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William Madison Randall Library
Historical Research at Randall Library

FIND THE BEST SOURCES AND SERVICES

Historical research is complex, and with the advent of digitization of sources for the web, new resources are continuously becoming available.  This guide is intended to get you started, not to be comprehensive!

First, be sure you can access library resources wherever you go. Use the My Library Record link to set up your library PIN (which can be letters, numbers or a combination of the two.) Additional registrations are needed for certain services, as noted below. You can also refer to the Registration Guide.

When you need to find:

Go to these sources (Online unless otherwise noted):

Books on your topic

Randall Library Catalog (local holdings) http://library.uncw.edu
Expand to search UNC Coastal Library Consortium
     (UNCW, Fayetteville State University, UNC Pembroke)
WorldCat (10,000 libraries)
netLibrary(Requires registration from campus computer.)
 (ebooks are also in Randall Library Catalog)

Bibliographies (book length and in secondary sources)

Publications not in Randall Library's collections?

ILLiad Interlibrary Loan Service (linked in WorldCat)
UNC Coastal Library Consortium -- Place a Hold
UNC Cooperative Lending Service
Search Other Library Catalogs

Reserve Readings for my courses

ERes Course Reserve
Readings may be posted in Blackboard or SeaPort

Scholarly articles on history

America: History and Life  
Historical Abstracts
JSTOR
 (excludes latest 3-5 years)
Humanities Index International (includes related disciplines)
EbscoHost Academic Search Premier

For more, see History Database page.

Other databases on related disciplines

PRINT INDEXES
International Index to Periodical Literature (1907-1965) INDEX AI3 .R5
Social Sciences & Humanities Index (1965-1974) INDEX AI3.R5
Humanities Index (1974-1984 - continues online) INDEX AI3 .R525
Other H.W. Wilson indexes on specific disciplines, e.g. Art Index

Book reviews

PUBLISHED FROM MID-1980s:
EbscoHost Academic Search Premier , MasterFILE Premier , etc.
Lexis-Nexis Academic Search (newspapers, including NYT Book Review)
Amazon.com
ChoiceReviews.online

EARLIER PUBLICATIONS:
Book Review Digest (from 1905) INDEX Z1219 .C95
Book Review Index (from 1965) INDEX Z1035 .A1 .B6
Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities (1960-1990) INDEX Z1035 .A1 I63

Popular Articles published during a
historical period or event (i.e., primary sources)

FULL TEXT ONLINE:
New York Times Archive (from 1851)
HarpWeek  (1857-1877)
Palmer's Full Text Online (Full text of the Times of London, 1800-1870, indexing for 1785-1905)
Pennsylvania Gazette (1728-1800)
Making of America  
     Cornell University's MoA collection includes 22 periodicals, 1815-1901, and 109 monographs.  It also provides full-text searchable access to Official Records of the War of the Rebellion (both Armies and Navies series).  
     MoA at the University of Michigan provides online access to approximately 8,500 books and 11 periodicals, 1831-1900.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle  (1841-1902)

INDEXING ONLINE:
Readers' Guide Retrospective indexes the most popular periodicals in the U.S., 1890-1982

PRINT INDEXES:
Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, (1802-1907) INDEX AI3. P7
Palmer's Index to the Times (1801-1925) and the Official Index to the Times [ London] INDEX AI21 .T458
Virginia Gazette Index (1736-1780) INDEX AI21 .V5

Does Randall Library own a periodical, and if so, which issues? Randall Library Catalog [Journal Title or Title search]
    (Includes online, paper, and microfilm holdings)
Where is a periodical indexed? Serials Directory
Ulrich's Periodical Directory

Randall Library Catalog / WorldCat
Indexed Periodicals
INDEX Z6951 .M3
Encyclopedias and other reference sources Britannica Online
Sage eReference
Daily Life Through History
Historic Events of the 20th Century
Browse Reference Collection ( Call Number Outline)
Biographical information

BOOK LENGTH:
Randall Library Catalog & UNC Coastal Library Consortium
WorldCat

ARTICLE LENGTH:
Biography & Genealogy Master Index   (indexes thousands of biographical
     dictionaries and Biography Index)
Dictionary of National Biography (DNB)
Heritage Quest
Librarians' Index to the Internet: Notable People
Periodical databases & indexes

FOR MORE GUIDANCE:
Randall Library Topic Guide: Biographical Information

Statistics

Historical Statistics of the United States
International Data Base
Lexis Nexis Statistical

Statisical Compendiums in the print Reference Collection

U.S. Government Information
(Randall Library is partial depository since 1965) 

Randall Library Catalog (from 1990)
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (1976-date)
WorldCat

Lexis Nexis Congressional Search
Lexis-Nexis Academic Search Legal Research

PRINT INDEXES:
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (1940-1976) INDEX Z1223.A18
Catalogue of the Public Documents (1893-1940)  INDEX Z1223.A187

Primary Sources " Finding Primary Sources for Historical Research"
Where are archival collections I should contact and/or visit? Randall Library Special Collections
WorldCat
Search Other Library Catalogs
Bibliographies in secondary works
Repository websites
Historical maps

David Rumsey Map Collection
Perry Castaneda Library Map Collection
(University of Texas Austin)  
American Memory: Map Collections

Sanborn Maps: North Carolina

PRINT SOURCES
Shepard's Historical Atlas  ATLAS G1030 .S4 1964
Times Atlas of World History (ATLAS G1030 .T54 1993)

Search the Library Catalog:  Subject=Historical geography -- Maps

Quotations Bartlett ’s Familiar Quotations Online & REF PN6081.B27
Browse REF PN6080s
What They Said REF D410 .W46 (1969-1995)
High Quality Websites Randall Library Subject Guide: History: Selected Internet Sources
WWW Virtual Library: History
Librarians Index to the Internet
History Highway
REF D16.117 .H57 2006
Where can get help with writing and citing?

University Learning Center (Westside Hall)
Strunk's Elements of Style
Randall Library's Citing Sources Guide
Turabian's Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations Ready Ref LB2369 .T87 1996

EndNote Web (Through Web of Knowledge)

Where else can I look? Ask a Librarian! (Reference Desk, Email, Chat, NCKnows)
STAR Program
What do I have checked out?  When is it due?  Renew items "My Library Record "
Where can I make prints & photocopies? iPrint
Copy Room (ID Card); Circulation & outside Special Collections (ID, Coins, $1 bills)
Where can I add money to my ID? Machine near exit (cash); Online (credit card)
Where can I find theses other students in UNCW's Graduate History Program have completed? Randall Library Catalog:  Subject Search: " Thesis History"
Browse UNCW General Collection LD3971 .H5 (outside the Graduate Computer Lab)
How can I keep up with new publications on my topic? Ingenta TOC and Search Alert (faculty & graduate students)
See the Alert Services Guide for other databases offering alert services
Where can I get a good cup of coffee? JavaCity (behind the Circulation Desk)

 


Last Update: January 22, 2008