History & Historical Resources
Reference and Circulating Materials
Government Documents
Journal Articles
Indexes and Databases
Internet Sites
The Peterson Library has a wide array of resources in this subject area. This guide presents a selection of these resources as well as useful Internet websites. For help with your research at the library, visit us at the Information Desk, call us at 203-932-7189, or email us. For help with writing your research paper, contact the Center for Learning Resources Writing Lab, located in Maxcy Hall.
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.
Use the library catalog to find circulating and reference materials, including books, audio-visual resources, government documents, and periodical holdings. Our catalog uses the Library of Congress (LC) classification system and subject headings. LC assigns call numbers (letters and numerals) according to the book's primary subject. LC assigns call numbers (letters and numerals) beginning with C for historical subspecialties like archaeology, genealogy, and biography; D for general and world history; and, E and F for the Americas. Additional letters and number ranges make call number areas more specific: DA is Great Britain, DC is France, etc.
Some 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 Bibliographic and use the subject-heading links below to find additional material.
- Click on Linked Resources or look for the URL box next to an item for electronic access.
For additional search tips, consult the library guide on Using the UNH Library Catalog (OPAC)
Reference
Annual Register [1758-1864]. Spec. Coll. D2 .A77; [1966-1980] Ref. DA2 .A7. Celebrated
publication started by Edmund Burke; interesting British perspective on American history.
CQ [Congressional Quarterly] Researcher [1992-2008]. Available online: see Databases, below.
Continues Editorial Research Reports [1963-1991]. Ref. H35 .E35
Dictionary of American Biography. Ref. E176 .D56
Dictionary of National Biography. Ref. DA28 .D47. Important British publication.
Documents of American History. Ref. E173 .C66
English Historical Documents. Ref. DA26 .E55
Facts on File Yearbook [1941-2008]. Ref. D410 .F3
Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. Ref. HA202 .B87. Updated by
Datapedia of the United States, 1790- 2005. Ref. HA202 .K87 2001
International Historical Statistics, Europe, 1750-1988. Ref. HA1107 .M5
Statesman's Yearbook [1957-, incomplete]. Ref. JA51 .S7
World Almanac [1925-2004, incomplete]. Ref. AY67.N5 W7
Yearbook of the United Nations [1954-]. Ref. JX1977.A37 Y4
Circulating
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World. HG171 .F47 2008
Cold War Triumphalism: The Misuse of History after the Fall of Communism. E840 .C646
The FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008. [U.S. Govt Docs] J 1.14/2:C 33/3; also online.
A Historic Resources Study of the Civil War Defenses of Washington. [U.S. Govt Docs]
I 29.58/3:C 49; also online.
Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. Official GPO publication, 1904-1937. J10 .A5
Matthew Brady's Illustrated History of the Civil War. E468.7.L88 1984
Native American History for Dummies. E77 .S65 2007
Poverty in World History. HC79.P6 B375 2007
A Student's Guide to History, 8th ed. D16.3.B4 2001
Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-Year History. T15 .P353
Who Owns History? Rethinking the Past in a Changing World. E175.9 .F66 2003
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. HM846 .F74 2006
If you need something not in the library catalog, please use our ILL service to have materials sent here from other libraries. Forms to request books and articles are available at the Information Desk, and also online. Fill out a separate ILL request form for each item. Incorrect or incomplete information will slow down receipt of material, so please be accurate.
Government Documents
A U.S. documents depository since 1971, we currently receive about a third of Government Printing Office (GPO) publications. Documents received since 2000 will show up in catalog searches. Many of these are also available online so be sure to click on Linked Resources for each item. Most documents held in the library can be borrowed. Consult the government documents library guide for more information. To request catalog items with the U.S. Govt Docs location or to inquire about older documents, come to the Information Desk.
Journals and Articles
Periodical articles from magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals are a valuable source of information in all research areas. Our Journals link lists of most of the periodical titles, current and historical, to which you have access through the library, in all formats.
