History
Subject Research Guide
Welcome
This purpose of this Research Guide is to introduce you to library resources that will help you complete projects and assignments in History classes.
For information on History classes, curriculum and faculty, please see the History Department's homepage.
Finding Background Information
To begin your research, find background information on your topic by searching our online encyclopedia portal Gale Virtual Reference Library.
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Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowEbook versions of encyclopedias and reference works covering most subjects, as well as a collection of classic literature and criticisms.
Or, try searching one of these specific encyclopedias directly. This is only a sample of the online history encyclopedias in Iona's collection.
Search the Library Catalog
Where are the History Books Located?
Most history books have Dewey Decimal call numbers between 900 and 999. In Ryan Library, these books are primarily shelved on the second floor, West wing. However, some books are shelved in special collections, such as the Irish Collection. The library catalog will indicate when a book is not shelved in the main collection, and many books will have a letter before the call number. To see all of Iona's library locations, consult the complete list of Iona's library locations and collections.
List of History Dewey call number ranges:
- 900-909 World history; general books on history
- 910-919 Geography and travel; exploration
- 920-929 Biography; Genealogy
- 930-939 History of Ancient Worlds, to 499 A.D.
- 940-949 History of Europe
- 950-959 History of Asia
- 960-969 History of Africa
- 970-979 History of North America
- 980-989 History of South America
- 990-999 History of Australia, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean Islands, Arctic islands, Antarctica, Extraterrestrial worlds
Databases
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EBSCO (all collections) This link opens in a new windowArticles and ebooks covering multidisciplinary subjects from all Ebsco databases.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new windowScholarly journals and ebooks in the humanities, social sciences, and business. Journal coverage generally ends 3-5 years before the current year.
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ProQuest Central This link opens in a new windowArticles from journals and newspapers covering all subject areas. Includes dissertations, working papers from OECD, company reports, and country profiles.
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U.S. History (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowThis collection provides coverage of both the current thinking and events in US History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field.
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World History (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowThis collection provides coverage of both the current thinking and events in World History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field.
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Very Short Introductions: History This link opens in a new windowVery Short Introductions are ebooks that offer concise introductions to a diverse range of subject areas.
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Very Short Introductions: Politics This link opens in a new windowVery Short Introductions are ebooks that offer concise introductions to a diverse range of subject areas.
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Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new windowHeinOnline's Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law was designed to consolidate the material available on indigenous American life and law, and to share the influence that their cultures have had on the development of the United States. Included in this database are: Indigenous treaties, treaty-related publications, federal case law, tribal codes, constitutions, scholarly articles, books and pamphlets and more.
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Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new windowThis HeinOnline collection brings together, for the first time, all essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. This includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery. Cases go into the 20th century, because long after slavery was ended, there were still court cases based on issues emanating from slavery.
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War and Terrorism (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowA periodical collection of hand selected titles for analysts, risk management professionals and students of military science, history, social science.
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History in Video This link opens in a new windowProvides access to documentaries, newsreels and archival footage. Areas of focus include The American Revolutionary Era, The American Civil War, Imperialism and Colonialism, World War I, The Jazz Age, The Post-World War II Era, The Sixties, Women’s History and Black History.
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Academic Video Online Premium This link opens in a new windowVideos covering Arts, Business, Criminal Justice, Diversity Studies, Education, Gender & Sexuality, Health, History, Literature, Psychology and Sciences. Contains video content from 60 Minutes /CBS, PBS, BBC, NBC, Insight Media, etc.
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Kanopy This link opens in a new windowKanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform that provides access to 26,000 films from 800 production companies. Its focus is on high-quality, educational content. Award-winning documentaries and feature films from producers to include the Criterion Collection, Media Education Foundation, Strand New Day Films, PBS, The Great Courses, California Newsreel and Shout Factory are all included in the library.
Understanding Primary & Secondary Sources
Primary Sources
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America's Historical Imprints This link opens in a new windowSearchable monographs, pamphlets, broadsides, government documents and ephemera. Collections: Early American Imprints (EAI), Series I: Evans, 1639-1800; EAI, Series II: Supplement from the Library Comp. of Phil., 1801-1819; EAI, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819; American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I; EAI, Series I: Suppl. from the Library Company of Phil., 1670-1800.
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American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 1 This link opens in a new windowJournals and magazine published from 1691 through 1820 representing print culture from early colonial imports to titles published on American soil during the Revolution and early republic
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BiblioBoard Library This link opens in a new windowPrimary source collections by member institutions interested in preserving, organizing and presenting their historical materials online.
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Chatham House Online Archive - 1920-1979 This link opens in a new windowPublications and archives of Chatham House, the world-leading independent international affairs policy institute. Contains analysis and research, as well as debates and speeches it has hosted.
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Civil Rights and Social Justice This link opens in a new windowThis database brings together publications covering civil rights in the United States as their legal protections and definitions are expanded to cover more Americans. Containing hearings and committee prints, legislative histories on the landmark legislation, CRS and GAO reports, briefs from major Supreme Court cases, and publications from the Commission on Civil Rights, this database allows users to educate themselves on the ways our civil rights have been strengthened and expanded over time.
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Early American Newspapers, Series I: From Colonies to Nation and Series VII, Reform and Retrenchment This link opens in a new windowEarly American Newspapers, Series I covers the years of 1690-1876. Early American Newspapers Series VII covers 1773-1922.
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Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new windowEbooks, pamphlets, essays, broadsides published in the UK during the 18th century.
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European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750 This link opens in a new windowGuide to printed records about the Americas, written in Europe before 1750. It covers the history of European exploration as well as portrayals of native American peoples.
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Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new windowThis tool creates a federated (shared) search across all primary resources from one vendor to include: 18th Century Collections Online, 19th Century UK Periodicals, The Making of the Modern World, and Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive.
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Making of the Modern World This link opens in a new windowMaking of the Modern World provides digital facsimile images of unique primary sources that track the development of the modern, western world through the lens of trade and wealth. Full-text searching across millions of pages of works from the period 1450-1930.
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Prestatehood Legal Materials This link opens in a new windowPrestatehood Legal Materials provides brief overviews of state histories from colonization to statehood and identifies a wide range of both materials from each state. Examine the legal issues with Native Americans, inter-state and the Mexican and Canadian borders, and the development of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government.
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ProQuest Black Freedom Struggle This link opens in a new windowProQuest Black Freedom Struggle is a curated selection of primary sources for teaching and learning about the struggles and triumphs of Black Americans. The collections cover 1790 to present.
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Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive This link opens in a new windowThis collection is devoted to the scholarly study and understanding of slavery from a multinational perspective. Iona has access to collections 1(Debates ), 2 (Slave Trade), 3 (Institution) and 4 (Emancipation).
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Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new windowThis HeinOnline collection brings together, for the first time, all essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. This includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery. Cases go into the 20th century, because long after slavery was ended, there were still court cases based on issues emanating from slavery.
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Testaments to the Holocaust (in Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new windowThis collection of documents from the Wiener Library in London, contains documentary evidence of Nazi oppression during WWII. Items include written eyewitness accounts, photographs, postcards and a unique collection of Nazi propaganda publications. 75% of the content is written in German.