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The Marvin K. Peterson Library has a rich and diverse collection of materials for historical research. This is true not only for the traditional historical study of past eras and empires but also for newer fields like intellectual history and popular culture. Now, with the Internet and our electronic databases, there is more material than ever available to students in the way of original scholarship, full-text journal articles and facsimiles of historical documents.
- Note: This online guide contains direct links to databases and websites. If you have printed out this guide and need to locate any of the websites listed, type the name of the website in a search engine like Google to find a link to the site.
- For a good overview of library research and resources, take our online, interactive Virtual Reference Tour.
Go to the Peterson Library home page and take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with it. If you start at the UNH website, click on Library in the top middle. All the links for accessing library materials and services are on the left. The most important are the ones for the catalog, databases, journals, and library guides, but a quick look at all will be time well spent.
All research involves history, whether you are telling the story of a person, a place, an event, or an idea. History is constructed from the facts that make up a subject's past and the closer you are to those facts the better. Original documents and first-hand accounts are what academic historians refer to, for the most part, as primary sources: contemporary newspapers, magazines, diaries, personal papers, official documents, photographs, eyewitness reports, etc. What was the Civil War really like? Look at a soldier's diary. Study Matthew Brady's photographs. Read the New York Times or Harper's Weekly Magazine for 1865.
Historical materials produced after the events being examined have occurred are called secondary sources. The most scholarly of these histories are based on primary sources. Researching facts and events and interpreting the cause-and-effect relationships between them are essential in writing history. Always check the authenticity of your primary sources, especially with today's electronic reproductions. Also, take into account the interpretation and the date of secondary sources. The discovery of more primary sources and other evidence over time often changes our understanding of historical events. An important part of writing the history of a subject is the understanding of how previous historians have viewed the subject over the years.
Use the library catalog to find circulating and reference materials, including books, audio-visual holdings, government documents, and periodical titles (for periodical articles, see the Journal Articles section, below). Our catalog uses Library of Congress call numbers and subject headings to arrange materials on the shelves by subject and allow you to find materials with the call number. LC assigns call numbers (letters and numerals) beginning with C for historical subspecialties like archaeology, genealogy, and biography; D for general and world history; E and F for the Americas, and G for geography. Additional letters and number ranges make call number areas more specific: DA is Great Britain, DC is France, etc.
Quick catalog search tips:
- Truncate with ‘?': histor? will get history, historic, historical, etc.
- Put phrases in " ": "military history" or "social history" or "world war"
- Sort results by Publish date descending to get newest items at the
top of the list.
- Click on the Bibliographic tab to determine the LC subject headings for
an item and then click on those headings as links to additional material
with the same subject.
- Always click on the Linked Resources tab to check for electronic access
for single items. In multiple-result searches, the URL box at the right of
the screen is a reminder to look for a web link on the next page, or click
on Linked Resources.For additional search tips, consult the library guide on Using the UNH Library Catalog (OPAC) or take the Catalog Tutorial.
Reference and Circulating MaterialsBeyond primary sources and actual histories, there are many types of resources to help you research and write history. An historical atlas will track the evolution of a place over time. A biography, a person's history, and better, an autobiography, a person's self-history, can help you understand the world in which that person lived. A dictionary can help with quick definitions and concise articles. A lengthier encyclopedia article on a subject gives its history and development, and an older encyclopedia can show us how that subject was understood in the past. A directory will list persons, companies, or groups in existence at a particular time. A publication like an almanac, register, or yearbook summarizes a year's events and a statistical abstract enables you to chart history "by the numbers," like population, age, income, and housing. A series of these annual publications can help track trends over a number of years.
♦ Handbooks, Manuals and Research Guides
After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection. E175 .D38
Ancient History: Evidence and Models. DE8 .F55
Creative History. D16.2 .N8
Oral History. D16.14.D3
A Student's Guide to History, 8th ed. J. R. Benjamin. D16.3.B4 2001
Who Owns History?: Rethinking the Past in a Changing World.
