History Indexes & Databases

World History (Reference)

Dictionary of Contemporary World History from Oxford Reference Online

A comprehensive resource that contains over 100 dictionaries and reference titles covering general reference, language, science, medicine, humanities, the social sciences, business and professional.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and the Britannica Book of the Year.

Gale Virtual Reference Library

A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.

Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past.

SIRS Researcher

A reference source which includes access to SIRS Researcher, SIRS Government Reporter, SIRS Renaissance, SIRS NetSelect and SIRS Interactive Citizenship.

WorldAlmanac

A full text searchable database containing the World Almanac and Book of Facts 1998, World Almanac of the U.S.A. 1998, World Almanac of U.S. Politics 1997, and the World Almanac for Kids Dec. 1997

World Map Collections

World Map Collections are a cooperative project of several public and private universities of Florida and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to make digitized modern and antique maps available on the Web. The Florida and Caribbean collections are particularly strong, but Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East are also represented. These are growing collections; new maps are added.

World History (Non - Reference)

African-American Biographical Database

Brings together in one resource the biographies of thousands of African Americans, many not to be found in any other reference source. These biographical sketches have been carefully assembled from biographical dictionaries and other sources.

CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online)

Designed to be the most comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. This resource provides access to a wide range of scholarship from 1991 onward that includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals and policy briefs.

Eighteenth Century Collections Online

Online access to the digital images of books published between 1701 and 1800. This collection includes ancient and contemporary history, accounts of voyages and discoveries, historical biographies and memoirs, genealogical collections, gazetteers, works on church antiquities and tourist guides of Britain. Topics include chronologies, recreation (travel, sports, parlor games), military history, maps, local history, and topography.

EuroDocs: Primary Historical Documents from Western Europe

These links connect to Western European (mainly primary) historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated. They shed light on key historical happenings within the respective countries (and within the broadest sense of political, economic, social and cultural history). The order of documents is chronological wherever possible."

Historical Abstracts

Indexes journals covering the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada, which are covered in a companion database America: History and Life).

House of Commons Parliamentary Papers

Parliamentary Papers are the most detailed primary source for 19th-century Britain, its colonies and the wider world. They are the working documents of government for all areas of social, political, economic and foreign policy. They influenced public opinion and social and political philosophy, and provided a forum for the ideas of hundreds of thinkers, among them Jenner, Arnold, Trollope, Mill, Faraday, Babbage, Telford and Brunel.

Index Islamicus

This resource indexes literature on Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. It is produced by an editorial team working at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, established to transmit knowledge about Islamic and Middle East studies, which have traditionally been part of the curriculum of SOAS. Records included in the database cover almost 100 years of publications on the world of Islam.

Iter Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Iter is pleased to present an online, OpenURL-enabled bibliography of more than 1,010,000 records for articles, essays, books, dissertation abstracts, encyclopedia entries and reviews. This material has been collected from 8,707 publications, including 1,707 journals. Updated daily, with thousands of new records added annually, this powerful research tool is of essential use to scholars of the Middle Ages and / or the Renaissance (400-1700).

JSTOR

JSTOR is a not–for–profit organization dedicated to helping the scholarly community discover, use, and build upon a wide range of intellectual content in a trusted digital archive. JSTOR includes 1,856,206 full-length articles across 47 disciplines. There are 1,387,437 book reviews and the oldest content in the archive was published in 1665.

New York Times Historical | 1851-three years before the current date  |

This database offers full-page-images and article images from the New York times from its first issue in 1851 to three years before the current date. The collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue, cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files. The database is an ongoing project.

Newspapers Online

The MacArthur Campus Library maintains a web page offering links to its full text newspaper databases.

Official Index to the Times (London), (1906 - 1980)

A collection of short index entries from the 296 printed volumes of the Official Index to the London Times which covers the years 1906-1980 inclusive. Coverage includes all issues of The Times, The Sunday Times, and supplements. The Boca Raton Campus library has the London Times on microfilm, 1785 - current year.

