HIST 253 - Busch
Finding Books
Reference sources can often be a first place to go when beginning research on a topic. FLITE subscribes to many online history reference books and has many more print versions in the building. Remember that while print Reference books can't be checked out, you are welcome to use them within the library and to make photocopies of relevant material. Print reference books are on the first floor of FLITE.
For books in the circulating collection (Main Stacks), use the Online Catalog. Try Keyword searches to ascertain which Subject Headings are appropriate for your topic; you can click on Subject Headings from individual book records or redo the search as a Subject search.
Finding Articles from Library Databases
Primary Sources
Historical Newspapers
The set of six historical newspaper databases contain every article published in each paper up to a point in the recent past. To search all six at once, click into any one of the Historical Newspaper databases, click on Select Multiple Databases, check all six, and then click on Continue. The six are:
Chicago Tribune
Christian Science Monitor
Los Angeles Times
New York Times
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post
*Click here to learn about using Historical Newspapers.
American Periodicals Series: 1740-1900
This database offers digitized pages from over 1,100 periodical titles, including history journals, published in the United States.
*Click here for information on using American Periodicals Series.
The Gerritsen Collection: Women's History Online from 1535-1945
Formerly available only on microfilm, the Gerritsen collection is an internationally recognized women's history resource with more than 2 million full-text digitized pages from books, periodicals, and pamphlets. Coverage runs from the sixteenth century through the mid-twentieth century.
*Click here to learn about using the Gerritsen Collection.
Secondary Sources
Academic OneFile
A large database with broad subject coverage, including history, containing many full-text resources.
America: History and Life
Covering the period prehistory-present, America: History and Life contains citations from over 1,700 publications on all aspects of American (United States and Canada) History. Articles published since 1964 are included.
*Click here to access a guide on using America: History and Life.
Biography Reference Bank
Biography Reference Bank includes full-text biographical information on over 500,000 people from antiquity to the present. Thousands of images and article citations are available as well.
For information on using Biography Reference Bank, click on Help at the top of the Biography Reference Bank homepage.
Historical Abstracts
Historical Abstracts is a companion database to America: History and Life, covering World History from 1450 to the present. Over 22,000 citations are added each year, with coverage going back to 1955.
*Click here to learn about using America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts.
JSTOR
JSTOR is a multidisciplinary database which contains the full-text of articles from core journals in several academic disciplines. Coverage is from each journal's first issue and continues through 2-5 years from the most recently published issues. 73 History journals are included in JSTOR.
*Click here to learn about using JSTOR.
Project MUSE
A partnership of several non-profit publishers, Project Muse offers full-text articles from over 250 journals. Full-text coverage for each journal varies but usually starts in the mid- to late- 1990s. Journals in Muse encompass the social sciences, humanities, and the arts; specific fields covered by Muse include history.
*Click here to learn about using Project Muse.
Off-Campus Access
For information on accessing databases from off-campus, click here. If you are a Distance Education student, see our Distance Education Library Services page.
Citing Sources
Whenever you are quoting or using information from a source, you must credit or cite that source. Failure to do so is plagiarism which can lead to expulsion from the University.
Chicago Citation Guide
An online version of FLITE's quick guide for Chicago style citations.
RefBase
RefBase is a citation management resource provided by the library. You can create an account and format your citations in a fraction of the time it takes to format citations without this great tool.
Guide to Exporting Citations from Databases to RefBase
Contact: Paul Kammerdiner / Email / Phone: 231-591-3037 / Office: FLITE 331
Don't forget, you are welcome to come to the Oval Information Desk and ask for help any time. You can also call us 231-591-3602 or chat with us.
Last update: September 22, 2009