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.

Gale eBooks
Ebook versions of encyclopedias and reference works covering most subjects, as well as a collection of classic literature and criticisms.

Search the Library Catalog

Find Your Course Reserves
Get Help Searching Iona WorldCat

Databases

EBSCO (all collections)
Articles and ebooks covering multidisciplinary subjects from all Ebsco databases.
JSTOR
Scholarly journals and ebooks in the humanities, social sciences, and business. Journal coverage generally ends 3-5 years before the current year.
ProQuest Central
Articles from journals and newspapers covering all subject areas. Includes dissertations, working papers from OECD, company reports, and country profiles.
U.S. History (Gale OneFile)
This collection provides coverage of both the current thinking and events in US History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field.
World History (Gale OneFile)
This collection provides coverage of both the current thinking and events in World History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field.
Very Short Introductions: History
Very Short Introductions are ebooks that offer concise introductions to a diverse range of subject areas.
Very Short Introductions: Politics
Very Short Introductions are ebooks that offer concise introductions to a diverse range of subject areas.
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: History, Culture & Law
HeinOnline'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.
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
This 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.
eHRAF World Cultures
eHRAF World Cultures is an online cross-cultural and ethnographic database that contains descriptive information on all aspects of cultural and social life. The annually-growing eHRAF database is organized by cultures and ethnic groups, and every document is subject-indexed at the paragraph level, facilitating precise retrieval within documents.
LGBTQ+ Rights
This collection charts the gay rights movement in America, showing the civil rights codified into law in the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as the inequalities that still exist today. All titles in this collection have been assigned one or more title-level subjects relating to their scope, and are further divided into six subcollections, whose areas of focus constitute Marriage and Family, Employment Discrimination, Military Service, AIDS and Health Care, and Public Spaces and Accommodations.
A separate subcollection, Historical Attitudes and Analysis, presents books, pamphlets, reports, and more that some researchers may find offensive: viewpoints expressed in these items range from the cause of homosexuality and its alleged cures to the "problems" LGBT persons create in society. These items are not presented to endorse their viewpoints. They are included because to understand our present—how far we have come, the obstacles that were overcome, and those that still exist today—one must fully acknowledge the reality of our past, no matter how ugly, dangerous, or offensive it may be.
Voting Rights and Election Law
This collection has been curated by HeinOnline to showcase and collect resources related to voting rights and election law in political systems across the globe, to help users understand the nuances of electoral systems around the world. With thousands of pages of content on elections in countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, this database provides a truly global perspective.
War and Terrorism (Gale OneFile)
A periodical collection of hand selected titles for analysts, risk management professionals and students of military science, history, social science.
History in Video
Provides 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.
Academic Video Online Premium
Videos 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.
Kanopy
Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video platform that provides access to a variety of films. Its focus is on high-quality, educational content. Award-winning documentaries and feature films from producers like 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

America's Historical Imprints
Searchable 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.
American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 1
Journals 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
BiblioBoard Library
Primary source collections by member institutions interested in preserving, organizing and presenting their historical materials online.
Chatham House Online Archive - 1920-1979
Publications 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.
Civil Rights and Social Justice
This 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.
Early American Newspapers, Series I: From Colonies to Nation and Series VII, Reform and Retrenchment
Early American Newspapers, Series I covers the years of 1690-1876. Early American Newspapers Series VII covers 1773-1922.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online
Ebooks, pamphlets, essays, broadsides published in the UK during the 18th century.
European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750
Guide 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.
Gale Primary Sources
This 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.
Making of the Modern World
Making 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.
Prestatehood Legal Materials
Prestatehood 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.
ProQuest Black Freedom Struggle
ProQuest 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.
Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archive
This 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).
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law
This 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.
Testaments to the Holocaust (in Archives Unbound)
This 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.

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

Last Updated: Jul 1, 2025 2:32 PM
URL: https://guides.iona.edu/history
Print Page

Subjects: History

Tags: history