Original Sources

This site includes original source documents, critical selections, and acclaimed works across U.S. and World History, Literature, Social Sciences, Political Science, Law, Science, Mathematics, Religion, Philosophy, and Language.  It comprises more than 350,000 documents and more than 5,000 complete books.

Periodicals Archive Online (Formerly: PCI Full Text)

Periodicals Archive Online is a major online periodical archive which makes the full image of periodical articles, from 1770 to 1995, available in digital form.

 

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses

Covers every doctoral dissertation completed in the U.S. at accredited institutions for the last 150 years. Includes some master's theses and foreign language dissertations.

Times Digital Archive

Researchers can search through the complete digital edition of The Times (London), using keyword searching and hit-term highlighting to retrieve full facsimile images of either a specific article or a complete page. The entire newspaper is captured, with all articles, advertisements and illustrations/photos divided into categories to facilitate searching.

United States History (Reference)

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and the Britannica Book of the Year.

Gale Virtual Reference Library

A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.

History Resource Center: US

Contains a vast collection of primary sources, magazine and newspaper articles, and reference works covering U.S. history.

Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past.

SIRS Researcher

A reference source which includes access to SIRS Researcher, SIRS Government Reporter, SIRS Renaissance, SIRS NetSelect and SIRS Interactive Citizenship.

Statistical Abstract of the United States (2003)

The standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States.  It is designed to serve as a convenient volume for statistical reference and as a guide to other statistical publications and sources.

World Map Collections

World Map Collections are a cooperative project of several public and private universities of Florida and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to make digitized modern and antique maps available on the Web. The Florida and Caribbean collections are particularly strong, but Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East are also represented. These are growing collections; new maps are added.

United States History (Non - Reference)

African-American Biographical Database

Brings together in one resource the biographies of thousands of African Americans, many not to be found in any other reference source. These biographical sketches have been carefully assembled from biographical dictionaries and other sources.

America: History and Life

Covers United States and Canadian history from prehistory to the present.

American Civil War Research Database

The definitive online resource for researching the individuals, regiments, and battles of the American Civil War. Originally created by Historical Data Systems, Inc., the database contains indexed, searchable information on over 4 million soldiers and thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs.

American Memory

American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States.

American Periodical Series (APS) Online

Over 1,100 periodicals that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and many other historically-significant periodicals.

America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1876

Early American newspapers including titles from all 50 states.

Archive of Americana

This family of historical collections contains books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, government documents and ephemera printed in America over three centuries.

Black Studies Center

Brings together essential historical and current material for researching the past, present and future of African-Americans, the wider African Diaspora, and Africa itself. This resource is a fully cross-searchable gateway to Black Studies including scholarly essays, recent periodicals, historical newspaper articles, and much more. It combines several resources for research and teaching in Black Studies: Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP), The Chicago Defender, and the Black Literature Index.

Black Though and Culture

This resource provides access to the published works of numerous historically important black leaders. Along with well-known works, the collection features approximately 5,000 pages of unique, fugitive, and never-before-published materials. Subjects indexed include colonialism, socialism, Marxism, democracy, capitalism, the Labor movement, segregation, poverty, education, religion, sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, the New Deal, the World Wars, the Black Liberation movement, the South, the Scottsboro and Herndon trials, black nationalism, miscegenation, the black athlete, civil rights, apartheid, the Black Panther party, the Negritude movement, the NAACP, birth control, the vote, urban ghettoes vs. the rural South, strategies of protest and demonstration, and hundreds more.

CQ Public Affairs Collection

Provides in-depth reports on vital issues, statistical and historical analyses, historic documents and primary source materials, as well as a directory of key government, non-profit, and private organizations in each of the major policy areas. Organized by 22 key public affairs subject headings, such as Advocacy and Public Service, Education, Energy, the Environment, Health, and Transportation.

Proquest Dissertations and Theses

Covers every doctoral dissertation completed in the U.S. at accredited institutions for the last 150 years. Includes some master's theses and foreign language dissertations.

