history research libraries

• University of Wisconsin–Madison
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Research Guides
• Introduction to Historical Research

Introduction to Historical Research : Home

• Archival sources
• Multimedia sources
• Newspapers and other periodicals
• Biographical Information
• Government documents

Subject-Specialist Librarians

There are librarians on campus that can help you with your specific area of research.

Subject Librarian Directory Subject-specialist/ liaison librarians are willing to help you with anything from coming up with research strategies to locating sources.

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This guide is an introduction to selected resources available for historical research.  It covers both primary sources (such as diaries, letters, newspaper articles, photographs, government documents and first-hand accounts) and secondary materials (such as books and articles written by historians and devoted to the analysis and interpretation of historical events and evidence).

"Research in history involves developing an understanding of the past through the examination and interpretation of evidence. Evidence may exist in the form of texts, physical remains of historic sites, recorded data, pictures, maps, artifacts, and so on. The historian’s job is to find evidence, analyze its content and biases, corroborate it with further evidence, and use that evidence to develop an interpretation of past events that holds some significance for the present.

Historians use libraries to

• locate primary sources (first-hand information such as diaries, letters, and original documents) for evidence
• find secondary sources (historians’ interpretations and analyses of historical evidence)
• verify factual material as inconsistencies arise"

( Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age, Fifth Edition, by Diana Hacker and Barbara Fister, Bedford/St. Martin, 2010)

This guide is meant to help you work through these steps.

Other helpful guides

This is a list of other historical research guides you may find helpful:

• Learning Historical Research Learning to Do Historical Research: A Primer for Environmental Historians and Others by William Cronon and his students, University of Wisconsin A website designed as a basic introduction to historical research for anyone and everyone who is interested in exploring the past.
• Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students by Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College Guide to all aspects of historical scholarship—from reading a history book to doing primary source research to writing a history paper.
• Writing Historical Essays: A Guide for Undergraduates Rutgers History Department guide to writing historical essays
• History Study Guides History study guides created by the Carleton College History Department

• Next: Books >>
• Last Updated: Mar 4, 2024 12:48 PM
• URL: https://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/introhist

History Research Guide

• Background Research
• Scholarly Articles & Dissertations
• Global History
• Historical Newspapers, Periodicals, and Newsmedia
• US Government Information

Information Overload!!!

The strength and the challenge of IU's history collection is its breadth . Do you feel overwhelmed? Can't find what you're looking for? This guide can help.

Getting Started

In a rush? Try the tabs below.

• Background Information
• Scholarly Articles
• Primary Sources

The main catalog of books at Indiana University is IUCAT. Watch the video below if you need help finding e-books in IUCAT.

Search IUCAT:

The Indiana University online catalog.

IUCAT, Indiana University's online library catalog, provides comprehensive access to millions of items held by the IU Libraries statewide, including books, recordings, US government publications, periodicals, and other types of material. Users can access IUCAT from any Internet-connected computer or device, whether in the libraries, on campus, or off campus.

If you are just starting a research project and need to know some basic information to get started, encyclopedias and historical dictionaries are great tools.

Database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources.

Encyclopedias and specialized reference resources in: Arts, Biography, History, Information and Publishing, Law, Literature, Medicine, Multicultural Studies, Nation and World, Religion, Science, Social Science

• History Encyclopedias in IUCAT This link takes you to a list of hundreds of encyclopedias that are available as e-books

Most databases allow you click a box with a name like "scholarly articles," which does a reasonably good job of limiting your results to high-quality, academic articles.

Index to journals, chapters and theses about world history, 1450 to present.

Covers modern world history (excluding the United States and Canada which are covered in the database America: History and Life) from 1450 to the present. It currently indexes about 2,300 journals in 40 languages, with indexing also for some books and dissertations. Most of the article citations include abstracts of 75-100 words.

Bibliographic database focusing on the history and life of the United States and Canada, indexing more than 1,800 journals published, dissertations and reviews.

In addition to the principle English language sources in the field, it includes some (about 10%) in other languages, as well as some state and local history journals. All aspects of historical inquiry are represented: diplomatic, ecclesiastical, agricultural, cultural, economic, political, military and others. The index also provides citations to book and media reviews from about 100 journals and references to abstracts of dissertations in the field. All abstracts are in English.

Although IU has access to newspapers from around the world, most of our large collections of historical newspapers center on the United States. Check out the "Old News" link below for non-American newspapers.

Digital archive of historical newspapers. Each issue of each title includes the complete paper, cover-to-cover, with full-page and article images.

Digital archive of American newspapers published between 1690 and 1922, representing every state in the U.S.

Based on a collection of rare newspapers held by the American Antiquarian Society, with contributions from the Boston Athenaeum, the Connecticut Historical Society, the Connecticut State Library, the Library Company of Philadelphia; the Library of Congress, the libraries of universities such as Brown and Harvard, and private collections. Fully text-searchable; browseable by newspaper title. Collections included: African American Newspapers, Series 1 ; African American Newspapers, Series 2 ;  Caribbean Newspapers ; Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection ; Hispanic American Newspapers ; Early American Newspapers, Series 1-7, 11-12, and 17-19.

Access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages. Search historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.

Produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages.

• Old News: Historical Newspapers and Periodicals by Scholars Commons Staff Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 1936 views this year

There are countless options for primary sources. In addition to all the physical collections at IU  (including the Lilly Library  and University Archives ), IU has paid for access to hundreds of online databases that include primary sources from all over the world and all periods of human history. Finally, libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions have digitized many of their collections and made them freely available. For most history research, at least through the undergraduate level, you can likely find the sources you need right in Bloomington. Contact me  if you need help.

Using Primary Sources for Research:

Online tool designed to support students of the humanities and social sciences. Introduces the key approaches to working with source materials and historical evidence, as well as the methodologies and practicalities of visiting archives, evaluating sources and writing up research. Includes access to module 1: Research Skills Foundations, and module 2: Interrogating Colonial Documents and Narratives.

