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Additional Guides in the Area of History

• African History ­ • Ancient Near Eastern History ­ • Canadian History ­ • East Asian History ­ • European History ­ • Latin American History ­ • Medieval History ­ • Middle Eastern History ­ • South Asian History ­ • Teaching Social Studies ­ • The American West ­ • U.S. History ­

General History Subject Guide

Introduction

This page brings together a limited number of basic reference works important to anyone engaged in research in history, and identifies some core journals and and digital resources which may be useful for the history student. Be sure to refer to the other guides listed above for information related to more specific areas of study.

Research Databases


(Consult this list for interdisciplinary databases)

America: History & Life


Covers over 1,700 journal titles published worldwide and includes article citations and book/media reviews of special interest to historians of United States and Canadian history and related fields.
View:  Online

H-NET Reviews


H-Net Reviews is an online scholarly review source for books in the Humanities and Social Sciences. H-Net Reviews are published online via discussion networks and the H-Net web site. This format permits reviews to reach scholars with a speed unmatched in any other medium and makes possible discussion between reviewers, authors and readers.
View:  Online

Historical Abstracts


Published since 1954, Historical Abstracts is the leading electronic bibliography for historical study with indexing for more than 2,000 journals. In addition to key historical journals from virtually every major country Historical Abstracts includes a selection of hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities that are of special interest to researchers and students of history.
View:  Online

History E-Book Project


Now comprising the full text of over 1500 titles, HEB has expanded to include most humanities disciplines and area studies. Included are works of major importance to historical studies. These books will remain vital to both scholars and advanced students, and are frequently cited in the literature. HEB is growing by over 300 titles a year.


View:  Online

Humanities Abstracts


Humanities Abstracts contains abstracts (summaries) of feature articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays and television and radio programs. It indexes nearly 600 journals covering a variety of subjects in the humanities, including philosophy, film, folklore, religion, music, and the performing arts.
View:  Online

JSTOR


JSTOR is a database consisting of only full-text articles from interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journals. Journals are included on the basis of number of subscribers the journal has, citation analysis, recommendations from experts in the field, and the length of time that the journal has been published. Coverage for each title begins with the first publication, with most titles ending coverage between three and five years ago.
View:  Online

RAMBI - Index of Articles on Jewish Studies


A selective bibliography of articles in the various fields of Jewish studies and in the study of Eretz Israel. Material listed in Rambi is compiled from thousands of periodicals and from collections of articles - in Hebrew, Yiddish, and European languages- mainly from the holdings of the Jewish National and University Library, a world center for research on the Jewish people and Eretz Israel. The main criterion for inclusion in the bibliography is that the article be based on scientific research, or contain important information for such research.
View:  Online

WorldCat


Worldcat is a catalog of materials found in hundreds of libraries throughout the world. There are currently over 62 million records in 400 languages extending back to as early as 1,000 B.C. WorldCat is updated daily.
View:  Online

Reference Materials



American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature, 3rd ed.

- Z6201 .A55 1995
Somewhat dated (1995), but still useful, this work provides a bibliography of almost 27,000 annotated citations, selected from the best scholarship in all fields of history. The two volumes are invaluable to scholars beginning research on unfamiliar topics or researchers needing comparative evidence from other areas or periods.
View:   In Print

Chronology of World History

- D11 .M39 1999
A chronology of 70,000 events compiled in four volumes, with entries ranging from art to technology.
View:   In Print

Companion to Historiography

- D13 .C626 1997
Forty essays covering the history and trends of historical writing.
View:   In Print

Craft of Research, 2d ed.

- Q180.55 .M4 B66 2003
Written by literary scholars, but useful for those engaged in historical research. Takes the reader through various stages of the creation of a research paper.
View:   In Print

New Dictionary of the History of Ideas

- CB9 .N49 2005
An encyclopedic work with articles on the main ideas and movements of global cultural history from antiquity to the present day. The NDHI focuses not only on the ideas themselves, but also on the cultural environments in which they arose, and their transformations and influence.[To access freely online, scroll down past the entries for "Science Encyclopedia" in the link provided.] One can profitably also consult the entries in the earlier (1973-74) Dictionary of the History of Ideas ( online and Ref CB5 .D52), which approaches much of the same subject matter but more from the perspective of examining the history of influential texts.
View:  Online  In Print

Reference Sources in History: An Introductory Guide, 2d ed.

- Z6201 .F72 2004
An introduction to major historical reference works for all time periods of history and all geographical areas (primary focus on English-language materials).
View:   In Print

Web Sources



Doing History: A Guide to Historical Research


A guide to doing historical research, with links to a variety of web sites covering various historical events and eras. Maintained by Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.
View:  Online

Repositories of Primary Sources


An international list for locating links to archival Web sites. Lists over 5000 archival sites with information on holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, and historical photographs. Organized geographically.
View:  Online

Periodicals



Directory of History Journals


Provides links to English-language journals that publish in the field of history. Maintained by the American Historical Association. Searchable by subject, keyword, or browsable by title.
View:  Online

ejournal locator (SFX)


The Hekman Library ejournal locator provides title and subject access to all the electronic journals subscribed to by the Hekman Library.
View:  Online Annotation

History Cooperative


A convenient way to see the full-text of more recent issues of important historical journals. These are made available through Hekman Library's institutional subscriptions, so most of them are not accessible to non-Calvin users.
View:  Online

History Journals Guide


The History Journals Guide is an international directory for journals and discussion lists in the fields of history and archaeology.
View:  Online

History Subject Guide Librarian


Schemper, Lugene

Theological Librarian

Contact Info:
Hekman Library L423 (616) 526-6121 lschempeATcalvin.edu

Help is also generally available from a research specialist at the Research Assistance Desk on the main floor.
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