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) is to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history."

 

IHR-INFO

 

The Institute of Historical Research provides "information on history seminars, conferences and training courses ... bibliographical and other IHR publications free of charge over the Internet ... a gateway to ... libraries, datasets and other servers".

 

National Trust for Historic Preservation

 

"The National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education and advocacy to save America's diverse historic places and revitalize our communities. [C]hartered by Congress in 1949, [it] is a nonprofit organization with more than 275,000 members. "

 

Organization of American Historians

 

"OAH headquarters in Bloomington, Indiana, serves a membership of 12,000 professionals and scholars in American History. Quarterly publications include the Journal of American History, the OAH Newsletter, and the Magazine of History."

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Citing Sources

For information on style manuals and guides found in McFarlin Library, check out  How to Cite Sources.

 

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