• Main Menu

• Books
• Internet Directories
• Journal and Newspaper Indexes
• Electronic Journals
• Electronic Primary Sources
• Virginia History

  History Resource Guide

Books

VCU: Available on both campuses OR from home with proper setup.
Cabell: Available only on computers within Cabell Library (Monroe Park Campus).

• VCU Library Catalog: Search for books, journals, and audiovisual materials held by the VCU Libraries.
• To search for materials from other libraries, use the Worldcat database on FirstSearch. VCU
• Other Libraries - Links to libraries and library catalogs available through the web.

return to top

Internet Directories

• Voice of the Shuttle: History Page
• Yahoo: List of History Resources
• The World Wide Web Virtual Library: History
• History Departments from around the World
  Searchable database of more than 1,200 history departments.
• American Studies Web
  A Guide to American Studies Resources on the Internet.
• HyperHistory
  Not really an Internet directory but a fun interactive timeline covering 3,000 years of world history.

return to top

Journal and Newspaper Indexes

• America: History and Life VCU
  Article abstracts and citations of reviews and dissertations covering the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
  • Electronic Access 1963 - present; limited coverage 1954 - 1962.
  • Print Subscription 1964-Present. Location: Cabell Reference Z1236 .A48
• Arts & Humanities Citation Index VCU (1980-Present)
  Good coverage of humanities peridicals and journals, includes citations to previous research.
  • Print Subscription 1977-Present. Location: Cabell Reference Z5931 .A78
• Combined Retrospective Index Set to Journals in History, 1838-1974
  • Print Subscription 1838-1974. Location: Cabell Reference Z6205 .C18 vol. 1- 6
• Academic OneFile VCU 1980-Present
  Part of the Infotrac suite of databases, OneFile indexes magazines and journals from the arts, social sciences and sciences. Includes full text access to more than 3000 publications.
  
  
• The Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective VCU
  Contains the full text of over 11,000 articles gleaned from over 2500 issues of newspapers published between Nov. 1, 1860 and Apr. 30, 1865. Newspapers include New York Herald (New York, N.Y. : 1840), Charleston Mercury (Charleston, S.C. : 1825), Daily Richmond Enquirer (Richmond, Va. : 1844).
  
  
• Freeman File
  The Freeman File is an index on microfiche to articles in the Richmond Times Dispatch and the Richmond News Leader covering the late 1920's to October 1985.
  • Locations: Cabell Reference Microfiche and Special Collections
  • Microfilm copies of the Richmond Times Dispatch and the Richmond News Leader are available in Cabell Library 3rd floor , film numbers 441 and 1712.
  • Also note that a separate index to the Times Dispatch and News Leader (1940's -1985) is available through the Library of Virginia's Newspaper Indexes.
    
    
• HarpWeek: The Civil War Era and Reconstruction VCU
  • Searchable scanned images of all pages of Harper's Weekly during the Civil War era and the first six years of Reconstruction (1857 - 1871).
    
    
• Historical Abstracts VCU
  Article abstracts and citations of books and dissertations covering world history from 1450 to the present; excludes the United States and Canada.
  • Electronic Access (1970 - present; limited coverage 1955 - 1969).
  • Print Subscription 1955-Present. Location: Cabell Reference D299 .H5
    
    
• International Medieval Bibliography:
  • Print Subscription 1973-1994. Location: Cabell Reference Z6203 .I63
    
    
• New York Times Index (1851-Present)
  These yearly volumes are located in the Reference Collection, first floor, call number AI21 .N45. Copies of the articles on microfilm are available in Cabell Library (3rd floor), drawer number 454.
  
  
• Palmer's Index to The Times of London
  Print Subscription (Continued by The Times Index) 1790-Present. Location: Cabell Reference Newspaper Indexes.
  
  

• Pennsylvania Gazette VCU
  Full-text database of articles from the famous Philadelphia newspaper. Includes other important writings of the period, e.g., Common Sense and The Federalist Papers. Coverage is from 1728-1800.
  
  
• Readers Guide to Periodical Literature (1890-Present)
  These yearly volumes are located in the Reference Collection, first floor, call number AI3 .R48. Cabell library has many of the articles that are indexed in the Readers Guide.
  
  
• Virginia Gazette Index Cappon and Duff:
  A number of newspapers were published in Williamsburg from 1736-1780 under the title of Virginia Gazette. The index covers these various editions as well as subjects, personal names, and advertisements.
  • Print Subscription Cabell Reference AI21 .V5
  • Microfilm copies of the Virginia Gazette are available in Cabell Library 3rd floor, film number 1670.
    
    
• Virginia Historical Index:
  Indexes both primary and secondary material central to the early history of Virginia with a combined coverage from 1619-1919.
  • Print Subscription Cabell Reference F221 .S93 1965
    
    
• Virginia Newspaper and Periodical Indexes
  From the Library of Virginia, an online version of print card catalogs which index selected library and archival collections. The Newspaper and Periodical Indexes include The Magazine Index to Selected articles on Virginia 1900-1985 and an index to the Richmond Times Dispatch and News Leader 1940-1985.