Use the upper search box to enter a journal title to get links to databases containing the journal electronically and a link for any available library holdings as well. You can also use the drop-down box here to search for words like world or American and histor* [*=truncation here].
Use the lower search box to drop down through topical groupings like: History and Archaeology> History General> Latin America. This method allows you to identify and/or browse current issues of the periodicals in a field, either online or in the library. Click here to see the results for Latin America.
Use the indexes in the next section to find periodical articles. For more help, consult our library guide on Finding Articles.
Databases
Searching for articles on a historical subject may involve using the older print indexes, listed with their stacks call numbers, as well as the newer electronic indexes that are hyperlinked below. These online databases search many years of journal contents at one time and now often provide the full text of articles as well.
Access the electronic indexes via the Databases link on the library home page and enter your UNH network log-in when requested. Most databases are available 24/7 from any Internet terminal. Use the Annotated Listing to get additional information about them. Use the Subject Listing to look for others by topical category. Those under General/Multidisciplinary will be most broadly useful.
Periodical Indexes
Academic OneFile. Peer-reviewed, full-text articles from leading journals and reference sources.
Art Index [1929 to 1984]. Ref. Z5937 .A78
AHSearch [Arts and Humanities Citation Index]. Indexes articles from journals back to 1980 and indexes the works cited by each article as well. Online access in library only via FirstSearch.
Biography Index [1946 to 2005]. Ref. Z5301 .B5
Book Review Digest [1905 to 2005]. Ref. Z1219 .C96
Historical Abstracts [1955-1980]. Covers periodical literature dealing with world history from 1775 to 1945. Ref. D299 .H5
Humanities Index [1974-2007]. Ref. AI3 .H8
Industrial Arts Index [1913-1957]. Split into Applied Science and Technology Index [1958-2005] Ref., non-circ. Z7913 .I7 and Business Periodicals Index [1958-2005]. Ref. Z7164.C81 B983
Historical Newspapers. Fully searchable, digital reproductions of The New York Times [1851-], the Los Angeles Times [1881-], and the Hartford Courant [1764-1922].
Poole's Index to Periodical Literature [1802-1900]. Ref. AI3 .P7 1938
Public Affairs Information Service [1915-1990]. Ref. Z7163 .P9
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature and Nineteenth Century Reader's Guide [1890-2005].
Ref. AI3 .R4 & AI3 .R396
Social Science Index [1907 to 2005]. Title varies. Ref. AI3 .R49 & AI3 .A6
Additional Databases
AP Photo Archive. Associated Press audio and image database spanning over 160 years of history.
Connecticut Digital Library. Links to research resources and to historic documents and texts.
CQ Researcher. Comprehensive reporting and historical analysis of timely issues. See Catalog Holdings for earlier print editions. Companion database CQ Global Researcher is also available.
Dissertations. Dissertation and theses from institutions in North America and Europe [citations, 1861-; abstracts, 1980-]. Online access in library only via FirstSearch.
History Resource Center: U.S. and History Resource Center: World. Both of these include journals, books, reference works, biographies, documents, speeches, maps, photos, film and video clips.
The websites below are largely from academic institutions and government agencies. It is usually best to focus on ones like these with .edu and .gov domains. Google "women's studies" for additional sites and examine them carefully for their content, currency, and credentials. Always look for the About us link. Here's a good website to help you to critically evaluate Internet resources.
American Historical Association. Official organization website with information on the profession, publications, research, and career opportunities.
Best of History Web Sites. 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.
Connecticut's Heritage Gateway. Connecticut Humanities Council's site, which provides articles and bibliographies on state history, museum directory, activities calendar, and resources for teachers.
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 subsidiary sourcebooks for Asia, Africa, women's history. Some pages not updated recently, but still very useful.
ipl2. Link for "Arts and Humanities" leads to "History" for all eras, regions, topics.
Library of Congress. A major repository of U.S. historical materials, this site is always worth a visit. Look for the "American Memory," "World Digital Library," 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.
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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