Databases

The following annotations describe the law databases to which FLITE subscribes. The use of these databases is restricted to Ferris-affiliated faculty, students, and staff. Those affiliated with Ferris, please click here for directions for off-campus use.

America: History and Life     [Ferris Only]
Covering the period prehistory-present, America: History and Life is the most comprehensive index to literature published in the field of American History. Citations covering all aspects of American History are derived from over 1,700 publications. Citations for articles published since 1964 are included. Over 16,000 citations are added every year.
*Click here to access a guide on using America: History and Life (PDF).

American Periodical Series Online: 1740 - 1900     [Ferris Only]
This database offers digitized pages from over 1,100 periodical titles published in the United States. A work-in-progress, American Periodical Series currently includes material through the early twentieth century.

The Gerritsen Collection: Women's History Online     [Ferris Only]
The Gerritsen Collection is an internationally renowned women's history resource, formerly available only on microfilm. The Gerritsen database contains over 2 million digitized pages spanning books, periodicals, and pamphlets from 1543 - 1945.
*Click here to access a guide on using the Gerritsen Collection (PDF).

Historical Abstracts     [Ferris Only]
Covering World History from the period 1450 to the present, Historical Abstracts contains citations for articles on all aspects of World History published since 1955. Over 22,000 citations are added each year.

Historical Newspapers     [Ferris Only]
Historical Newspapers is a suite of five databases which contain digitized pages of six major U.S. newspapers (Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post) from the first edition through recent years. Though all five can be searched at once, this link leads to the New York Times.
*Click here to access a guide on using Historical Newspapers (PDF).

JSTOR     [Ferris Only]
JSTOR is a multidisciplinary database which contains the full-text of articles from core journals in 26 academic disciplines. Coverage is from each journal's first issue and continues through 1-5 years from the most recently published issues. Forty History journals are included in JSTOR as well as several journals each for African American Studies, African Studies, Asian Studies, Classical Studies, Latin American Studies, Middle East Studies, and Slavic Studies.
*Click here to access a guide on using JSTOR (PDF).

Project Muse     [Ferris Only]
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 political science, economics, education, literature, history, and the performing arts.
*Click here to access a guide on using Project Muse (PDF).

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African History

African Studies Association
The African Studies Association (ASA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1957 and is open to all individuals and institutions interested in African affairs.

African Studies Center
Maintained by the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvannias, this page contains links to many related sites.

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Asian History

Asian Studies World Wide Web Virtual Library
"A global collaborative project which provides access in bibliographic and in hypertext terms to networked scholarly documents, resources, and information systems concerned with or relevant to Asian Studies."

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Canadian History

Candian Heritage
Maintained by the Department of Canadian Heritage, created to "to consolidate national policies and programs that maintain Canada's cultural sovereignty and promote Canadian identity."

National Library of Canada
The web site of Canada's National Library,a cultural agency responsible for "collecting and preserving Canada's published heritage," provides research tools for finding the many types of materials available at the National Library.

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European History

AHDS History
Maintained at the University of Essex, "AHDS History collects, preserves and promotes the use of digital resources, which result from or support historical research, learning and teaching."

EuroDocs: Primary Historical Documents from Western Europe
Maintained by Brigham Young University, this site contains facsimiles, transcriptions, or translations of hundreds of documents of historical interest from the countries of Western Europe.

Internet History Sourcebooks Project
This online resource contains collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use. Three main sourcebooks - Ancient, Medieval, and Modern History - are available, thematically arranged as African, East Asian, Indian, Islamic, Jewish, Global History, and the History of Science.

Internet Library of Early Journals
Sponsored by the Electronic Libraries Programme, a collaborative effort by the Universities of Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and Oxford, this site provides access to a digital library of 18th and 19th century journals. Full-text titles include The Annual Register, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Gentlemen's Magazine, Notes and Queries, Philosophical Tranactions of the Royal Society, The Builder.

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Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
This site contains information about the Bentley Library and its collections, services, and exhibits. The library owns extensive holdings on the history of Michigan, including more than 30,000 linear feet of archives and manuscripts, 57,000 print volumes, 1.5 million photographs and other visual materials, and more than 10,000 maps.

Clarke Historical Library Web Resources Directory
Housed at Central Michigan University, this site provides information about the Clarke Library and provides web access to Michigan local history resources, bibliographies, and scanned images, including a history of Mecosta County.

Michigan County Histories
Produced through a collaborate inititative by the Michigan Council of Library Directors, Michigan County Histories features nearly 150 digitized titles featuring material on Michigan regional history that were originally published from 1866 to 1926. Atlases, biographies, art reproductions, directories, and narrative histories are among the types of material found through this resource.

Michigan Historical Center
Designed primarily for middle school and high school students and teachers, this site nevertheless provides basic, useful information to any researcher interested in learning about Michigan.

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United States History

American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library Compiled by the Library of Congress National Digital Library Program, this site provides a gateway to many primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. At this time, over one million items are available online.

The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy
A part of Yale University's Avalon Project, Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy provides online full-text for hundreds of primary source documents from the 18th - 21st centuries. Most documents on this site relate to U.S. and European history.

Documenting the American South
Sponsored by the University of North Carolina, this site is a collection of sources on Southern history, literature, and culture from the colonial period to the first decades of the twentieth century. Topics include "North American Slave Narratives," The Southern Homefront, 1861-1865," and "The Church in the Southern Black Community."

A Hypertext on American History: From the Colonial Period Until Modern Times
Approximately 3000 full-text primary source documents, essays, and biographical sketches are included on this site from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Immigration History Research Center (IHRC)
Located at the University of Minnesota, this site provides information on research collections and links to related sites.

Making of America (MOA)
Developed in a collaborative effort between the University of Michigan and Cornell University, MOA contains approximately 8,500 books and 50,000 journal articles, most dating from the nineteenth century. Information is provided, as well, in the areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science.

National Archives and Records Administration
This site functions as the official online presence of the National Archives. It is designed "to ensure ready access to essential evidence . . . that documents the rights of American citizens, the actions of federal officials, and the national experience."

Smithsonian Institute
The Smithsonian site contains information about the institution and its libraries, archives, and collections, with links to affiliated sites.

United States Civil War Center
Housed at Louisiana State University, this site was developed to "locate, index, and make available all appropriate private and public data on the Internet regarding the Civil War." It provides access to documents and resources on the War Between the States and links to more than 5,500 related sites.

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Research Guide: U. S. History (PDF)
Research Guide: World History (PDF)
Citation Style Guide: Chicago (PDF)

Research Guides listing print sources for other subjects are available here.

Compiled by: Paul Kammerdiner, Librarian
Last update: February 21, 2007