Includes nearly 200 hundred essays, videos, "How to" guides and case studies by subject specialists which answer questions about working with primary sources. Materials provide guidance on where to find historical documents, and how to best to approach analyzing the content they hold.

Directories of Archives/Special Collections:

Provides access to online findings aids, detailed collection guides or inventories describing where to find an archival collection, how it's arranged, and what it contains.

ArchiveGrid is a collection of archival material descriptions, including MARC records from WorldCat and finding aids harvested from the web. It's supported by OCLC Research as the basis for experimentation and testing in text mining, data analysis, and discovery system applications and interfaces. Archival collections held by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives are represented in ArchiveGrid.

Digitized Primary Sources:

Allows users to search all Adam Matthew digital collections.

Portal for accessing descriptions of archival and special collections held by libraries, archives and other cultural heritage units at Indiana University or affiliated with Indiana University.

Database covering source material dating from 1106 until 1960, aggregating indexes, catalogs, collections, and other finding aids.

Eight Centuries (formerly 19th Century Masterfile ) is a database covering source material dating from 1106 until 1960 (varies by source). 8C aggregates indexes, catalogs, collections, and other finding aids, and includes citations to 9,000 periodicals in 30+ languages. 8C provides access to articles, newspapers, books, U.S. patents, government documents, and images. Links to open access and subscription full-text sources are included where available.

Provides an interactive research environment that allows researchers to cross-search Gale digital archives.

Archival collections documenting topics in eighteenth- through twentieth-century American history. Provides access to digitized letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, diaries, and many more primary source materials taken from the University Publications of America (UPA) Collections.

• Next: Background Research >>
• Last Updated: May 13, 2024 9:16 AM
• URL: https://guides.libraries.indiana.edu/history-guide

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Additional resources

Featured databases.

• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) OneSearch@IU
• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) Academic Search (EBSCO)
• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) ERIC (EBSCO)
• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) Nexis Uni
• Resource available without restriction HathiTrust Digital Library
• Databases A-Z
• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) Google Scholar
• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) JSTOR
• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) Web of Science
• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) Scopus
• Resource available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus) WorldCat

IU Libraries

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Loyola University Chicago Libraries

• Databases by Region
• Databases by Period
• More Options
• Print Indexes
• Text and Document Collections
• Newspapers and Other Periodicals
• Government Information
• Image and Sound Collections
• Archival Collections
• Other Online Collections
• Through the Library Catalog
• Area and Period Studies
• Historiography and Book Reviews
• Other Libraries
• Citing Sources
• HIST 212 (Spring 2024)
• Adding Item to Zotero
• Organizing Items
• Citations & Bibliography

Subject Librarian

All-Hours Research Help

Chat at any time

Generalist librarians offer particularly helpful guidance with online source identification and access.

Library Quick Links

• Ask a Librarian
• Off-Campus Access
• Course Reserves

On this Page

Please scroll down to find these resources:

Essential Resources Online Reference Sources Oxford Bibliographies Online Secondary Source Digital Text Collections

Essential Resources

• America: History and Life This link opens in a new window Indexes journal articles (as well as books, book chapters, dissertations, and similar materials) on American and Canadian history for all time periods.
• Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window Indexes journal articles (as well as books, book chapters, dissertations, and similar materials) on world history outside the United States and Canada from 1450 to the present.

• LUC Library Catalog Advanced Search This link opens in a new window Use the books/ebooks option button to scope the search results to these item types.
• WorldCat Discovery Advanced Search This link opens in a new window Adjust result list sort to relevance in order to eliminate weighting of locally-held titles.

Online Reference Sources: Individual Titles of Note

• American National Biography This link opens in a new window Contains information about individuals who influenced American history.
• Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window Contains information about individuals who influenced British history.
• Oxford Encyclopedia of American Urban History Provides an overview from the pre-Columbian era to the 21st century; edited by Timothy Gilfoyle of Loyola's Department of History.

Online Reference Sources: Collections

Start here to discover a topic, define a term, check a name or event, or identify recommended sources.

• ABC CLIO Electronic Reference Library This link opens in a new window Provides a publisher-based collection of subject-specific encyclopedias.
• African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window Includes reference sources.
• Brill Online Reference Works This link opens in a new window Provides a publisher-based collection of encyclopedias on classical and Islamic history.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window Provides a publisher-based collection of subject-specific encyclopedias; may be browsed by subject.
• Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window Includes a collection of subject-specific encyclopedias and other sources.

Oxford Bibliographies Online

Provide introductory essays and extended, authoritative reference lists on diverse topics; ideal for identifying and narrowing a research topic and identifying suitable sources for research.  Select from the subject modules listed below.

• Oxford Bibliographies Online: African American Studies This link opens in a new window
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Atlantic Histories This link opens in a new window
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Classics This link opens in a new window
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Medieval Studies This link opens in a new window
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Renaissance and Reformation This link opens in a new window

Secondary Source Digital Text Collections

• ACLS Humanities E-Book Project This link opens in a new window
• Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new window
• Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
• Oxford Handbooks Online: Classical Studies, Criminology and Criminal Justice, History, Philosophy, and Religion This link opens in a new window more... less... Offers introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship in a particular field of study.
• Next: Databases >>
• Last Updated: May 8, 2024 11:09 AM
• URL: https://libguides.luc.edu/history

Loyola University Chicago Libraries Cudahy Library · 1032 W. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60660 · 773.508.2632 Lewis Library · 25 E. Pearson St., Chicago, IL 60611 · 312.915.6622 Comments & Suggestions Notice of Non-discriminatory Policy

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Discover DC History

Whether conducting scholarly research, learning the history of your home, or simply looking to learn more about DC’s people, places, and events, the DC History Center’s collection of primary and secondary source materials are waiting for you.

