Encyclopedias, Handbooks & Companions
The Library has a large collection of reference works, most of them in electronic format. Selected titles are listed below. Discover more encyclopedias, handbooks and companions through a search in the Articles & more file of the Library's catalog. Simply limit your search results to Reference under Format. Print reference works related to Native American history are available as well.
Each handbook introduces and surveys the state of scholarship in a field of study through review articles written by leading subject specialists. Articles review key issues and debates and set the agenda for new research. Includes the Oxford Handbook of American Indian History.
Companion to American Indian History (Wiley-Blackwell)
Edited by Philip Joseph Deloria and Neal Salisbury. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2002.
Oxford Research Encyclopedias (Oxford University Press)
Offers peer-reviewed topical introductions and literature reviews written by well-regarded authorities. Available in selected subject areas. New topics are regularly added.
Oxford Bibliographies (Oxford University Press) Tutorial
Presents peer-reviewed, annotated bibliographies and expert commentary on current scholarship in selected disciplines.
Encyclopedia of United States Indian Policy and Law
Edited by Paul Finkelman and Tim Alan Garrison. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2009.
Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History
7 volumes. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2010.
American National Biography Online (Oxford University Press)
Presents authoritative biographies of influential people who lived in what is now the United States. Covers only deceased subjects. Includes portraits, if available, and bibliographies with citations to works by and about featured individuals.
Gale eBooks
Offers access to a collection of digital encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries.
Books and Book Chapters
Explore the Library’s monograph collection with the help of the Books & Media file of the catalog. Books that are not available can be requested through interlibrary loan. Expect to wait for about a week.
Includes records of all print and e-books owned by the Library. Books that are currently checked out can be requested through EZBorrow or interlibrary loan.
subject search: Indians of North America - Relocation
subject search: Gambling on Indian Reservations
subject search: American Indian Movement
subject search: "Indians of North America" and "economic aspects"
subject search: War and "participation, Indian"
keyword search: "red power"
subject search: Indians as Mascots
Offers expert literature reviews.
WorldCat (FirstSearch)
Includes all books published in English as well as many foreign language works. Highlights publications available at Villanova University. Other items can be requested with a convenient link to an online request form.
JSTOR
Includes books and journal articles. This is only a small subset of what is published on any topic, but everything is available in full text online.
EZBorrow and Interlibrary Loan
Requests books that are not available on campus from other libraries.
Journal Articles
The Library subscribes to a large number of history journals. Use the E-Journal Finder or the Articles file in the Library's catalog to look for known references. Request articles from journals that are not part of the Library's collections through interlibrary loan. The Library's blue Findit button serves as a bridge to the full text.
Indexes the literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Includes citations for journal and magazine articles, book reviews and dissertations. Abstracts of journal articles are included together with selected full-text. Journals indexed include American Indian Culture & Research, American Indian Quarterly, European Review of Native American Studies, Canadian Ethnic Studies, and Ethnohistory.
Ethnic NewsWatch (ProQuest)
A comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Includes such magazines and newspapers as News from Indian Country, The Native Voice, Indian Country Today, and the Native American Times. Mostly full text.
JSTOR
Provides a full text archive of academic journals and books in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. The most recent three to five years of a journal are usually not included.
CQ Researcher (CQ Press)
Features in-depth reports of political and social issues, including health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Reports include overview, background, current situation, pro/con views, chronology, and a bibliography. The issue tracker links to related reports. Coverage goes back to 1923.
Primary Sources
Here are some suggestions for locating primary sources in the Library's collection. Ask for advice and directions if you cannot find what you are looking for. Consult the online Primary Source Research Guide for further details.
Find primary sources in the catalog with keywords such as correspondence, diaries, personal narratives, speeches, documents and sources together with keywords that describe your topic.
subject search: "Indians of North America" and sources
subject search: "Indians of North America" and "early works"
subject search: "Indians of North America" and "government relations" and sources
subject search: "Speeches, addresses, etc., Indian"
subject search: "Dakota Indians" and "personal narratives"
Provides full text access to the complete New York Times archive except for the most recent five years. Use NYTimes.com, Nexis Uni, or ABI/INFORM for access to current content.
Washington Post Historical: 1877- (ProQuest)
Contains the full text of the Washington Post and its title variations from 1877 until seventeen years ago.
American Indian Newspapers (Adam Matthew Digital)
Sourced from the Sequoyah National Research Center (University of Arkansas at Little Rock) and the Newberry Library in Chicago, this newspaper archive covers nearly two hundred years of American Indian history in North America from 1828 to 2016 and offers American Indian perspectives on federal and tribal politics, self-representation, environmental activism, the American Indian Movement, tribal schools and colleges, and many other topics. It also features a series of topical essays.
American Periodicals (ProQuest)
Provides access to the full text of American magazines and journals published from the colonial period to the early 20th century.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 (Readex)
Features most of the books, pamphlets, and broadsides printed in America between 1639 and 1800. Titles were selected based on Charles Evans's American Bibliography.
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819 (Readex)
Features most of the books, pamphlets, and broadsides published in America from 1801 through 1819. Contains many state papers and government reports. Titles were selected based on Ralph Shaw's and Richard H. Shoemaker's American Bibliography.
American Indian Histories and Cultures (Adam Matthew Digital)
Includes ethnographic accounts, diaries, letters, speeches, photographs, artwork, maps, and newspapers spanning from early contacts between American Indians and Europeans in the 16th century to the civil rights movement in the 20th century. Companion essays provide historical context. Also contains short biographies of prominent figures in American Indian history and lists of internal and external names of American Indian populations.
Sabin Americana, 1500-1926 (Gale)
Offers digital access to books, pamphlets, serials, and other sources published worldwide from 1500 to the early 20th century and documenting the history of the Americas. Titles were selected based on Joseph Sabin's Bibliotheca Americana.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set: 1817–1994 (Readex)
Provides full text of selected reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from 1817 through 1994 (15th through 103rd Congresses). Documents of the first 14 U.S. Congresses can be found in the American State Papers collection.
Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (EBSCO)
Indexes leading popular magazines.
Citing Your Sources
The 17th edition of the Manual is the most current. The online version includes a Citation Quick Guide with examples. The Library's website offers a short introduction and overview to the Notes and Bibliography System commonly used in the humanities.
