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- Main history subject guide
World history: Main history subject guide
What's on this page
This main subject guide for history identifies principal online resources for historical research at Virginia Tech.
It incorporates some guides to primary sources that also stand on their own: Primary sources online, Social research data sources, and VT Library's Special Collections & University Archives. Related, subordinate guides that build off this one include American History, World history, and Medieval and early Modern studies.
This guide also reproduces tabs that also appear in other subject guides: Recent news/journalism/streaming video; Advice for searching/citing/engaging scholarly literatures; and Accessing VT Libraries' resources from off campus.
This page is organized into these sections: Indexes to scholarly historical literature; Indexes to archives; Biographical sources; Background sources; and contact information for the history librarian.
Essential indexes
- Historical Abstracts from EBSCOhostHistorical Abstracts indexes citations, abstracts, and full text from journals, books, and dissertations that cover the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more. Full text available as HTML and PDF. The database allows limiting results to specific time periods (not just publication dates). You can limit to peer-reviewed sources. 1800s-present.
- America: History & Life from EBSCOhostAmerica: History and Life is an index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. The database includes citations and links to journal articles, dissertations, primary documents, and book and media reviews. Some content is available full-text (PDF and HTML). Allows limiting to peer reviewed articles, those with references, and to historical periods (date ranges). 1863-present.
- History of Science, Technology & Medicine from EBSCOhostThe History of Science, Technology, and Medicine database indexes citations and abstracts of journal articles, conference proceedings, books, dissertations, maps, and other materials on the history of science, medicine, and technology. 1600s-present.
- ArchiveGridArchiveGrid provides more than 7 million records "describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more," from 1,400 archival institutions mainly from the US but with some international coverage. Finding aids include linked cross-references by subject heading, genre, personal names, groups, and places. Records also provide maps and contact information to make arrangements for examining the collections in person or, occasionally, online.
Find out about people in history
- Biography In Context from GaleGale In Context: Biography provides access to over 600,000 biographies in HTML sourced from reference works, news reports, magazines and academic journals. It provides links to related websites, images, audio, and video clips.
- Ancestry Library Edition Ancestry Library Edition is an academic version of ancestry.com. Contains coverage of the U.S. and the U.K., including census, vital, church, court, and immigration records, as well as record collections from Canada and other areas. A collection of more than 4,000 databases and 1.5 billion names including U.S. federal census images and indexes from 1790 to 1940; the Map Center containing more than 1,000 historical maps; American Genealogical Biographical Index (over 200 volumes), Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage (over 150 volumes), The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1630, Social Security Death Index, WWI Draft Registration Cards, Federal Slave Narratives, and a Civil War collection.
- American National Biography Online American National Biography provides HTML full-text biographical entries and over 2,700 illustrations on 18,700 men and women -- from all eras and walks of life -- whose lives have shaped the nation. It includes access to The Oxford Companion to United States History encyclopedia with entries on all aspects of American history.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is an illustrated collection of more than 57,000 specially written biographies of the men and women from around the world who shaped all aspects of Britain's past. Includes deceased persons only.
- Biography Index Retrospective: 1946-1983 from EBSCOhost Indexes citations of biographical articles and book chapters, interviews and profiles, and obituaries covering over 300,000 people: public figures, writers, artists, sports figures, politicians, religious leaders, scientists, educators, military leaders, teachers, actors, and business people.
Background information resources
- Very Short introductions Written by experts, Very Short Introductions offers concise and original introductions to a diverse range of subjects, providing a bridge between reference content and higher academic work. Each volume presents an authoritative and engaging assessment of a concept, field, or body of work, drawing out the central ideas, themes, and approaches.
- U.S. History in Context from Gale U.S. History in Context provides curated topic pages with academic journal articles, primary sources, reference works, news sources, multimedia, and biographies on people and peoples, events, places, conflicts, the government, movements, and economics.
- World History in Context from Gale World History in Context provides curated topic pages with academic journal articles, primary sources, reference works, news sources, multimedia, and biographies on people, countries and cultures, conflicts, organizations, religions, events, periods, and economics.
- Special Collections and University Archives: A Basic Introduction Like most academic libraries, Virginia Tech has a department devoted to acquiring, preserving, and making available rare and unique primary-source materials. This guide provides a detailed overview of the ways special collections and archives, here and elsewhere, are indeed special.
- SAGE Research Methods Online Advanced reference resource allows users to explore methods concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. With its focus on methodology rather than disciplines and sophisticated search options, SRMO can be used across the social sciences, health sciences, and more. Incorporates full-text content from over 720 books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks, articles, specially commissioned videos, and cases illustrating the application of particular methodologies.
Social Sciences & History Librarian
Office #3050
560 Drillfield Dr
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Email is the best way to contact me with questions or appointment requests.
Office hours (walk-in and/or Zoom): T 1-3:00 pm, W-Th 2-4:00 pm (Eastern time), and by appointment.
- virginiatech.zoom.us/j/95623507981
Ask a Librarian
Interlibrary Loan Services
All current Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff, regardless of your location, may request through ILLiad for materials:
- not owned by Virginia Tech (books, articles from journals and conference proceedings, book chapters, standards, and technical papers)
- owned by Virginia Tech but are unavailable for use (print books)
- owned by Virginia Tech and available in print (scans of articles from journals and conference proceedings, book chapters, standards, and technical papers)
We ship requests via UPS to users outside the immediate Blacksburg area (Montgomery, Giles and Pulaski counties).
Articles, book chapters, and many technical papers are delivered in PDF format to your ILLiad account. Occasionally, due to copyright restrictions, a paper copy of an article or standard is held for your at the Newman User Services Desk or sent o the mailing address listed on your account.
Temporary, trial access only -- use while you can
The University Libraries at Virginia Tech regularly secure short-term, trial access to online resources in order to gauge their appropriateness to our university's teaching and research missions. These trials run in October, February, and sometimes April. Most trials run 30 days.
This box highlights some of these opportunities as they come available. All active trials are listed in a sidebar in the main Databases A-Z directory and as a tab atop this libguide.
Each entry includes a link to a user survey. I and other subject librarians invite you to email us moredetailed assessments of trial resources. Responses from the Virginia Tech community are vital to the library's deliberations about whether and when to acquire or enhance databases and the like.
As appropriate I will list all currently active trials and user survey links in a resource trials tab in this and my other libguides. Entries for trials I may include in here as elsewher in the body of my libguides will go away when the trial period ends.