The DC History Center began collecting local Washington, DC history at its founding in 1894. Since then, it has amassed a unique collection of books, photographs, scrapbooks, personal letters and manuscripts, real estate atlases, ephemera, maps and more!

Getting Started

KIPLINGER RESEARCH LIBRARY Named for the local family of publishers, the Kiplinger Research Library is your gateway to hands-on access to the collections. It is a non-circulating library and appointments are required.

REMOTE REFERENCE For those who can’t make an in-person visit or are simply seeking further research assistance.

RESEARCH GUIDES Curated short-cuts into general historical subjects and specific historical topics.

ONLINE CATALOG Search all cataloged items in the DC History Center collection.

REPRODUCTIONS AND PERMISSIONS Get high-resolution digital scans through this Kiplinger Research Library service.

DIGITAL RESOURCES Do-it-yourself online resources from the DC History Center and our partners.

DC History Center 801 K Street Northwest, Washington, DC

Thursday-Friday, 12pm-7pm Saturday-Sunday, 12pm-6pm

Make History

As a private, nonprofit organization, the DC History Center relies on generous gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations to support our mission. In times of upheaval and uncertainty, we rely on history to guide us.

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Keep up with the latest news from the DC History Center! Subscribe to our newsletter.

At the DC History Center, we tell the diverse stories of our nation’s capital to a broad community of learners. We seek to bring people together to satisfy their curiosity, learn each other’s stories, and develop respect for the larger community in which we live.

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Library & Digital

IHR Library & Digital provides a wealth of services and resources, both in person and online, to all those interested in history.

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IHR - In this section

Catalogue search, key information.

Library Membership

The IHR Wohl Library offers free membership for academic staff, students and researchers.

Opening Hours

Learn more about the IHR and Wohl Library's hours of operation and visiting times.

The Institute of Historical Research is located in Senate House in Bloomsbury, London's academic and publishing quarter.

Using the Library

Library guidance for students, researchers and librarians.

Collections

Collection items can be found by browsing the open shelves or by searching our online catalogue.

For SAS Students

An IHR Wohl Library user guide for research students in the School of Advanced Study at the University of London.

Library news

Henry VIII and the IHR Library

This blog post was written by Sophia Benko, Graduate Trainee Library Assistant at the IHR Wohl Library. While librarians always live in fear of fire destro…

First Impressions of the IHR Wohl Library

This blog was written in October by Sophia Benko, Graduate Trainee Library Assistant at the IHR Wohl Library. To celebrate having worked at the IHR library for …

IHR Summer Reading Series

Volume 5 During the month of August we will be sharing summer reading lists, experiences, and suggestions from the IHR community. If you’d like to share your ow…

Reflections on Starting at IHR Library and the IHR Library Survey

This blog post was written by Neil Stewart, Head of IHR Library & Digital. I started as Head of IHR Library & Digital in February 2023, having moved up …

Exploring diaries in the IHR library

Susie Tucker, Graduate Trainee Library Assistant in the IHR Wohl Library, discusses the process of finding and choosing diaries in the library's collection to s…

History Day 2022

Now in its ninth year, this free one-day event aims to bring together students, researchers, and anyone with an interest in history, with information profession…

At home and in the classroom: histories of science and technology in the IH…

This blog post was written by Michael Townsend, Collections and Metadata Librarian at the Institute of Historical Research Library. It is often surprising the b…

Researching in the IHR library: Nineteenth Century Women and the Legal syst…

The post Researching in the IHR library: Nineteenth Century Women and the Legal system appeared first on On History.

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We offer an M.Phil/PhD programme supervised by research subject area experts.

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The IHR offers a wide range of training courses for historians at all career stages, from digital research and oral history to archives and publishing.

Research Resources. Support for historians

The IHR creates resources to encourage, support and facilitate new research by historians.

Our Mission

The Institute of Historical Research is the UK's national centre for history. Learn more about our mission, our values and our vision for the future.

BHC will be closed for Memorial Day on Saturday, May 25th

940 Centre Ave, Reading, PA 19601 | (610) 375-4375   Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 9am – 3pm

940 Centre Ave, Reading, PA 19601 (610) 375-4375   Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 9am – 3pm

Berks History Center’s Henry Janssen Library

The Henry Janssen Library is the center for genealogical and historical research at the Berks History Center.

Need help with your historical research or family genealogy? The Berks History Center’s friendly and professional team of Archivists and Research Assistants is ready to help you uncover Berks County’s history.

For those visiting us in person, the Henry Janssen Library is located at 160 Spring Street in Reading, Pennsylvania, approximately 30 yards west of the Berks History Center headquarters at 940 Centre Avenue.

Can’t make it to the library? For a pre-paid fee, we can investigate materials available in our collections and respond to your historical or genealogical research requests. 

The Henry Janssen Library is home to more than 200 manuscript collections that contain the records of individuals, families, businesses, social organizations, and government. Our library includes an extensive collection of materials on Berks County, the history of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania German history, religion, and decorative arts. Our photographic collections contain more than 20,000 historic images from around the County. Our holdings also include an extensive collection of church records, baptismal certificates (Taufscheine), maps, city directories, and local newspapers.

By appointment only

Wednesday – Saturday : 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Non-Members

Students (with valid id), library guidelines.

• Church and cemetery records
• Photograph indexes
• Marriage license records
• Montgomery’s Historical and Biographical Annals of Berks County
• George Meiser’s The Passing Scene
• The Historical Review of Berks County
• Various military records
• And much more!

Our library staff can copy or scan documents and photographs for patrons. However, we cannot copy more than ten percent of the pages from any single book due to copyright restrictions. In addition, there are instances when we cannot copy a work due to its condition, size, or copyright/access restrictions. The final decision regarding what can or cannot be copied is at the discretion of the Archivist.

Patrons requesting photographic scans must sign a Reproduction Agreement Form which serves as a license agreement between the user and the Berks History Center. Additional policies and an explanation of fees are outlined in our Reproduction Policies and Fees document.

