Introduction to Resources in History

Looking for information on a historical event or person? What WERE the causes of WWI? Who was John A. McDonald? Historical information comes in two flavors. The first, called primary sources, is the collection of documents that were produced during the time of the event. Diaries, letters, contemporary newspaper reports and eyewitness accounts are all examples of primary resources. Secondary resources are written after the event. Authors of books, encyclopedia articles, web pages, film documentaries on a particular event, place or person are producing secondary resources. Although you may find something doing a Google search on your topic, it is not likely that it will be the best information. This handout will introduce you to some of the historical resources available through the Baldwin Library. For specific questions on the best way to search a particular database or advice on which resource is the most applicable to your situation, do not hesitate to ask the library staff. We like doing reference!

The Library of Congress organizes History in this way (not all countries are listed here)

Call numbers beginning with	Have this as their primary subject	Call numbers beginning with	Have this as their primary subject
D	History (General)	DK	History of Russia, Soviet Union, Poland
DA	History of Great Britain	DL	History of Northern Europe
DC	History of France	DP	History of Switzerland
DD	History of Germany	DS	History of Asia
DE	Greco-Roman world	DT	History of Africa
DF	History of Greece	E	History of the United States
DG	History of Italy	F	Local US History, Canada and Latin America

It may be worth your time to browse the appropriate sections in the main collection upstairs as well as the Reference Collection on the main floor, but as a general rule, the most current information will be in the Reference Collection.

Reference Works on History at Baldwin Library – only a selected few listed here! All of these are in the Reference Collection

Secondary Resources
Dictionary of American History REF E 174 .D52 2003
Africana REF DT 14 .A37435 2005
Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt REF DT 58 .O94 2004
Encyclopedia of Modern Asia REF DS 4 .E53 2002
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East REF DS 43 .E53 1996

Primary Resources
Baldwin Library has a number of the Papers of the Presidents series.
Historic Documents of … Series REF E 839.5 .H57

When using GIL (our on-line catalog to look for information on a person, use the person as a SUBJECT rather than searching everything or looking for the person’s name in just a title.

Don’t ignore the e-books!!! GIL gives you access to a number of digital books through NetLibrary. You will find these e- books by searching GIL for your subject. There are HUNDREDS NetLibrary books on a huge variety of historical topics, that might be of use. In order to read these books off campus, you must set up a NetLibrary account while you are on campus.

GILExpress will let you request books that ABAC does not own from other University System of Georgia libraries. Interested? Ask one of the library staff for help.

GALILEO, Georgia’s Virtual Library , gives ABAC students access to many different research databases from every discipline. Often, the most difficult problem is choosing the best resources for your research interest. We often suggest the following databases for historical resources. Find them by clicking on the Arts & Humanities tab

and then choosing History. The resulting list will give you some options. If you find an article citation and no full text, you may request the article from one of the librarians using a process called Interlibrary Loan. ILLs can take up to two weeks and is another reason not to leave your research until the last minute. If you are using GALILEO off campus, you may be asked for a password. Contact a member of the library staff for the one currently in use.

These are good databases in which to start your research. If you cannot find enough information in these, please feel free to talk to a librarian about your research.

Academic Search Complete – Try this one first. It’s the biggest database in GALILEO and has a little something on just about every topic.

JSTOR -- This is not the biggest database, but it is the most in-depth. Core journals in history back to the very first issue published.

Historical New York Times The is one of the United States’ “Newspapers of Record.” If it was important and it happened between 1851 – 2003, there will be an article in the NYTs. For more current newspaper sources, try LexisNexis.

If you are looking for Georgia History resources, you live in the right place! Click on the

tab at the top of the GALILEO page and choose Culture and History. You will find digitized historical newspapers, photographs, books and other primary resources as well at the Georgia Encyclopedia here.

INFOMINE: Scholarly Internet Resource Collections Many of the resources described here are paid subscriptions (and you will not be able to access them), which proves again that not everything on the ‘net is free.

Need study space?
There are eight study rooms located on the second floor of the Baldwin Library. Each of these rooms is equipped with a dry erase board, marker and an eraser. Rooms are available for use by our patrons on a first come, first served basis. Baldwin Library assumes no responsibility for items left unattended – watch your property, please! Room 308 Is the Honors Study room and is reserved for students in the Honors Program. Honors students should sign in at the front desk to obtain a key to this room and must return the key when leaving the library.

Copies and Printouts
Photocopies are made on the self service copier in Room 206. They are 10¢ each. Change for bills 10 dollars or smaller can be obtained at the front desk. Printouts from the GALILEO computers and the microfilm copier are free (limit of 5 documents per session, please).