Eighteenth Century Collections Online

Online access to the digital images of books published between 1701 and 1800. This collection includes ancient and contemporary history, accounts of voyages and discoveries, historical biographies and memoirs, genealogical collections, gazetteers, works on church antiquities and tourist guides of Britain. Topics include chronologies, recreation (travel, sports, parlor games), military history, maps, local history, and topography.

Evans Digital Edition (1639-1800)

Based on the renowned American Bibliography by Charles Evans. The definitive resource for every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th- century America, from agriculture and auctions through foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, music, religion, the Revolutionary War,  temperance, witchcraft, and just about any other topic imaginable.

Gilded Age

The Gilded Age brings primary documents and scholarly commentary together into a searchable collection that is the definitive electronic resource for students and scholars researching this important period in American history.

HarpWeek

Civil War and Reconstruction content from Harper's Weekly, 1857-1877, with index.

Historical Statistics of the United States

Provides quantitative facts about American history. This resource provides access to data on social, behavioral, humanistic, and natural sciences including history, economics, government, finance, sociology, demography, education, law, natural resources, climate, religion, international migration, and trade.

The History Cooperative

The American Historical Review and the Journal of American History, available electronically.

JSTOR

JSTOR is a not–for–profit organization dedicated to helping the scholarly community discover, use, and build upon a wide range of intellectual content in a trusted digital archive. JSTOR includes 1,856,206 full-length articles across 47 disciplines. There are 1,387,437 book reviews and the oldest content in the archive was published in 1665.

LexisNexis Congressional Hearings Digital Collection

 (1824-1979)

Public policy starts and ends with Congressional committee hearings. In these hearings, committees assess, amend, approve or kill legislation, as well as oversee the implementation and effectiveness of previously enacted legislation falling under their jurisdiction. Giving researchers access to the content of both published and unpublished hearings, the NEW LexisNexis Congressional Hearings Digital Collection forms an unparalleled documentary record of events and public policy issues faced by America, as well as the objectives and actions of Congress in dealing with these events and issues.

LexisNexis Congressional Hearings Digital Collection

 (1980-2003)

Public policy starts and ends with Congressional committee hearings. In these hearings, committees assess, amend, approve or kill legislation, as well as oversee the implementation and effectiveness of previously enacted legislation falling under their jurisdiction. Giving researchers access to the content of both published and unpublished hearings, the NEW LexisNexis Congressional Hearings Digital Collection forms an unparalleled documentary record of events and public policy issues faced by America, as well as the objectives and actions of Congress in dealing with these events and issues.

LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection

This resource is an ongoing collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under the directive of Congress, captures every aspect of American life from the early 19th century onward, from farming, to westward expansion, scientific exploration, politics, international relations, business, and manufacturing. It includes Congressional reports and documents as well as executive agency and departmental reports ordered to be printed by Congress. [To access this database, click on "Historical Full Text" from the menu choices.]

Making of America

MoA is "a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 8,500 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints."

New York Times Historical

This database offers full-page-images and article images from the New York times from its first issue in 1851 to three years before the current date. The collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue, cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files. The database is an ongoing project.

Newspapers Online

The MacArthur Campus Library maintains a web page offering links to its full text newspaper databases.

Original Sources

This site includes original source documents, critical selections, and acclaimed works across U.S. and World History, Literature, Social Sciences, Political Science, Law, Science, Mathematics, Religion, Philosophy, and Language.  It comprises more than 350,000 documents and more than 5,000 complete books.

Periodicals Archive Online (Formerly: PCI Full Text)

Periodicals Archive Online is a major online periodical archive which makes the full image of periodical articles, from 1770 to 1995, available in digital form.

Shaw Digital Edition

Books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the distinguished bibliography by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker.

Women and Social Movements Scholar's Edition

The resource, which examines perspectives on women's social movements from Colonial times to the present , brings together books, images, documents, scholarly essays, commentaries, and bibliographies, documenting the multiplicity of women's reform activities.

Florida History (Reference)

African-American Biographical Database

Brings together in one resource the biographies of thousands of African Americans, many not to be found in any other reference source. These biographical sketches have been carefully assembled from biographical dictionaries and other sources.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and the Britannica Book of the Year.