Note: If your copy requests require more than 30 minutes to fill, you may be required to pay a $25.00 an hour Research fee, plus the cost of the copies and postage and handling. The request may be filled within the next two business days as time allows. Copies will be mailed to you.

If copies require 4 or more hours to fill, the researcher will be charged a $50.00 Research fee, plus cost of copies and postage and handling. The request may be filled within the next two business days as time allows. Copies will be mailed to you.

Research Services

Are you unable to visit our library in person?  Are you seeking some help with your research? Let us help you! For a prepaid fee, we can investigate materials available in our collections and respond to your historical or genealogical research request. 

Non-Members: $35.00 per hour

Members: $25.00 per hour

Limit to 1 hour and will contact you if more time is needed.

Please print, fill out, and mail in the form relevant to your research request.

Address your requests to:

Berks History Center ATTN: HJL, 940 Centre Ave, Reading, PA 19601

We ask that you refine your inquiries as much as possible, limiting them to searches for specific information about a Berks County topic. Instead of simply requesting all documents related to Joe Smith, provide any dates you may know, the names of spouses and/or children, and specific information you seek. For Genealogy Requests, please limit your search to one surname in Berks County.

While we cannot guarantee results, we will make every effort to help you by documenting all sources consulted during our research. Staff and volunteers will indicate if additional research time is needed, and we will often note where further information can be found.

We answer research requests on a first come, first serve basis. We do our best to respond to requests within 2 to 3 weeks, but processing time can average 4 to 6 weeks during busy seasons.

If you have additional questions about BHC’s Personalized Research Service, please contact us at [email protected].

Document Retrieval Services

Our team can pull and copy documents from our collection. 

• $8.00 for church, cemetery, and Historical Review lookups
• $8.00 for all other files up to 10 pages, additional pages $0.50 per page for items that are inventoried
• $15.00 for all other files up to 10 pages, additional pages $0.50 per page for items that have NOT been inventoried

Please print, fill out, and mail in the form to:

PLEASE NOTE:  We cannot copy more than ten percent of the pages from any single book due to copyright restrictions. In addition, there are instances when we cannot copy a work due to its condition, size, or copyright/access restrictions. The final decision in regard to what can or cannot be copied is at the discretion of the Archivist.

Archives Library Information Center (ALIC)

Online Databases

• The National Archives Library Catalog
• U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection
• Ancestry.com
• Fold3 (Formerly Footnote.com)
• ProQuest Research Library (articles)
• ProQuest Historical New York Times
• ProQuest Historical Washington Post
• ProQuest History Vault
• Archives Unbound
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)
• Declassified Documents Reference System
• America: History and Life
• Archives Finder
• Ingenta (Articles)
• Digital National Security Archive