E175.9 .F66 2003
Writing the History Paper. D16 .S255
Writing Women's History. HQ1121 .W96♦ Ancient - Medieval - Modern
Cambridge Ancient History. D57 .C25
Cambridge Medieval History. D117 .C3
Cambridge Modern History. D208 .C16
Historical Atlas. William R. Shepherd. Ref. G1030 .S4
Larousse Encyclopedia of Ancient and Medieval History. D59 .L373
Muir's Historical Atlas, Ancient and Classical. Ref. G1033 .M83
Times Concise Atlas of World History. Ref. G1030 .T56
Timetables of History. Ref. D11 .G78♦ General - Twentieth Century
Current Biography [1946 to present]. Ref. CT100 .C8
Europa Yearbook [1965 to present]. Ref. JN1 .E85
Facts on File Yearbook [1941to present]. Ref. D410 .F3
International Who's Who [1949, 1965/6, 1977/78, 2002]. Ref. CT120 .I5
Statesman's Yearbook [1957 to present, incomp.]. Ref. JA51 .S7
World Almanac [1925 to present, incomp.]. Ref. AY67.N5 W7
Yearbook of the United Nations [1954 to present]. Ref. JX1977.A37 Y4♦ Britain and Europe
Annual Register [1758-1864]: D2 .A77 [1966-1980]: Ref. DA2 .A7. Gives
a British perspective on the year's events; especially interesting for
coverage of the American Revolution and U.S. Civil War.
Cold War Triumphalism: The Misuse of History after the Fall of Communism.
E840 .C646
Dictionary of Modern Italian History. Ref. DG545 .D53
Dictionary of National Biography. Ref. DA28 .D47. Important British
biographical publication.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 11th ed. [1910-1911]. AE5 .E36. Regarded as a
classic edition.
English Historical Documents. 12 vols., incomplete. Ref. DA26 .E55
Historic Documents of World War I. D505 .S7
History of Russia. N. Riasanovsky. DK40 .R5
Holocaust: A History. D804.3.D87 2002
Illustrated Slovak History: A Struggle for Sovereignty in Central Europe.
DB2763 .S6813
International Historical Statistics, Europe, 1750-1988. Ref. HA1107 .M5
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945. D1051 .J84 2005
♦ South America, Asia and Africa
Cambridge Encyclopedia of China. Ref. DS705 .C35
Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Middle East and North Africa. Ref. DS44 .C37
History of Africa. DT20 .F33
History of Latin America. F1410 .P4
Japan: Profile of a Nation. DS806 .J228
Republic of China Yearbook [1990-2001, incomp.]. Ref. DS798.92.R46
Statistical Yearbook of China [2001-present]. Ref. HA4631 .C47
♦ United States - General
American Cyclopedia [1874]. AE5 .A67
Congressional Record [1913 to present, incomp.]. KF43; also online via the
catalog [1994 to present] or click here directly.
CQ [Congressional Quarterly] Researcher [1992 to present]. Continues
Editorial Research Reports [1963-1991]. Ref. H35 .E35. Good for research
on political and social issues. Available online: see
Indexes and Databases or click here.
Dictionary of American Biography. 11 vols. plus supplements.
Ref. E176 .D56
Dictionary of American History. Ref. E174 .C52
Documents of American History. Ref. E173 .C66
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 5 vols. Ref. E185 .E54
Foreign Relations of the United States. JX233 .A3
Who's Who in America [1954 to 2003]. Ref. and non-circ. E663 .W56
Who Was Who in America. Ref. E176 .W64
♦ United States - Revolution and Civil WarCampaigns of the American Revolution. Ref. G1201.S3 P4
Don Troiani's American Battles: The Art of the Nation at War, 1754-1865.
E181 .T85 2006
Journals of the Continental Congress. J10 .A5
Letters of the Delegates to Congress. JK1033 .L4
Letters of the Members of the Continental Congress. JK1033 .B8
Matthew Brady's Illustrated History of the Civil War. B.J. Lossing.
E468.7.L88 1984
Papers of Alexander Hamilton. E302 .H47. Other notables' papers include
John Calhoun, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, and many others, for
all historical periods. Search the catalog for person as author.
Photographic History of the Civil War. 10 vols. E468.7.M64
War of the Rebellion. 70 vols. Official U.S. War Dept. records. E464 .U6
Writings of George Washington...1745-1799. 39 vols. E312.7 1931
♦ United States - Business, Economy and StatisticsThe Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising. Ref. HF5803 .A38 2003
Business Statistics [of the U.S.]. [1961-2002, some missing].
Ref. HC101 .A13122/2. Latest edition at Information Desk.
An Economic History of Fertility in the U.S.: 1826-1960.
HB1.A2 N3 no.12796. Also online via the catalog or click here.
Economic Report of the President [1964-, some missing]. Ref. and non-circ.