return to top

Electronic Journals

• JSTOR VCU
  Full text backfiles of core journals in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Retrospective coverage begins with the first volume for each title and ends 3-5 years from the current date. History journals include:
  • American Historical Review (vol.1, 1895)
  • American Quarterly (vol. 1, 1949)
  • Journal of American History (vol.1, 1914)
  • Journal of Economic History (vol. 1, 1941)
  • Journal of the History of Ideas (vol. 1, 1940)
  • Journal of Military History (vol.1, 1937)
  • Journal of Modern History (vol. 1, 1929)
  • Journal of Negro History (vol. 1, 1916)
  • Journal of Southern History (vol. 1, 1935)
  • Renaissance Quarterly (vol. 1, 1948)
  • Speculum: A Journal of Mediaeval Studies (vol. 1, 1926)
  • Studies in the Renaissance (vol. 1, 1954)
  • William and Mary Quarterly (vol. 1, 1892)
    
    
• Project MUSE VCU (More than 40 full text journals from Johns Hopkins University Press)
  • Journal Listings and Descriptions
  • Search the MUSE Full Text Journal Database
  • Project MUSE journals include American Jewish History, American Quarterly, Eighteenth-Century Life, Eighteenth-Century Studies, the Journal of Democracy, the Journal of Early Christian Studies, the Journal of the History of Ideas, Late Imperial China, and Reviews in American History.
    
    
• Bryn Mawr Classical Review
  An on-line book review journal for classical studies.
  
  
• Bryn Mawr Medieval Review
  An on-line book review journal for medieval studies.
  
  
• CROMOHS: Cyber Review of Modern Historiography
  An electronic review of the history of modern historiography making use of internet and world wide web resources.
  
  
• The Early America Review
  A journal of fact and opinion on the people, issues and events of 18th century America.
  
  
• Essays in History
  A Publication of the Corcoran Department of History, the University of Virginia.
  
  
• Studies in the World History of Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation
  Essays, documents, images, bibliographies and database information relevant to the history of slavery, abolition, and emancipation.

return to top

Electronic Primary Sources

• American Colonist's Library
  Primary source documents pertaining to early American history.
• American Memory
  Archival collections (Documents, Prints & Photographs, Motion Pictures, and Sound Recordings) from the Library of Congress.
• American Radicalism Collection
  Full text scanned selections from Michigan State University's collections. Includes primary documents from the Black Panther Party, the Industrial Workers of the World, the Sacco-Vanzetti Case, and many more.
• Carrie: An Electronic Full Text Library
  Includes an excellent collection of Historic Documents of the United States from the Colonial Period through the 20th Century.
• Documenting the American South Digital Library
  Literature, diaries, and narratives from the 19th century.
• Electronic Text Library -- University of Virginia
• EuroDocs
  Primary historical documents from Western Europe -- Selected transcriptions, facsimiles and translations.
• Historical Text Archive
  A large collection of historical texts and maps arranged by region and topic.
• The Labyrinth
  Georgetown's Virtual Library for Medieval Studies.
• Making of America
  A digital library documenting American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. Features primary materials from the libraries of University of Michigan and Cornell University.
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
  NARA is the government agency responsible for overseeing the management of the records of the federal government. Includes access to a searchable database, Archival Research Catalog, which provides indexing and access to a selected portion of NARA's holdings.
• Online Medieval and Classical Library
  A collection of some of the most important literary works of Classical and Medieval civilization.
• United States Presidential Documents
  • White House History
  • Inaugural and State of the Union Addresses
  • Mapping the Presidential Elections 1860-1996
  • Presidential Debate Transcripts 1960, 1976- present
  • Presidential Libraries
• U.S. Census Data 1790-1970
  Historical demographic, economic and social statistics from the U.S. Decennial Census. Includes data at the county level for most states.
• The U.S. Civil War Center
  Seeks to locate, index, and/or make available all appropriate private and public data regarding the Civil War. Also see the American Civil War Homepage for another well organized listing of internet sites.
• World War I Documents Archive
  Primary source material from World War I including treaties, personal remembrances, a biographical dictionary, and links to other sites.

return to top

Virginia History

• The Library of Virginia
  The Library of Virginia provides access to unparalleled resources for Virginia historical research at their library and through the web.
• Afro-American Sources in Virginia: A Guide to Manuscripts
• Colonial Williamsburg
• Directories of Virginia Public Libraries, Historical Societies, and State Agency Libraries
• Geospacial and Statistical Data Center at UVA
  Incorporating the latest mapping technology in diverse academic fields including several notable historical projects:
  • Geography of Virginia's Slave Trade
  • Historic Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Charlottesville from the 1920's
• Michie Map of Richmond area, 1865
• Monticello
• Newspapers in Virginia Database
  A catalog of nearly 6,000 individual Virginia newspaper titles housed in repositories in Virginia.
• Online Exhibits from the VCU Libraries
• Richmond History Sites
• Research Notes
  From the Library of Virginia, an online series of essays about research in Virginia documents. Topics include cemeteries, poll tax records, and place names.
• Valley of the Shadow Project
  An impressive multimedia exploration of the American Civil War. Portrays two communities, one Northern and one Southern, through thousands of primary sources.
• The Virginia Black History Archives
  Documents the activities of African-American organizations and individuals in the Richmond and central Virginia area who have been influential in the social, economic, and political developments in the twentieth century. Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University.
• Virginia History and Genealogy Discussion Groups
• Virginia Historical Society
  Includes an online catalog for their book, manuscript and photographic collections.
• Virtual Jamestown
  A growing archive of digital sources in anticipation of the 400 year anniversary of the Jamestown Colony in 2007.
• VIVA Special Collections
  Links to special collections departments throughout Virginia and emerging statewide projects.
• VIVA Virginia Heritage Database
  A union database of finding aids to archival collections in Virginia.

return to top