Getting Started
The Library has a large number of subject-specific online encyclopedias with short, well-written overview essays. These essays can be helpful in defining and focusing a topic. They generally have bibliographies which include important authors who have published on the subject. To discover encyclopedias with essays on your topic, go to the catalog, select Articles & more, type keywords which describe your topic into the searchbox and select the format facet Reference on the results screen (see screenshot below) or browse the selected titles listed below.

Books
Journal Articles
America: History and Life (Ebsco)Search the contents of academic journals, historical magazines and dissertations. This database indexes articles on the history of America (North and South) published in academic journals such as
Environment and History, Environmental History, Antipode, the
Radical History Review, American Indian Culture & Research, and the
American Indian Quarterly to name but a few. The
FindIt button links to the full text of the articles in the Library's collection as well as to an interlibrary loan form. Interlibrary loan can only be used for those journals to which the Library does not have a subscription. It can take one to two weeks to process an interlibrary loan request. Article citations can be easily exported to RefWorks.
Articles & More SearchThis page enables you to search millions of full text articles and other electronic resources available through
Falvey Memorial Library. While results may be fuzzy and overwhelming,
Articles & More is easy to use and can be helpful as long as results are limited to
peer-reviewed journals.
Primary Sources
Falvey Library CatalogDiscover primary sources published in books with the help of the library's catalog. Add keywords such as
diaries,
reports,
correspondence,
speeches,
sources,
"personal narratives," or any other term that describes a type of primary source.
Historical New York Times (ProQuest)Complete coverage from 1851 to the present with the exception of the most current two years. Includes classified ads, comics and cartoons, photos, maps, graphics, etc., editorials and commentary.
A simple search for the phrase "environmental justice" shows that the
New York Times used this phrase for the first time on January 17, 1977 in reference to the dumping of mining waste into Lake Superior.
America’s Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922 (Readex)A digital collection of early American newspapers from 1690 to 1922, that includes the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1860-1920.
American Periodicals Series - APS Online (ProQuest)Search a selection of periodicals that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and many other historically-significant periodicals.
Readers' Guide Full Text Mega (EBSCO)Indexes popular U.S. magazines back to 1983.
Readers’ Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (EBSCO)Indexes popular U.S. magazines.
OpinionArchivesElectronic archives to leading journals of opinion. Search the full text of over 740 years of archives including
Harpers Magazine, The New Republic, The Nation, Commentary, NACLA, Commonweal, American Spectator, National Review and
The New York Review of Books.
Alternative Press Index (EBSCO)Indexes over 200 journals from the alternative, radical and left presses, newspapers and magazines covering cultural, economic, political and social change. Includes selected abstracts from research journals. Includes such titles as
Earth First!,
Green Horizon,
Peace Review,
New Solutions, and
Co-op America Quarterly.
Ethnic NewsWatch (ProQuest)A comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817 – 1994Reports, documents and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from the 15th Congress through the 103rd Congress. The collection covers a wide range of subjects ranging from the Lewis and Clarke Expedition to the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and it includes approximately 56,000 maps. Documents of the first 14 U.S. Congresses can be found in the
American State Papers collection.
Citing Your Sources
RefWorksNever type a bibliography again! RefWorks will help you easily gather, manage, and store bibliographic citations for all types of information, as well as generate footnotes and bibliographies.
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Last Modified: Tuesday, March 12th, 2013