Encyclopedias, Companions & Handbooks
The Library has a large collection of reference works, most of them in electronic format. Discover relevant 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.
Gale eBooks
Offers access to a large collection of digital encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries, including The Encyclopedia of Russian History and The Encyclopedia of European Social History.
Oxford Handbook of Modern Russian History
Offers a collection of scholarly review articles that provide overviews and guidance to related publications.
Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism
Offers a collection of scholarly review articles that provide overviews and guidance to related publications.
A Companion to Russian History
Analytical essays on Russian history from the earliest Slavs to the first decade of the 21st century.
Oxford Bibliographies (Oxford University Press) Tutorial
Presents peer-reviewed, annotated bibliographies and expert commentary on current scholarship in selected disciplines.
Cambridge History of Russia
Three volumes available through Cambridge Histories Online:
Volume 3: The Twentieth Century
Cambridge History of Communism
Three volumes available through Cambridge Histories Online:
Volume 1: World Revolution and Socialism in One Country 1917-1941
Volume 2: The Socialist Camp and World Power 1941-1960s
Volume 3: Endgames? Late Communism in Global Perspective, 1968 to the Present
Cambridge History of the Cold War
Three volumes available through Cambridge Histories Online:
Volume 1: Origins
Volume 2: Crises and Détente
Volume 3: Endings
Gale eBooks
Offers access to a large collection of digital encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries, including The Encyclopedia of Russian History and The Encyclopedia of European Social History.
Oxford Handbook of Modern Russian History
Offers a collection of scholarly review articles that provide overviews and guidance to related publications.
Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism
Offers a collection of scholarly review articles that provide overviews and guidance to related publications.
A Companion to Russian History
Analytical essays on Russian history from the earliest Slavs to the first decade of the 21st century.
Oxford Bibliographies (Oxford University Press) Tutorial
Presents peer-reviewed, annotated bibliographies and expert commentary on current scholarship in selected disciplines.
Cambridge History of Russia
Three volumes available through Cambridge Histories Online:
Volume 3: The Twentieth Century
Cambridge History of Communism
Three volumes available through Cambridge Histories Online:
Volume 1: World Revolution and Socialism in One Country 1917-1941
Volume 2: The Socialist Camp and World Power 1941-1960s
Volume 3: Endgames? Late Communism in Global Perspective, 1968 to the Present
Cambridge History of the Cold War
Three volumes available through Cambridge Histories Online:
Volume 1: Origins
Volume 2: Crises and Détente
Volume 3: Endings
Books and Book Chapters
Books are an important source of critical literature. Take advantage of the search options available in the library's catalog. Start with a keyword search and use the hyper-linked Library of Congress subjects to focus your search results. Alternatively, use available facets such as topic and language to narrow search results. Subject searches can significantly increase or decrease search results.
Books & Media
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.
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 and journal articles from other libraries. The EZBorrow service is limited to books while interlibrary loan requests can be used for books and journal articles.
Books & Media
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.
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 and journal articles from other libraries. The EZBorrow service is limited to books while interlibrary loan requests can be used for books and journal articles.
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.
Historical Abstracts (EBSCO)
Indexes academic journals, magazines, books, book reviews, and dissertations that cover world history from 1450 to the present, excluding North American history which is covered in the companion index America: History and Life.
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.
America: History and Life (EBSCO)
Indexes the literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
Use this index only if you are looking for publications about U.S. foreign relations with Russia such as U.S. diplomacy regarding the Russo-Japanese war or if you are interested in Russians and Russian diplomacy in the U.S.
Historical Abstracts (EBSCO)
Indexes academic journals, magazines, books, book reviews, and dissertations that cover world history from 1450 to the present, excluding North American history which is covered in the companion index America: History and Life.
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.
America: History and Life (EBSCO)
Indexes the literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
Use this index only if you are looking for publications about U.S. foreign relations with Russia such as U.S. diplomacy regarding the Russo-Japanese war or if you are interested in Russians and Russian diplomacy in the U.S.
