History Research Guide

This guide is the starting point for identifying, locating, using, and evaluating  materials relating to History in the Carmichael Library and on Internet.  If you need additional assistance, please Ask a Librarian or contact Kathy Lowe, Reference Librarian, at lowek@montevallo.edu or 665-6109.

Finding Library Materials     
Library Catalog
The Library Catalog is often the best place to begin research. Search by author, title, subject, keyword, or a variety of other specialized searches.

Several examples of standard History subject headings appropriate for use in the Main Catalog when searching for History materials are:

• History (Subject heading)

• History -- Revolutions (Subject heading HISTORY and the subdivision REVOLUTIONS)

• United States -- History (Broad Topic)

• United States -- History -- Civil Rights (Narrow Topic) 

• United States -- Race Relations (Related Topic)

• Alabama -- History (Broad Topic)

• Alabama -- History -- 1819 (Narrow Topic)

To obtain an authoritative list of subject headings check the Library of Congress Subject Headings, near the Ask Here desk.

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Call Numbers
Carmichael Library uses the Library of Congress system to organize its materials.  History materials, and other related subjects, can be found in these call number ranges:

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Reference Materials
Reference materials include dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and indexes.  They are good starting points in the research process.

Several examples of History reference materials available for use in the Carmichael Library include the following:

• Alabama History and Resources - Ref. F326 .B84 1997 

• American South: A Historical Bibliography - Ref. F209 .A 45 1986

• Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World - Ref. G1033 .B3 2000 

• Cambridge Ancient History - Ref. D57 .C252 

• Dictionary of American History - Ref. E174 .D52 2003

• Dictionary of the Middle Ages - Ref. D114 .D5 1982

• Encyclopedia of Africa: South of the Sahara - Ref. DT351 .E53 1997

• Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History - Ref. E185 .E54 1995

• Encyclopedia of Civil-Rights in America - Ref. E185.61 .E544 1998

• Encyclopedia of the American Civil War - Ref. E468 .E53 2000

• Encyclopedia of the Renaissance - Ref. CB361 .E52 1999

• Harvard Guide to American History - Ref. E175.7 .H37 1974

• Oxford Classical Dictionary - Ref. DE5 .O9 2003

Be sure to check the Reference databases for electronic reference materials.

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Print Indexes
Indexes are used to identify published articles in specific journals.  Most of the indexes in the Carmichael Library are electronic and are available from the Databases page.  However, in some instances only print indexes are available:

• International Index - Index AI3 .R49

• New York Times Index - Index AI21 .N45

• Nineteenth Century Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, 1890-1899, with supplementary indexing, 1900-1922 - Index AI3 .R48

• Poole's Index to Periodical Literature - Index AI3 .P723 1938

• Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature - Index AI3 .R48

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Journals and Periodicals
Journals and periodicals are published at regular intervals in print and electronically.

Print History periodicals available in the Carmichael Library include the following:

• Alabama Heritage

• Alabama Review

• American Heritage

• American Historical Review

• American Quarterly

• British Journal for the History of Science

• Civil War History

• English Historical Review

• French Historical Studies

• Historical Journal

• History Teacher

• Journal of African American History

• Journal of American History

• Journal of American Studies

• Journal of British Studies

• Journal of Contemporary History

• Journal of Modern African Studies

• Journal of Southern History

• Journal of the History of Ideas

• Magazine of History

• New England Quarterly

• Past and Present

• The Quarterly (Shelby County Historical Society

• Sixteenth Century Journal

• Technology and Culture

• William and Mary Quarterly

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Electronic Resources
Databases

Electronic access to journal articles is available from the Databases page.  Most databases can be searched using author, title or subject in either basic or advanced search formats. The results of a search will include either a citation, a citation and abstract, or a citation, abstract and full text of the article depending on the database searched.

Listed below are databases you could use to locate information about History.  You can access these, and other databases, from the Databases by name page or the Databases by subject page.

• America -  History and Life   Full Text 

• Annals of American History Online   Full Text 

• Historical Abstracts   Index and Abstracts

• History Reference Center 

• JSTOR  Full Text 

Additional information about specific databases is available at each database site. 

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Internet Links
Several recognized History sites are listed below:

• Africa: South of the Sahara (Stanford U.)

• African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress)

• American Memory Project (Library of Congress)

• EuroDocs: Primary Historical Documents from Western Europe (Brigham Young U.)

• Exploring Ancient World Cultures (U. of Evansville)

• Making of America (Cornell U.) 

• NARA (National Archives and Records Administration)

• Rare Maps Collection (U. of Georgia)

• United States Civil War Center (Louisiana State U.)

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Additional Resources
Associations
Associations provide a forum for the exchange of ideas within a profession.  Listed below are the names of a few History  associations.

• African Studies Association

• American Association for State and Local History

• American Historical Association

• Center for History and New Media

• Organization of American Historians

• World History Association

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Additional Research Guides
Additional Research Guides worth reviewing include the following:

• A Scholarly Guide to Google (Harvard University)

• African Studies Research Guide (Columbia U.)

• American Women's History: A Research Guide (Middle Tennessee State U.)

• European History Research Guide: for the web (California State Fullerton)

• Bowdoin College Writing Guide

• History - American and British (Rutgers U.) 

• United States History: Selected Resources (U. of North Carolina)

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Archives/Special Collections
Materials of historical significance are maintained in Archives.

• American Charters, Constitutions, and Organic Laws: 1492-1908 - Sp. Col. KFA4530 .P65 

• Montevallo: A Little Bit of Lombardy - Sp. Col. F334 .M68 M3

• Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion - Sp. Col. E591 .U58

• The Story of Alabama - Sp. Col. F326 .O88

• War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies - Sp. Col. E464 .U6 

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Government Resources
The U.S. Government publishes a large amount of data and resources both electronically and in print.  Government resources specific to History are listed below:

• U. S. Census Bureau

• Gateway to African-American History (U.S. Department of State)

• GPO (Government Printing Office)

• Guide to Popular U.S. Government Publications - Ref. Z1223 .Z7 A545

Careers

• AHA: History Doctoral Programs in the United States and Canada

• Careers for History Majors

• Careers in Public History

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Compiled by Carey Heatherly and Kathy Lowe 10-07