HC106.5.A273. Latest two years on permanent reserve; ask at
Circulation Desk; recent editions online via catalog or click here.
Useful historical, statistical tables each year.
The Federal Reserve System: A History. HG2563 .W3626 2004
Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. 2 vols.
Ref. HA202 .B87. Updated by Datapedia of the United States, 1790-
2005. Ref. HA202 .K87 2001
History of the Labor Movement in the United States. P. Foner. HD6508 .F57
Moody's and Poor's Manuals. Business and financial history for
corporations, banks, municipalities, etc. from the 1930s on. Search for
Moody's or Poor's as title keywords.
Statistical Abstract of the United States [1933 to present].
Ref. and non-circ. HA202. Latest edition at Info Desk; editions back to
1878 online via the catalog or click here.
♦ Connecticut - State and LocalAtlas of New Haven County, Connecticut [1931]. Ref. G3783.N3 D5
City Yearbook [1871-1932, incomp.]. New Haven city annual report.
JS13 .N457
Commemorative Biographical Record of New Haven County, Connecticut
[1902]. Ref. F102.F5 C6
Connecticut Register and Manual [1899 to present, incomp.]. Annual state
"bluebook" with statistics and details on state and local officials and
governments. Ref. and non-circ. JK3331. Latest edition at Info Desk;
recent editions online.
History of the City of New Haven [1887]. Ref. F104.N6 A8
Public Records of the State of Connecticut. [1894-1991] 12 vols.
Ref. F99 .C7
U.S. Census, 13th, 1910: Connecticut. HA281.5 1910. 11 microfilm reels.
Ask at Info Desk.
♦ Subject StudiesCivilisation [Art History] CB68 .C55. Videorecording. Permanent reserve;
ask at Circ. Desk.
Encyclopedia of World Religions. Ref. BL80.2.E5
Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ref. CB5 .D52
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. 10 vols. Ref. ML100 .G16
The Measure of the World [history of weights and measures].
QA465 .A264 2004
Medicine: An Illustrated History. Ref. R131 .L95
Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific
Discovery. Ref. Q175.46.S35 2000
Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-Year History. T15 .P353
♦ Current Interest TopicsCloak and Dollar: A History of American Secret Intelligence.
JK468.I6 J4543 2002
Confronting Fear: A History of Terrorism. HV6431 .C6473 2002
An Encounter with History: The 98th Division and the Global War on
Terrorism. UA25 .E52
A History of Islamic Societies. DS35.63.L37 2002
Intelligence Wars: American Secret History from Hitler to al-Qaeda.
JK468.I6 P678 2002
Mirage: Power, Politics, and the Hidden History of Arabian Oil.
HD9576.M52 K43 2005
The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous
Decade. HC106.82.S75
Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective.
TK1345.H37 W35 2004
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first
Century. HM846 .F74 2006The Marvin K. Peterson Library has been a Federal Depository Library since 1971. We currently receive about a third of what the Government Printing Office publishes, including periodicals, federal agency reports, Congressional hearings, the federal censuses, and many items useful in historical research from agencies like the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and others. Government documents have been listed in our online catalog since 2000. Most documents are in physical formats (paper, microfiche, CD-ROM) and many are also now available online. In the library catalog, be sure to click on Linked Resources to check for online availability. For more information or help with finding older historical documents, consult the Government Documents library guide or go directly to GPO Access. Catalog items with the U.S. Gov't Docs location, which are not online, can be requested at the Information Desk. Some selected documents are listed below.
An Analysis of Forensic Anthropology Cases Submitted to the Smithsonian
Institution by the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1962 to 1994.
SI 1.33:45
Anthropology, History, and American Indians: Essays in Honor of
William Curtis Sturtevant. SI 1.33:44
Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict,
1990-1995. PREX 3.2:B 19/MAPCASE
Biography of an Ideal: A History of the Federal Civil Service.
PM 1.2:B 52
Bioterrorism and Biocrimes: The Illicit Use of Biological Agents Since
1900. D 5.402:B 52/3. Online via catalog or click here.
Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-
1974. [microfiche] NAS 1.21:2000-4408
Ford's Theatre and the House Where Lincoln Died. I 29.58:3/1969.
Online via catalog or click here.
A Historic Resources Study of the Civil War Defenses of Washington.
I 29.58/3:C 49. Online via catalog or click here.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 1976 to 2001.
ED 1.328/3:H 62. Online via catalog or click here.
A History of the Committee on the Judiciary, 1813-2006.