The NARA Library Catalog

• Over 106,000 bibliographic citations.
• Archival administration.
• American history and government.
• Administrative history.
• Information management.
• Government documents.
• Newspaper abstracts and/or full text from 1985- (including the full text New York Times for the most recent 90 days).
• Full text of the Washington Post from 1877-2004.
• Full text of the New York Times from 1851-2017.
• Abstracts for over 1000 journals from 1986-.
• Full text for over 700 journals from 1992-.
• American Indians and the U.S. Army: Department of New Mexico, 1853-1866.
• Apache Campaign of 1886: Records of the U.S. Army Continental Commands, Department of Arizona.
• Indian Removal to the West, 1832-1840: Files of the Office of the Commissary General of Subsistence.
• Letters Received by the Attorney General, 1809-1870: Western Law and Order.
• Major Council Meetings of American Indian Tribes.
• Asian Immigration and Exclusion, 1906-1913
• Mexican Immigration, 1906-1930
• Ellis Island, 1900-1933
• European Investigations, 1898-1936
• Prostitution and White Slavery, 1902-1933
• Suppression of Aliens, 1906-1930
• This collection of U.S. State Department Central Classified Files relating to internal and foreign affairs contain a wide range of materials from U.S. diplomats, including special reports on political and military affairs, foreign policymaking, interviews and minutes of meetings, and much more.
• Consists of State Department telegrams and White House backchannel messages between U.S. ambassadors in Saigon and White House national security advisers, talking points for meetings with South Vietnamese officials, intelligence reports, drafts of peace agreements, and military status reports.
• These generals’ reports of service represent an attempt by the Adjutant General’s Office (AGO) to obtain more complete records of the service of the various Union generals serving in the Civil War. In 1864, the Adjutant General requested that each such general submit "…a succinct account of your military history…since March 4th, 1861."
• The rosters, which are part of the Records of the War Relocation Authority, consist of alphabetical lists of evacuees resident at the relocation centers during the period of their existence. The lists typically provide the following information about the individual evacuees: name, family number, sex, date of birth, marital status, citizenship status, alien registration number, method of original entry into center (from an assembly center, other institution, Hawaii, another relocation center, birth, or other), date of entry, pre-evacuation address, center address, type of final departure (indefinite leave, internment, repatriation, segregation, relocation, or death), date of departure, and final destination.
• Primarily Department of State cables and CIA intelligence information cables concerning South and North Vietnam. Topics include the Vietnam War, U.S.-South Vietnam relations, South Vietnam’s political climate, opposition groups, religious sects, ethnic groups, labor unions, corruption, press censorship, the North Vietnam’s military and economy, peace negotiations, and events in Cambodia and Laos.
• There is essential and unique documentation on a wide variety of topics relating to Japanese internal affairs, including national preparedness, militarism, Sino-Japanese war and the home front, and much more.
• This publication comprises two collections related to Holocaust Era Assets. The first includes Records Regarding Bank Investigations and Records Relating to Interrogations of Nazi Financiers , from the records of the Office of the Finance Division and Finance Advisor in the Office of Military Government, U.S. Zone(Germany) (OMGUS), during the period 1945-1949. The second comprises Records Regarding Intelligence and Financial Investigations, 1945-1949 , from the Records of the Financial Intelligence Group, Office of the Finance Adviser. These collections consist of memorandums, letters, cables, balance sheets, reports, exhibits, newspaper clippings, and civil censorship intercepts.
• This publication consists of documents of an administratively-sensitive nature, arranged according to subject from President Nixon’s Special Files collection, comprising the Confidential and Subject Files. These documents provide an in-depth look into the activities of the President, his closest advisors, and the administration.
• This collection provides researchers with the opportunity to explore a unique period in China’s struggle toward a modern existence through the International Settlement in Shanghai.
• The records in this collection relate to political relations between China and Japan for the period 1930-1939. The records are mostly instructions to and despatches from diplomatic and consular officials; the despatches are often accompanied by enclosures.
• This collection reproduces the six principal Military Intelligence Division (MID) files relating exclusively to China for the period 1918 to 1941 (general conditions, political conditions, economic conditions, army, navy, and aeronautics). Also includes documents created by other U.S. Government agencies and foreign governments from the records of the MID.
• This collection includes directives and memoranda related to the Public Housing Administration's policies and procedures. Among the documents are civil rights correspondence, statements and policy about race, labor-based state activity records, local housing authorities' policies on hiring minorities, court cases involving housing decisions, racially-restrictive covenants, and news clippings.
• This collection contains materials related to the diplomatic and military response by the United States (as part of a multi-national force) to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990.
• It was within the context of evidence collection that the War Crimes Branch received copies of documents known as "SAFEHAVEN Reports." In order to coordinate research and intelligence-sharing regarding SAFEHAVEN-related topics, the War Crimes Branch received SAFEHAVEN reports from various agencies of the U.S. Government, as well as SAFEHAVEN-related military attaché reports, regarding the clandestine transfer of German assets outside of Germany that could be used to rebuild the German war machine or the Nazi party after the war, as well as art looting and other acts that elicited the interest of Allied intelligence agencies during the war.
• The U.S. State Department’s Office of Chinese Affairs, charged with operational control of American policy toward China, amassed information on virtually all aspects of life there immediately before, during, and after the revolution. Declassified by the State Department, the Records of the Office of Chinese Affairs, 1945-1955, provide valuable insight into numerous domestic issues in Communist and Nationalist China, U.S. containment policy as it was extended to Asia, and Sino-American relations during the post-war period.
• This publication consists of studies, analyses, testimony, talking points and news clippings which detail the origins of the S&L crisis and outlined solutions to the growing crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In essence, this publication provides an analysis of the causes and political perspectives on the Savings and Loan Crisis.
• The Subject Files from the Office of the Director, U.S. Operations Missions, document the myriad concerns and rationales that went into the control and direction of U.S. economic and technical assistance programs, as well as the coordination of mutual security activities, with respect to Vietnam.
• This collection consists of the letters received by and letters sent to the War Department, including correspondence from Indian superintendents and agents, factors of trading posts, Territorial and State governors, military commanders, Indians, missionaries, treaty and other commissioners, Treasury Department officials, and persons having commercial dealings with the War Department, and other public and private individuals.
• This collection brings together a series of Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) collections that highlight efforts to meld the issue of civil rights and antipoverty initiatives.
• This digital collection reviews U.S.-China relations in the post-Cold War Era, and analyzes the significance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, China’s human rights issues, and resumption of World Bank loans to China in July 1990.
• This collection contains Bush Presidential Records from a variety of White House offices. These files consist of letters of correspondence, memoranda, coversheets, notes, distribution lists, newspaper articles, informational papers, published articles, and reports from the public, the Congress, Bush administration officials, and other various federal agencies primarily regarding American Middle East peace policy and the United States’ role in the many facets of the Middle East peace process.
• This collection contains documents from Record Group 472, Records of the United States Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975, Records of the Military Assistance Advisory Group Vietnam, 1950-1964, Adjutant General Division.
• This collection identifies the key issues, individuals, and events in the history of U.S.-Southeast Asia relations between 1944 and 1958, and places them in the context of the complex and dynamic regional strategic, political, and economic processes that have fashioned the American role in Southeast Asia.
• The program of technical cooperation in Iraq, prior to the Revolution of 1958, was frequently cited as an example of the ideal Point Four program. The overthrow of the established government led naturally to questions concerning the "failure" of American technical assistance in that country. This collection comprises, in its entirety, the Primary Source Media microfilm collection entitled Records of U.S. Foreign Assistance Agencies, 1948-1961: U.S. Operations Mission in Iraq, 1950-1958.
• The Axis occupation of Greece during World War II began in April 1941 after the German and Italian invasion of Greece was carried out together with Bulgarian forces. The occupation lasted until the German withdrawal from the mainland in October 1944. This collection comprises, in their entirety, the Scholarly Resources microfilm collections entitled Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs, Greece, 1940-1944; and Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs, Greece, 1945-1949.
• Comprehensive index to nearly 12 million biographical sketches in more than 2700 volumes.  
• Provides online access to over 500,000 pages of previously classified government documents covering major international events from the Cold War to the Vietnam War and beyond.  
• Complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
• 490,000 bibliographic entries for periodicals dating back to 1954.
• Over 2,000 journals published worldwide.
• Produced by ABC-CLIO.
• Also includes access to ebooks history collection of thousands of titles on all aspects of US and world history.
• Click on subscription access link to browse the database.
• Contains comprehensive set of declassified government documents.
• Covers critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century.
• Includes glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs.
• Documents available in PDF format.
• Offers full-text of various legal resources and law journals.
• Includes the complete Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and the United States Code.

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UCI Library Search The UCI Libraries' main catalog, where you can find both print books and e-books.

WorldCat Discovery @ UCI A catalog that includes materials held at UCI, other UC libraries, and libraries worldwide. This is a great place to find books not held by UCI Libraries that you can request via interlibrary loan.

