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Key Reference Sources for History Graduate Students


Guides to the Literature

Library Catalogs

History Databases

Book Reviews

Historians & Historiography

Other Resources
KEY REFERENCE SOURCES FOR HISTORY
GRADUATE STUDENTS

Compiled Jeannette Pierce, M.S.L.I.S., M.A.
Maintained by Jamie Schmid, M.S.L.I.S., Reference Librarian and History Liaison Librarian
Updated March 3, 2008
 


This guide identifies key reference sources that all history graduate students will find useful during the course of their graduate work.  Call numbers pertain to collections in the University's Pius XII Memorial Library.  For additional resources see the Medieval Studies, St. Louis History, Russian & East European Studies, and Anti-Slavery in the United States resource guides.
 
GUIDES TO THE LITERATURE


American Reference Books Annual. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2005.
     Reference Desk Z1035.1 .A55
Lists and describes important reference sources for all disciplines.

Balay, Robert.  Guide to Reference Books.  11th ed.  Chicago:  American Library Association, 1996.
     Reference Desk Z1035.1 .G89 1996
This guide lists and describes important reference sources for all disciplines.

Fritze, Ronald H. Reference Sources in History: An Introductory Guide. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2004.
     Ref. D20 .F75 2004
An introduction to major historical reference sources. Covers all time periods and geographical areas.

Norton, Mary Beth, ed.  The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature.  3rd ed.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 1995.
     Ref. D20 .A55 1995  2 vols.
Published in 1931, 1961, and 1995, this bibliography offers access to influential writing on history through a tiered regional, national and chronological format and an extensive subject index.  Each work listed includes a very brief annotation, usually indicating the main thesis of the book or the historiographical importance of the book.  The introductions to each section offer useful historiographical summaries of the location and time period covered.

Slavens, Thomas P.  Sources of Information for Historical Research.  New York:  Neal-Schuman, 1994.
     Ref. D20 .S64 1994
Lists and describes important reference materials for history.

Trinkle, Dennis A. and Scott A. Merriman.  The History Highway: A 21st Century Guide to Internet Resources.  4th ed.  New York:  M. E. Sharpe, 2006.
     Ref. D16.255 .C65 H58 2006
Annotates thousands of history Internet sites.

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LIBRARY CATALOGS


SLU Libraries Catalog
The Saint Louis University libraries are members of the MOBIUS Consortium which at present includes over fifty college and university libraries in Missouri.  Requests for circulating materials held at MOBIUS libraries usually arrive at Pius Library in two days.

WorldCat - 1200-present
This database includes all types of library materials cataloged by libraries that contribute their records to OCLC, the U.S. national database. Use to search for books, recordings, etc. This database will not locate journal articles.

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HISTORY DATABASES


Remote access to article databases is available only to SLU students, faculty, and staff.

See complete list of History Databases that Pius Library subscribes to. Click on the Web or Pius links to learn more about each database.

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BOOK REVIEWS


Book Review Index Online - 1965-present
Search over 5 million book review references in one place. Remote access is available only to SLU students, faculty and staff.

Book Review Digest.  1906 - .
     East Index Shelves  Ref. Z1219 .C95
Indexes book review citations and includes excerpts of the reviews.

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals, 1802 - 1974.
     East Index Shelves  Ref. Z1035 .A1 C63 1982

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886 - 1974.
     East Index Shelves  Ref. Z1035 .A1 C64

You can also find book reviews in many History Databases.

See also Book Review Resource Guide.

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HISTORIANS & HISTORIOGRAPHY


American National Biography Online
Find biographies of over 18,000 deceased men and women who made significant contributions to building the United States. Remote access is available only to SLU students, faculty and staff.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Indexes important retrospective biographical works along with current, readily available biographical reference sources such as the Who's Who volumes, biographical encyclopedias and dictionaries, subject encyclopedias, and indexes such as Biography Index.  Individuals from around the world, both living and deceased, are included from all fields and subect areas. Remote access is available only to SLU students, faculty and staff.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Collection of 50,000 biographies of persons of note associated with the British Isles from the fourth century BC to 2000. Remote access is available only to SLU students, faculty, and staff.

Bentley, Michael.  Companion to Historiography.  New York:  Routledge, 1997.
     Ref. D13 .C626 1997

Boia, Lucian, ed.  Great Historians from Antiquity to 1800:  An International Dictionary.  New York:  Greenwood Press, 1989.
     Ref. D14 .G74 1989

---.  Great Historians of the Modern Age:  An International Dictionary.  New York:  Greenwood Press, 1991.
     Ref. D14 .G75 1991

Boyd, Kelly.  Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing.  2 vols.  Chicago:  Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.
     Ref. D14 .E53 1999

Cannon, John, ed.  The Blackwell Dictionary of Historians.  New York:  Blackwell Reference, 1988.
     Ref. D14 .B58 1988

Contemporary Authors.  Detroit:  Gale Research Co., 1962 - .
     Ref. Z1224 .C6
Biographical information on more than 100,000 modern writers, including personal information, career histories, writings, and critical sources.

Ritter, Harry.  Dictionary of Concepts in History.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 1986.
     Ref. D13 .R49 1986

Wilson, Clyde N., ed. American Historians, 1607-1865.  Dictionary of Literary Biography 30.  Detroit:  Gale Research Co., 1984.
     Ref. E 175.45 .A48 1984

---.  American Historians, 1866-1912.  Dictionary of Literary Biography 47.  Detroit:  Gale Research Co., 1986.
     Ref. E 175.45 .A483 1986

---.  Twentieth Century American Historians.  Dictionary of Literary Biography 17. Detroit:  Gale Research Co., 1983.
     Ref. E175.45 .T85 1983

Woolf, D.R., ed.  A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing.  2 vols.  New York:  Garland Publishing, 1988.
     Ref. D13 .G47 1998

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OTHER RESOURCES


Camenson, Blythe. Careers for History Buffs and Others Who Learn From the Past. 2nd ed. Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2002.
     Circ. E175 .C33 2002 (Available in print and e-book format.)

DeGalan, Julie and Stephen Lambert.  Great Jobs for History Majors. 2nd ed. Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2001.
     Ref. D16.9 .G34 2001 (Available in print and e-book format.)

Online Directory of History Departments and Organizations in the United States and Canada
Includes address and contact information.

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Last updated on March 3, 2008 by Jamie Schmid, M.S.L.I.S., Reference Librarian and History Liaison Librarian.


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