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.
Books & Media
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.
WorldCat (FirstSearch)
Presents a combined catalog of the catalogs of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide. WorldCat highlights publications available at Villanova University. Other items can be requested via an inter-library loan request form.
Current Digest of the Russian Press, 1949- (East View)
Presents a selection of Russian-language news, carefully translated into English going back to 1949. Includes Pravda and Izvestia.
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1861-1960
The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. The series is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian. Many volumes published since 1945 are available online on the State Department website. A full description of Foreign Relations of the United States, including a listing of digitized volumes, is available from the Office of the Historian website.
Nexis Uni Limitations on Use
Provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles and news transcripts. Coverage varies.
Stalin Digital Archive (Yale University Press)
Provides digital access to a selection of documents from the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History including Stalin's personal papers. Also features the complete Annals of Communism series published by Yale University Press.
Digital National Security Archive (ProQuest)
Features declassified government documents not presently available on the National Security Archive website. Coverage extends from the middle of the 20th century to the present.
FBI Case Files (Ancestry.com)
Features case files from the agency formerly known as the United States Bureau of Investigation, including World War I espionage files, files on German aliens who were politically suspect, and records pertaining to Mexican neutrality. Covers 1908 through 1922.
American Periodicals (ProQuest)
Provides access to the full text of American magazines and journals published from the colonial period to the early 20th century.
Readers' Guide Full Text Mega (EBSCO)
Provides indexing and selected full text for articles from U.S. general interest and popular magazines. Coverage begins in 1983; full text begins in 1994. Covers a broad range of popular subjects.
Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (EBSCO)
Provides indexing for articles from U.S. general interest and popular magazines. Covers 1890 through 1982. Covers a broad range of popular subjects.
New York Times: 1851- (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
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.
Times (London) Digital Archive, 1785-2019 (Gale)
Provides a fully searchable facsimile of the Times of London. The Times is the world's oldest daily newspaper in continuous publication.
Books & Media
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.
WorldCat (FirstSearch)
Presents a combined catalog of the catalogs of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide. WorldCat highlights publications available at Villanova University. Other items can be requested via an inter-library loan request form.
Current Digest of the Russian Press, 1949- (East View)
Presents a selection of Russian-language news, carefully translated into English going back to 1949. Includes Pravda and Izvestia.
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1861-1960
The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication. The series is produced by the State Department's Office of the Historian. Many volumes published since 1945 are available online on the State Department website. A full description of Foreign Relations of the United States, including a listing of digitized volumes, is available from the Office of the Historian website.
Nexis Uni Limitations on Use
Provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles and news transcripts. Coverage varies.
Stalin Digital Archive (Yale University Press)
Provides digital access to a selection of documents from the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History including Stalin's personal papers. Also features the complete Annals of Communism series published by Yale University Press.
Digital National Security Archive (ProQuest)
Features declassified government documents not presently available on the National Security Archive website. Coverage extends from the middle of the 20th century to the present.
FBI Case Files (Ancestry.com)
Features case files from the agency formerly known as the United States Bureau of Investigation, including World War I espionage files, files on German aliens who were politically suspect, and records pertaining to Mexican neutrality. Covers 1908 through 1922.
American Periodicals (ProQuest)
Provides access to the full text of American magazines and journals published from the colonial period to the early 20th century.
Readers' Guide Full Text Mega (EBSCO)
Provides indexing and selected full text for articles from U.S. general interest and popular magazines. Coverage begins in 1983; full text begins in 1994. Covers a broad range of popular subjects.
Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (EBSCO)
Provides indexing for articles from U.S. general interest and popular magazines. Covers 1890 through 1982. Covers a broad range of popular subjects.
New York Times: 1851- (ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
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.
Times (London) Digital Archive, 1785-2019 (Gale)
Provides a fully searchable facsimile of the Times of London. The Times is the world's oldest daily newspaper in continuous publication.
Citing Your Sources
Chicago Manual of Style Online
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.
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.