FAU Libraries Special Collections & Archives

FAU currently maintains ten collections.  Of particular interest to Florida historians is the Bessie DuBois Collection. This collection consists of books and brochures relating to many aspects of Florida history. The books are separated from the rest of the collection and stored in closed stacks. The brochures are stored separately, next to FAU's Floridiana Collection. They contain mostly travel brochures compiled by counties' chambers of commerce from many regions of Florida. Also contained in the collection are brochures from historical and environmental sites throughout the state. There are also fishing guides, books on ship wrecks and lighthouses, cookbooks and children's literature located in the collection which represent Mrs. DuBois interests. The bulk of these items were written between the years 1950-1970 with items ranging from 1934-1986.

Florida Documents Index

Identifies publications housed in the Florida Documents Collection at Florida Atlantic University. Includes public documents distributed by the State Library of Florida since 1967.

History Resource Center: US

Contains a vast collection of primary sources, magazine and newspaper articles, and reference works covering U.S. history.

Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past.

SIRS Researcher

A reference source which includes access to SIRS Researcher, SIRS Government Reporter, SIRS Renaissance, SIRS NetSelect and SIRS Interactive Citizenship.

World Map Collections

World Map Collections are a cooperative project of several public and private universities of Florida and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to make digitized modern and antique maps available on the Web. The Florida and Caribbean collections are particularly strong, but Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East are also represented. These are growing collections; new maps are added.

Florida History (Non - Reference)

African-American Biographical Database

Brings together in one resource the biographies of thousands of African Americans, many not to be found in any other reference source. These biographical sketches have been carefully assembled from biographical dictionaries and other sources.

America: History and Life

Covers United States and Canadian history from prehistory to the present.

American Memory

American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States.

American Periodical Series (APS) Online

Over 1,100 periodicals that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and many other historically-significant periodicals.

CQ Public Affairs Collection

Provides in-depth reports on vital issues, statistical and historical analyses, historic documents and primary source materials, as well as a directory of key government, non-profit, and private organizations in each of the major policy areas. Organized by 22 key public affairs subject headings, such as Advocacy and Public Service, Education, Energy, the Environment, Health, and Transportation.

Eighteenth Century Collections Online

Online access to the digital images of books published between 1701 and 1800. This collection includes ancient and contemporary history, accounts of voyages and discoveries, historical biographies and memoirs, genealogical collections, gazetteers, works on church antiquities and tourist guides of Britain. Topics include chronologies, recreation (travel, sports, parlor games), military history, maps, local history, and topography.

Florida Memory Project

"The Florida Memory Project presents a selection of historical records that illustrate significant moments in Florida history, educational resources for students of all ages and archival collections for historical research. The Project utilizes selected original records, photographs and other materials from the collections of the State Library and Archives of Florida."

Evans Digital Edition (1639-1800)

Based on the renowned American Bibliography by Charles Evans. The definitive resource for every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th- century America, from agriculture and auctions through foreign affairs, diplomacy, literature, music, religion, the Revolutionary War,  temperance, witchcraft, and just about any other topic imaginable.

HarpWeek

Civil War and Reconstruction content from Harper's Weekly, 1857-1877, with index.

The History Cooperative

The American Historical Review and the Journal of American History, available electronically.

JSTOR

JSTOR is a not–for–profit organization dedicated to helping the scholarly community discover, use, and build upon a wide range of intellectual content in a trusted digital archive. JSTOR includes 1,856,206 full-length articles across 47 disciplines. There are 1,387,437 book reviews and the oldest content in the archive was published in 1665.

LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection

This resource is an ongoing collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under the directive of Congress, captures every aspect of American life from the early 19th century onward, from farming, to westward expansion, scientific exploration, politics, international relations, business, and manufacturing. It includes Congressional reports and documents as well as executive agency and departmental reports ordered to be printed by Congress. [To access this database, click on "Historical Full Text" from the menu choices.]

Making of America

MoA is "a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 8,500 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints."

New York Times Historical

This database offers full-page-images and article images from the New York times from its first issue in 1851 to three years before the current date. The collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue, cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files. The database is an ongoing project.