Y 1.1/7:109-153
History of the Federal Parole System. J 27.2:H 62/2004
History of the U.S. Army Battle Command Training Program, 1986-2003.
LC 1.2:B 32
History of Operations Research in the United States Army.
D 101.2:H 62/10
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary: A History, 1939-1999.
TD 5.2:H 62/3Periodical articles from magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals are a valuable source of information in all research fields. The Journals link on the home page provides a title list of most of the periodicals, current and historical, to which you have access through the library, including print, microfilm, and microfiche materials in the library, and periodicals available electronically through databases. For more on searching for periodical articles, consult our library guide on Finding Articles. Some basic tips are given here for searching our periodical subscriptions through the Journals link.
Find single journals or articles: If you have the citation to an article, type the title of the journal into the top search box. Results will show which databases contain the journal electronically and give you a list of available issues to search through. "UNH Library Holdings" shown here help you find the article in the library. Most print periodicals are on the lower level. Ask at the Circulation Desk for current newspapers and for microform assistance.Find keywords in journal titles: Use the top search option, with the drop-down box set to "Title contains all words." Search with title keywords, e.g. histor* america* or histor* engl* ["*"= truncation symbol here] to get titles of periodicals with the words you specified.
Find subject listings of journals: Use the lower search option with the drop-down box choices. Click here for History & Archaeology. This method allows you to identify and/or browse current issues of the periodicals in a field, either online or in the library.
Find lists of articles on a subject: Use our periodical indexes listed in the Indexes and Databases section.
Below is a select, hyperlinked list of periodicals with long back-runs and usefulness for historical research.General/Popular
American Mercury
American Naturalist
American Scholar
Atlantic Monthly
Christian Science Monitor
Los Angeles Times
Nation
Nature
New Republic
New York Times
New Yorker
Newsweek
Prairie Schooner
Public Opinion Quarterly
Saturday Review of Literature. Continued as Saturday Review.
Science
Scientific American
Washington PostHistory
American Historical Review
English Historical Review
Journal of African American History
Journal of American History
Journal of Economic History
Journal of Modern History
Journal of Negro History. Title changed to Journal of African American History.
Mississippi Valley Historical Review. Title changed to Journal of American History.
Negro History Bulletin. Title changed to Journal of Negro History.
North Carolina Historical Review
Specialized Subject Areas
American Literature
American Sociological Review
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Business Week
Civil Engineering and Civil Engineering ASCE
Electrical World
ENR/Engineering News-Record
Fortune
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Educational Review
Journal of Chemical Education
Musical Quarterly
New England Quarterly
Notes & Queries
Papers and Transactions of the/Proceedings of the /Annual Meeting of the...Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers
Political Science Quarterly
South Atlantic Quarterly
Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers
Wall Street JournalWhether your subject is a person, place, concept, or event, the most efficient research method is to use an index that searches the contents of many periodicals at one time. Increasingly, electronic databases offer the full text of the article as well as the citation and abstract. In addition, our Serials Solutions service will frequently give you "Find full text" links to other databases and tell you the availability of periodicals in the library. For detailed information on how to find periodical articles, read the Finding Articles guide or take our interactive online Database Searching Tutorial. Many older print indexes, useful for historical research, are listed below as are their electronic counterparts and other online databases.
♦ Periodical IndexesAcademic OneFile. A good source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources.
Art Index [1929 to 1984]. Ref. Z5937 .A78AHSearch (Arts and Humanities Citation Index). Indexes articles from over 1,100 journals back to 1980 and indexes the works cited by each article as well. Searchable by cited works and cited authors fields. Online access in library only via FirstSearch.
Biography Index [1946 to 2005]. Ref. Z5301 .B5
Book Review Digest [1905 to 2005]. Ref. Z1219 .C96
Chemical Abstracts [1907-1987, incomp.]. Non-circ. QD1 .A51
Engineering Index Annual [1959-2002]. Non-circ. Z5851 .E62. Current coverage online in the Compendex database. Access via Engineering Village 2.