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Historical Abstracts * Covers world history from 1450 - present. Does not include much on the United States or Canada, but does have information about early colonial, revolutionary and early republic eras. Includes articles, books, dissertations and book reviews.

America: History and Life * This is the main database for US and Canadian History. Start here to find peer reviewed articles, scholarly books, and book reviews. For history of any other part of the world back to 1450, use Historical Abstracts.

Academic Search Complete * A multidisciplinary database for peer-reviewed journals, newspapers and magazines, and some trade publications.

JSTOR * A growing full text collection of scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences. Most titles only include backfiles (some as far back as the early 1800s), with only some current content.

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To find research guides in Harvard Libraries: E-Resources : choose Subject + Resource Type: Research Guides. Guides are also available via the Harvard Library Research Guides site which includes some guides not accessible through Harvard Libraries.

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Columbia university libraries recognizes the 2024 recipients of the bancroft prizes in american history and diplomacy.

Columbia University Libraries hosted a program on April 18 in recognition of the 2024 recipients of the Bancroft Prizes in American History and Diplomacy , awarded this year to Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion by Elliott West (University of Nebraska Press, 2023) and Fire and Rain: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Wars in Southeast Asia by Carolyn Woods Eisenberg (Oxford University Press, 2023). The annual event, organized in partnership with the Department of History and the Forum at Columbia University, included remarks by Ann Thornton, Vice Provost and University Librarian, and Michael Witgen, Professor of History at Columbia and 2024 Bancroft Chair, as well as conversations with the winners. The entire 2024 program is available to view on C-SPAN. (All photos by Diane Bondareff.)

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• Emilyfoster

Researching Oakland outside of the Oakland History Center

While the Main Library is closed for repairs this year, no one (including staff) will have access to the many unique resources housed in the Oakland History Center. We know your research won't stop just because we're closed, so here are a few suggestions for some of our favorite online (and in-person) resources for researching local history questions outside of the Oakland History Center. 

No matter what you're researching, it's usually a good idea to search in historic newspapers. There are many ways to search online, collected here our website. Looking for articles that we only have on microfilm? Try the newspaper collections at UC Berkeley and San Francisco Public Library - both have extensive collections that have some overlap with what's available at the Main Library. 

Oakland City Directories are another multi-purpose resource. A list of links to Oakland City Directories, and a few Reverse Directories, can be found here . City directories often have a narrative section at the beginning giving general information about the city, which is a great way to get an idea of what Oakland was like during that time period. The directories are also a great resource for finding information about people, as listings often include names of spouses and employment information in addition to names and addresses. There's also a classified section in case you want to know how many glove manufacturers, hairdressers, or macaroni factories were operating in the city in a given year. You can search the full text of the online city directories for addresses, too, which makes them a helpful resource for researching the history of buildings.   

Want a book that's only available in OHC? Our Oakland History Center On the Go! ebook and audiobook collection, which focuses mostly on newer titles, will remain available through Overdrive / Libby. The   Internet Archive, which has digitized copies of some titles in our collection. You can also t ry searching on LINK+ in case another library system has a copy they'll lend out, or a reference copy that's close enough for you to travel to. 

For genealogy research beyond newspapers and directories, you can access the Ancestry and HeritageQuest databases through the library's subscriptions at the links listed here . You can also seek in-person assistance at the Oakland FamilySearch Center , the California Genealogical Society Library , or the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC) .

Researching a building? The Alameda County Assessor's Office can provide some information about buildings and property ownership via email or an in-person visit. Building permits for Oakland can be found online by searching the microfiche at the Planning Department's website . You can also email Betty Marvin at the Planning Department with more questions - she has access to the files of the Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey and some other documents that aren't available online.

Some Oakland Sanborn Maps are available here on the Library of Congress website. The David Rumsey Collection has made many other maps for Oakland and beyond available to view online. One particular highlight is Thompson & West's 1878 Historical Atlas of Alameda County from 1878. Old Maps Online is another way to browse maps that allows you to layer historic maps over a modern map - you'll see different historic map options as you zoom in and out or change the time period. 

If you're looking for photographs, try  Calisphere . It's home to the Oakland History Center's digitized collections , as well as collections from libraries, archives, and museums throughout the state . Many images are available to download. We have photographs, posters, manuscripts, and more in our collection, and we'll be adding newly digitized materials throughout our closure.

California Revealed is a great place to find audiovisual materials. The Oakland History Center's digitized AV collection is available here , or on Calisphere.  The Bay Area Television Archive is another great source of documentary video footage. 

Looking for City of Oakland documents? Try Legistar , where you can find legislation, meeting minutes, and agendas for City Council and various commissions going back to the year 2000. 

If you're wondering where to find archival collections about a certain topic, try searching Online Archive of California and ArchiveGrid . These sites have finding aids for collections at many libraries and archives. Some collections will have links to items that are available to view online. 

You're also welcome to email Oakland History Center staff at [email protected] . Although we don't have access to our physical collection, we may be able to direct you to another place to search, either online or in person. We can also help you search if you're having trouble using any of the online resources listed above.  

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History and culture resources, databases for history and culture research​.

• ​History and Culture Research Guides

History and Culture Libraries at the Smithsonian

Welcome to the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' resources for history and culture. These resources were gathered to help students, teachers, and researchers explore resources at our libraries and beyond. Please feel free to Contact Us with suggestions for additional resources or with questions.

• Smithsonian Libraries and Archives offers staff and onsite visitors access to many  Databases for History and Culture Research .
• A complete listing of Libraries and Archives' databases is located on our  E-journals, E-books, and Databases . ​

​ History and Culture Research Guides​

Explore freely available history and culture resources compiled by subject experts within Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.

