K392: Pathways to History
Welcome to the library class page for K392: Pathways to History. This page can serve as a guide for researching your honors thesis. Happy researching!What will you need?
You will need to locate primary and secondary sources for your honors thesis. For information on the difference between the two, please visit the library's Indentifying Primary and Secondary Sources page.
Below are lists of selected materials pertaining to history research. To browse additional databases related to the study of history, please visit the Resources by Subject History page. Depending on your topic, you may want consult other Resources by Subject pages. For example, someone studying modern France, could visit the West European Studies page. Other subject pages include Classical Studies, East Asian Studies, Gender Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Medieval Studies, and Victorian Studies.
Catalogs:
IUCAT: A catalog of the IU libraries' holdings. You can find both primary and secondary sources searching IUCAT. Search for books, journals (not articles), and so much more! We have a variety of electronic, print, and microform formats. When you are viewing a record, click on the subject headings to find additional materials on the same topic.
WorldCat: Can't find what you are looking for in IUCAT? WorldCat is the world's catalog. Within records, click "Request ILL" to obtain materials via interlibrary loan.
Primary Sources:
Archival materials
The Lilly Library
The Lilly is the rare book and manuscript library on campus, and it is known worldwide. Particular strengths include history of science, New World exploration, the French Revolution, Latin America, children's literature, film, and other areas. Much of their extensive collection is not catalogued. Please consult their finding aids or meet with one of the librarians to identify materials. This library is truly a remarkable destination for a historian!
Digital collections
Databases can be tricky to search because they often function differently than regular internet searches. For search techniques, please visit the Basic Database Searching Techniques page. Use more general or more specific language to broaden or narrow you searches.
Some of the databases provide full text access to primary sources, while others index citations. If you find a relevant citation, your title may be available in a different format (print, microform) at one of our libraries.
There is a wide variety of digital collections at the Wells Library. Please visit the Resources by Subject History page or other Resources by Subject pages to browse the range of digital collections. Here is a sampling of the types of digital resources available:
Manuscripts
Early Encounters in North America: Searchable text of letters, diaries, memoirs and other accounts of early contacts between Europeans and Native Americans in North America (15th century-19th century ).
North American Women's Letters and Diaries: Searchable full text of letters and diaries of hundreds of North American women, from the 16th century to 1950. Try clicking on the "Browse" tab and then "Years" to limit your search.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories: Full text of letters, diaries, autobiographies, and oral histories of immigrants to America and Canada. Covers 1840 to present, but heaviest focus is on 1920-1980.
Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, etc.):
American Periodicals Series Online
19th Century British Library Newspapers
Chicago Tribune (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
Early American Newspapers Series I, II, III, IV & V
Economist Historical Archive 1843-2003
Godey's Lady's Book
Times Digital Archive (The Times, London)
American Social History Online: More than 40 primary source collections of 19th and 20th American Social History from leading research libraries, including digitized photographs, maps, sheet music, and documents. Browsable by subject, place, and time. Subjects include education and World War II. Also browse and search by collection.
Early English Books Online: Contains every book published in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the United States between 1475-1700.
Evans Digital Edition: Based on Charles Evans' American Bibliography, this database covers 17th and 18th-cenutry American life and when completed will comprise 36,000 works and 2,400,000 images.
Government Information, Microforms, and Statistical Services
Government Information, Microforms, and Statistical Services (GIMSS) is located in Wells Library, East Tower, 2nd floor. Please consult with a reference librarian at GIMSS for further expert assistance.
Green Box Page: Before the internet, government information was stored at GIMSS in green boxes for each country. This is the virtual version of this resource. Arranged by topic, each profile typically has links to government information portals and census information.
Microforms
There are numerous collections of ephemeral and archival materials on microfilm. You might want to visit the microforms collection in person, and browse the guides to microfilm collections. Here's how to use WorldCat for to find microform collections at IU.
Websites
Library of Congress Digital Collections: Includes the Veteran's History Project. Also browse the American Memory collections by topic.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project: Provides a limited assortment of primary source materials.
Using Secondary Sources to locate Primary Sources
Primary sources can often be found by locating secondary sources on your topic. You can identify articles on your topic to find what types of materials have been previously explored, and then expand and reinterpret from there.
Researching a person?
Biography and Genealogy Master Index: Indexes biographical entries in about 2700 reference books, covering contemporary and historical figures. This is an excellent place to start if you are interested in a particular person. You can also use biographical information to identify a person's writings. See also: Biography Resource Center or Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Interested in literature?
MLA International Bibliography: Indexes material in modern languages, literature, linguistics and folklore (1963-present).
Entertainment?
International Index to the Performing Arts: Covers the arts and entertainment industry, including dance, film, television, drama, theatre, stagecraft, musical theatre, broadcast, circus, comedy, storytelling, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic, and more (1864-present).
Secondary Sources:
Below are the two major indexes for the study of history. Visit other Resources by Subject pages to discover the indexes for other disciplines.
Articles are often available in full text if you click on the IUlink icon (look for the red and white icon). You will be able to link to the article in full text. Or, you can click the "request article delivery" link to receive an electronic copy of the article in typically 4-7 days.
After you have found citations, or if you simply want to browse the library's holdings, look up your title in IUCAT. Note that you can only search for journal titles, not article titles. Can't find the title you want in IUCAT? By clicking on the Services tab above, check out the different services the library has to get you what you need.
America: History & Life: This is the premier American and Canadian history index of articles, books, book reviews, conferences, etc. Click on "Indexes" in the upper left, and select subject to limit your search by subject headings.
Historical Abstracts:This is the premier world history index of articles, books, book reviews, conferences, etc. Click on "Indexes" in the upper left, and select subject to limit your search by subject headings.
If you crave full text, check out JSTOR and Project Muse. Just keep in mind that your results are limited to the journals in those databases.
Have questions?
Feel free to contact me, your visiting librarian for history Malia Willey: mewilley@indiana.edu, if you have any questions. I can help you with your individual topic.
You can also visit our library to meet with any of our helpful librarians. Or click on the above "Ask a Librarian" button email or chat with a librarian.