Historical Abstracts. Bibliography and abstracts of periodical literature covering world history from 1775 to 1945. Library has 1955-1980. Ref. D299 .H5
Humanities Index [1974-2007]. Ref. AI3 .H8
Industrial Arts Index [1913-1957]. Non-circ. Z913 .I7. Split in 1957 into Applied Science and Technology Index [1958 to 2005] Ref. Z7913 .I7 and Business Periodicals Index [1958 to 2005]. Ref. Z7164.C81 B983General OneFile. Multidisciplinary mega-database that largely includes the contents of other databases like Expanded Academic ASAP and General Reference Center Gold. Over 10,000 titles indexed, over 6,000 full-text.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Fully searchable, digital reproductions of The New York Times [1851-2003], Wall Street Journal [1889-1989], Washington Post [1877-1990], Los Angeles Times [1881-1985] and Christian Science Monitor [1908-1993], plus the Hartford Courant [1764-1922]. Updated in ProQuest Newspapers, which includes The Boston Globe [1988-present]. Note: Newspapers from ProQuest's current and historical collections cannot be combined in searches and the Hartford Courant-Historical must be selected separately or added by clicking on "Select multiple databases," and checking the box next to it.
Poole's Index to Periodical Literature [1802-1900]. Ref. AI3 .P7 1938
Psychological Abstracts [1927-1992]. Ref. BF1 .P65. This publication began in 1887 and is fully contained online in the PsycINFO database with some coverage earlier than 1887.Public Affairs Information Service [1915-1990]. Ref. Z7163 .P9
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature and Nineteenth Century
Reader's Guide. Combined coverage, 1890 to 2005. Ref. AI3 .R4 & AI3 .R396Social Science Index [1907 to 2005]. Title varies. Ref. AI3 .R49 & Ref. AI3 .A6
♦ Other Databases
AP Photo Archive. Associated Press database of international and North American photographs and graphics such as maps, logos and illustrations, plus audio sound bytes and text spanning over 160 years of history.
Connecticut Digital Library. Links to research resources and to historic documents and texts.
CQ Researcher. The online version of the print publication with comprehensive reporting and analysis of timely issues. Earlier print editions in reference collection; see above. Companion database CQ Global Researcher also available.Dissertation Abstracts Online. Dissertations and theses from institutions in North America and Europe [1861 to present, abstracts 1980 to present]. Online access in library only via FirstSearch.
History Reference Center. EBSCOhost database that includes journals, books, reference works, biographies, documents, speeches, maps, photos, film and video clips.
The Internet provides much valuable information. As with any material, you must evaluate the sources you use. This can be challenging with the Internet. It is not always readily apparent who is responsible for the information on a particular page found via a Google or Yahoo! search, and even "bad" sites can get linked to "good" ones. Look for an "About us" link for any site you use. Consider how qualified the organization or person is to provide the information, whether they have an agenda or particular point of view, how up-to-date the information is, and who has reviewed the site's contents. The following is a selection of useful websites.
American Historical Association. Official organization website with information on the profession, publications, research, and career opportunities.
Best of History Web Sites. Covers everything from prehistory to the present with sections on World War II, maps, art history and general resources; links to sites for lesson plans, multimedia materials and research.Connecticut History Online. A collaborative effort by the University of Connecticut and state and local libraries and historical societies. With photographs, drawings, maps, prints, and documents about the state's history.
Connecticut's Heritage Gateway. Connecticut Humanities Council's site, which provides articles and bibliographies on state history as well as a directory of museums, an activities calendar, resources for teachers, and more.
HarpWeek. A subscription database containing Harper's Weekly magazine text and images from 1857 to 1912. Free access to some features like political cartoons and advertisements.Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Digitized by the Brooklyn Public Library, this paper covers 1841-1902 and was once the most widely read in the nation.
Historical Census Browser. A University of Virginia site that analyzes census data on the population and economy of U.S. states and counties from 1790-1960.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Covers ancient, medieval and modern history with study guides, historical texts, and audio and video clips. Subsidiary sourcebooks cover Asia, Africa, women's history, science, and more.
Internet Public Library. Links to many useful sites for documents, blogs, and histories by era, region, and topic.Librarians' Index to the Internet. Excellent links under "Arts and Humanities" to "History" for all categories, periods, interests, and specialties.
Library of Congress. A major repository of U.S. historical materials, this site is always worth a visit. Look for the "American Memory," "Global Gateway," and "Exhibitions" links.
Voice of the Shuttle - History Sources. From the University of California at Santa Barbara, this outstanding site is one of the most comprehensive web resources for the humanities. Includes a multitude of subdivisions.
WWW-VL History Central Catalogue. Hosted by the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Search history by continents and countries, by era, by topic, and by methods and materials.
Any questions? Come to the Information Desk, call us at (203) 932-7189, or e-mail us.
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