• Aeronautics Research Guide :  A select list of mostly freely-available resources for students, teachers, and researchers to learn about aeronautics. 
• American Art and Portraiture Research Guide :  General topics in American art, American history and biography, art appraisals, and more.​
• American History Research Guide :  Extensive list covering American history and culture, political science, military history, women's history, American immigration, as well as the history of science, medicine and technology. ​
• American Indian Research Guide : Associations, research centers, and Smithsonian resources related to American Indian studies. 
• Anacostia Community Research Guide :  Topics related to African American history and culture, as well as urban communities.​
• Anthropology Research Guide :  Includes Smithsonian and other web-based resources related to archaeology, ethnology, anthropology, Native American studies, and linguistics.​
• Astronomy Research Guide :  Resources focusing on general areas of astronomy.
• Earth and Space Sciences Research Guide :  Resources in areas of earth and space science as they relate to astronomy and space exploration. 
• Genealogy Research Guide :  This guide identifies a select list of resources relating to American biography, family history, genealogy, and local history.​​​​
• History of Science and Technology Research Guide :  Resources on many fields within the history of science, along with some of its major personalities.
• Postal History and Philately Research Guide :  Resources on postal history and philately (stamp collecting).​
• Rare Books on Natural History Research Guide : Includes resources about digitized rare books and exhibitions at the Smithsonian and other valuable rare book infromation.

Contact the subject librarians at our History and Culture libraries for more details on resources and access to collections. ​

• Anacostia Community Museum Library :  The Library supports the Anacostia Community Museum's mission, which is to document and preserve communities’ memories, struggles, and successes, and offer a platform where diverse voices and cultures can be heard.
• National Air and Space Museum Library :  A premier aviation and aerospace history collection, the library supports research by the Museum’s curatorial staff and aviation researchers around the world.​​​​​​
• National Museum of African American History and Culture Library :  The Library supports the mission of the museum, and the research and documentation of all aspects of the African American experience.
• National Museum of American History Library :  A premier American history collection covering all areas of American history and culture, including social, economic, technological and scientific developments.
• National Postal Museum Library :  Contains more than 40,000 books, journals, catalogs, and documents, and is among the world's largest postal history and philatelic research facilities.
• Smithsonian Libraries Research Annex :  The most subject-diverse branch within the Smithsonian Libraries system, with extensive serials holdings as well as monographs, and many unique and specialized collections.

Vine Deloria, Jr. Library, National Museum of the American Indian :  The Deloria Library supports the National Museum of the American Indian Museum, the Cultural Resources Center, and the George G. Heye Center in New York City.

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Texas-sized renovation in the works for library’s special history collection

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A renewed space for the tens of thousands of rare and historic documents at the San Antonio Public Library is underway.

City Council approved a contractor’s bid in early May to remodel and expand the Texana Resource Center after several years of delays as construction costs grew along with the project scope. 

In the coming weeks, a crew from Best Built will begin the work to expand the special collections space holding the history of South Texas on its shelves. 

The $5 million project will turn an entire floor of the enchilada-red library in downtown San Antonio into a 21,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art history and research center serving the entire region. 

“That’s bigger than our largest branch library,” said Kathy Donellan, interim library director. A 19-year library staffer, Donellan stepped into the interim role following Ramiro Salazar’s retirement in March.

The 2017 and 2022 bond project, a full-scale renovation of the sixth floor of the Central Library, is expected to begin soon and be completed in late 2024. 

Preparing for construction

San Antonio-based architecture firm Marmon Mok designed the new Texana Resource Center. 

In addition to a large, archival vault with high-density shelving and advanced climate control systems that protect rare and fragile items from potential damage, the remodeled center will have a flexible classroom space, private consulting rooms, a genealogy research room and gallery space. 

In preparation for construction, the library’s uppermost floor is bare except for a few empty filing cabinets, a stack of old ceiling tiles and a huddle of dress mannequins from a years-ago fashion exhibit. 

For now, most of the center’s collection of thousands of maps, posters, brochures, books, photos and other historic documents are safely stored away or placed in a temporary home on the library’s main floor. 

The more popular items in the collection, like newspapers, city directories and clipping files, have been moved to temporary space near the reception desk where library patrons can still access the materials. 

There, vertical filing cabinets in blue, yellow and black contain folders with historic documents about everything from the earliest days of Fiesta and sports teams in San Antonio to the city’s theaters, businesses and schools. 

Filling the shelves are titles chronicling Texas history, books with spines bearing family names like Martinez and Marroquin, and rows upon rows of hardback city directories with leathery covers and gold-embossed lettering.

Genealogy research

Also kept on file in the resource center are copies of death notices and immigration records, one of the most frequently requested items, said Special Collections Manager Heather Ferguson, who oversees the Texana Resource Center. 

“The San Antonio Public Library, throughout its history, had a fairly large collection of books on Texas and general history topics,” Ferguson said. 

“But it wasn’t really until the library relocated into the 1995 building that we’re in presently that [the resource center] got rebranded as an entire department with a dedicated space and staff and a special storage vault for housing sensitive materials.”

The special collection continues to grow through acquisitions and donations of precious and historical items. 

Prominent lawyer and circus memorabilia collector Harry Hertzberg donated 500 original WWI recruitment posters. Those priceless posters plus an extensive collection of historic maps, including the comprehensive Sanborn Maps , are stored in wide, flat filing cabinets.

The variety of materials on hand in the Texana is broad — and specific to the region. 

“The large collection that we have been building on is a collection of African American funeral programs from the San Antonio area,” Ferguson said. Through a grant, the library is working with the University of North Texas to digitize the unique collection. 

Since October 2022, the seven-member Texana staff estimates responding to over 16,000 reference questions and research inquiries in addition to hosting 102 Texana-specific programs for more than 1,400 people.

Genealogy research is a big part of what Texana provides, and the library staff, experts at research and familiar with the collection and various databases they subscribe to, work to help people find what they’re looking for. 