Original Sources

This site includes original source documents, critical selections, and acclaimed works across U.S. and World History, Literature, Social Sciences, Political Science, Law, Science, Mathematics, Religion, Philosophy, and Language.  It comprises more than 350,000 documents and more than 5,000 complete books.

PALMM Collections

Publication of Archival, Library & Museum Materials (PALMM) is a cooperative initiative of the state universities of Florida to provide digital access to important source materials. Selected PALMM Projects: Eric Eustace Williams, Florida Heritage Collection, Florida Historical Legal Documents, Floridiana on the Web, Literature for Children,  Ringling Collection, Textual Collections, Visual Collections and World Map Collections

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses

Covers every doctoral dissertation completed in the U.S. at accredited institutions for the last 150 years. Includes some master's theses and foreign language dissertations.

Women and Social Movements in the United States

The resource, which examines perspectives on women’s social movements from Colonial times to the present, brings together books, images, documents, scholarly essays, commentaries, and bibliographies, documenting the multiplicity of women’s reform activities.

General Databases for Your Topic

Expanded Academic ASAP

Indexes articles in approximately 1000 scholarly journals and popular magazines in the arts, humanities, social sciences, science and technology.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1974 - 1996

FBIS Daily Reports consists of translated broadcasts, news agency transmissions, newspapers, periodicals and government statements from nations around the globe.

Gallup Brain

Includes answers to more than 125,000 questions, and responses from more than 3.5 million people interviewed by The Gallup Poll since 1935. Also includes current Gallup Poll News Service articles that feature the latest in-depth poll analyses and replicas of news stories and press releases linked to the surveys.

Humanities Full Text

Subject areas include archaeology, area studies, art, classical studies, communications, dance, film, folklore, gender studies, history, journalism, linguistics, literary and social criticism literature, music, performing arts, philosophy, religion and theology. Indexing begins in 1984 with full-text coverage beginning in January 1995.

Humanities & Social Sciences Retrospective 1907 - 1984

This resource is a bibliographic database that cites articles from English-language periodicals. Subjects include Addiction Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Area Studies, Art, Classical Studies, Communications, Community Health & Medical Care, Corrections, Criminal Justice, Criminology, Dance, Economics, Environmental Studies, Ethics, Family Studies, Film, Folklore, Gender Studies, Geography, Gerontology, History, International Relations, Journalism, Law, Linguistics, Literary & Social Criticism Literature, Minority Studies, Music, Performing Arts, Philosophy, Planning & Public Administration, Policy Sciences, Political Science, Psychiatry, Psychology, Public Welfare, Religion and Theology, Social Work, Sociology, and Urban Studies.

General OneFile

A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics: business, computers, current events, economics, education, environmental issues, health care, hobbies, humanities, law, literature and art, politics, science, social science, sports, technology, and many general interest topics.

JSTOR

JSTOR is a not–for–profit organization dedicated to helping the scholarly community discover, use, and build upon a wide range of intellectual content in a trusted digital archive. JSTOR includes 1,856,206 full-length articles across 47 disciplines. There are 1,387,437 book reviews and the oldest content in the archive was published in 1665.

Newspapers Online

The MacArthur Campus Library maintains a web page offering links to its full text newspaper databases.

Periodicals Archive Online (Formerly: PCI Full Text)

Periodicals Archive Online is a major online periodical archive which makes the full image of periodical articles, from 1770 to 1995, available in digital form.

Project Muse

Project MUSE is a unique collaboration between libraries and publishers providing 100% full-text, affordable and user-friendly online access to over 380 high quality humanities and social sciences journals from over 60 scholarly publishers.

Social Science Citation Index

This is a unique database. In addition to searching by author, title and subject, users can locate articles which cite other authors or articles. To begin, choose "Full Search" or "Easy Search." If you have chosen "Full Search," go to "General Search" for articles by subject term, author name, journal title, or author affiliation. Use "Cited Ref Search" for articles that cite an author or article that you specify.

For a complete list of all available databases, visit our Electronic Collection.