Not all of them live in San Antonio, and in fact, many visit from outside the area or even the state.

“We have a gentleman who’s going to visit us next month who’s coming in town and wants to do some research on his grandparents,” said Deborah Countess, special collections librarian. “We get people from out of town all the time, sometimes specifically just to do research on their family.”

Funds for book-keeping

The 2017 bond funded the Texana project at $700,000, far less than the $2 million the library requested, Donellan said. The San Antonio Library Foundation stepped forward to raise an additional $850,000 toward the project. 

The remaining balance came from other private donations and from the $6 million in total funding for library improvements in the 2022 bond, of which $3.4 million was earmarked for Texana.

Since its creation 41 years ago, the foundation has worked hand-in-hand with the public library, raising more than $50 million for library needs, said Amy Hone, executive director of the San Antonio Library Foundation.

“History and all of the family stories and everything that Texana is safeguarding for the citizens of San Antonio, that was a huge priority for the former director, Ramiro Salazar,” Hone said. The foundation began fundraising in 2016 for the resource center as well as for the Latino Collection and Resource Center and the Forest Hills branch renovation. 

Several local family foundations have donated generously to those projects, so when it looked as if a planned art gallery and donor recognition space in the Texana Resource Center would exceed the budget, the foundation contributed $200,000 for the space, she added.

While the collection holds priceless and useful information, the seven staffers who work in the Texana could be considered the real resource, often doing the time-consuming work of tracking down information through various sources.

“Part of our job is helping to point researchers where those records or materials might be if they’re not here at the library and where they can find them,” Ferguson said. They also assist people from all over. 

The Texana is a regional resource, said Donellan. 

“We’re really preserving these materials for the whole region,” she said. “So a lot of [what the project is about] is about giving better accessibility to the public and then also expanding what’s available digitally.”

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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2024 Summer Research Laboratory

Welcome & important information, contact information, history of the summer research lab, additional library locations & hours.

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Welcome to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and to the Summer Research Lab! The Slavic Reference Service (SRS) , the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC) , and the Center for Global Studies (CGS) are committed to providing high quality research support for the duration of the SRL period, which will occur from June 10th to August 2nd, 2024  and beyond. Please use this libguide to find important information about SRL including the event schedule, services offered by the Slavic Reference Service, information about internet access, online resources and more. 

All SRL Participants should register for the required orientation session with the Slavic Reference Service. Participants are also encouraged to take part in a  personalized bibliographic session with SRS, so that we can help you form a research strategy and identify possible sources specific to your project that may be of interest. SRS will contact participants individually before your arrival to schedule a time that works for this personalized session. 

The Slavic Reference Service is here to help you make the most of your stay at the University of Illinois. SRS provides the following services: 

• Making copies of chapters or short articles held at UIUC through our Duplication Service .     
• Identifying materials in our collection and libraries. 
• Verifying and correcting citations.  
• Suggesting reference materials you might find relevant for your research. 
• Offering access through our website to extensive research resources organized by country . 

For more information about what we do and our services, please see our website . 

Email :  [email protected]

Hours : Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: CLOSED

Phone:  217-333-1349

Twitter:   @SRSUIUC

Facebook :  Slavic Reference Service

For more information about our library, please visit the  Insider's guide to the library .

The Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center can be reached at  [email protected] . For additional information on the SRL from a REEEC-focused perspective, please read their  Introduction to the Summer Research Laboratory  page.

The history of the Summer Research Lab dates back to the founding of the Russi an, East European, and Eurasian Center in 1958. At the time, the University of Illinois was not known as a center for Slavic area studies. It was the arrival of Dr. Ralph Fisher that spearheaded the initiative to grow the center into a nationally - and later internationally - renowned area studies center. In the following year, he hired Larry Miller to take charge of the Slavic collection at the university library, and by 1964, in less than six years, it was already the largest Slavic library collection in the Midwest. The year 1970 greeted another milestone for Russian, East European, and Eurasian area studies on campus when the Slavic Division at the library moved to its own separate reading room, where all the library staff and scholars from various departments could come together. The first session of the Summer Research Lab was in 1973, not only marking a turning point for campus area studies, but setting a nationwide precedent for research pertaining to this region. Within the next two years, the Slavic Reference Service was officially established, thereby enabling the Slavic librarians to remotely share their reference knowledge with scholars worldwide throughout the year.

Nowadays, thanks to the visionary work of Ralph Fisher, Larry Miller, and many other Slavic librarians and scholars, the collection on campus is routinely ranked as the second or third largest Slavic collection in the country. Furthermore, the strong ties between the Slavic Reference Service and the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center has served as a model for how the other area centers interact with and draw from the International Reference Services in the library. Both the institutional strength of the center and the vastness of the library collection have drawn some of the best scholars in myriad fields such as literature, cinema, history, musicology, and anthropology to call the University of Illinois their home, marking it as an intellectual landmark for Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies in many disciplines. (For more information on the history of the center and the library's Slavic collection, check out this blog post .)

During your time here as an SRL Associate, you will have full library privileges to conduct research. These privileges include free access to the stacks, use of a carrel, and the right to check out books and bound periodicals. This guide will serve to orient visiting scholars on the multitude of research technologies available at the University of Illinois Library. 

The Slavic Reference Service staff will be available to assist you with technology related issues. Do not hesitate to contact us at: [email protected]

Main Library  

Summer Hours : Monday- Friday: 8:30am-6pm; Saturday & Sunday: 1:00 pm -5:00 pm (Phonecenter M-F 8:30-5pm)

Phone : 217-333-2290

Grainger Engineering Library

Summer Hours : Monday-Thursday: 8:30 am - 3 am; Friday: 8:30 am-6:00 pm; Saturday & Sunday: 1:00 pm -8:00 pm

Phone : 217-244-7826

Please note all libraries will be closed on June 19th and July 4th. 

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• Last Updated: May 22, 2024 10:31 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/2024SRL