Finding Sources
- Library Search This link opens in a new window
Check out the Library Search which finds print and electronic items, including journal and newspaper articles, book chapters, books, reviews, legal documents, and much more. Note: Due to licensing restrictions, some content is only available to current students, faculty, and staff.
Keyword vs. Subject Searching
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Step 1: Start your search process by brainstorming a list of keywords that describe the main concepts of your topic or question. |
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Step 2: Use these keywords for your initial searches. Step 3: Use the Subject Heading links in the Library Catalog record to refine your search. |
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowLarge and important archive for academic journals, books, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Many journals do not have current issues.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Index of academic historical journals on 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, etc.
- ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Search all ProQuest databases simultaneously. Includes arts, humanities, social sciences, news, and science and technology.
- Bibliography of British and Irish History This link opens in a new window
Bibliographic data on historical writing dealing with the British Isles, and with the British Empire and Commonwealth.
Vanderbilt affiliates have access to thousands of journals concerning history. About 25% of these journals are available electronically:
Use The Library Catalog to find journal titles available in print and/or microform formats. Select full-text journal articles do appears in the catalog.
To find History journal articles by subject, see information on the Databases A-Z, Subject: History page.
Databases A-Z: History
https://browzine.com/libraries/519
(PCs and Laptops)
thirdiron.com/download
(Mobile Devices)
BrowZine is an app for tablets and smartphones that delivers and lets you browse, read, and save articles from thousands of the library's journals in one newsstand. BrowZine is compatible with iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. BrowZine can now be used on your laptop or computer as BrowZine Web.
With BrowZine, you can:
- Browse journals by subject area and across disciplines
- Create your own personal journal bookshelf
- Download articles in full-text in a uniform format, without having to search multiple platforms for what you need
- Save articles for offline reading, export to services Zotero and Mendeley
- Get alerts when new articles appear in your favorite journals
Google Scholar provides access to "peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations."
What Google Scholar does not contain, in most cases, is the fulltext of the articles -- but it does work with the library's Findit@VU service to help you get to the fulltext when available. If you are on campus, Findit@VU will automatically appear -- but if you are off campus it won't. Not clicking on Findit@VU may lead to you receiving a message indicating that you must purchase the article to view it.
Bookmark this link as your access point to Google Scholar to ensure that the Findit@VU links appears in your searches or follow the instructions for setting your preferences in the video below. Don't get caught paying for articles when you don't have to!
- Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new windowNewspapers, books, manuscripts, maps, and photographs. Simultaneously search: 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Sunday Times (London), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), Making of the Modern World, Times Literary Supplement, and Times Digital Archive, Financial Times (London).
- ProQuest News and Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Direct link to the newspaper section of ProQuest. Includes Alt-Press Watch, Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch, Latin American Newsstand, Canadian Newsstand Complete, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Times of London, and The Tennessean.
- 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers This link opens in a new windowEnglish news media from the 17th and 18th centuries: newspapers, pamphlets, and books gathered by the Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817).
- 17th and 18th Century Nichols Newspapers Collection This link opens in a new window
London newspapers and pamphlets gathered by antiquarian and printer John Nichols. This collection, sourced from the Bodleian Library, complements the titles and issues found in the 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers database.
- EEBO - Early English Books Online This link opens in a new windowDigital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in English from 1473-1700.
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new windowDigital images of books published during the 18th Century in the areas of history, geography, social sciences, religion and philosophy, general reference, fine arts, literature and language, law, medicine, science and technology.
- London Low Life This link opens in a new windowRare books, ephemera, maps, periodicals, and other materials relating to 18th, 19th and early 20th century London. Chronology, interactive maps, essays, online galleries and links. Fast literature, street ephemera (posters, advertising, playbills, ballads and broadsides), penny fiction, cartoons, Tallis’ Street Views, chapbooks, Old London Street Cries, Swell’s guides to London prostitution, gambling and drinking dens, tourist guides, and topography, manuscripts of George Gissing.
- British Periodicals This link opens in a new windowPeriodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth. Literature, philosophy, history, science, the social sciences, music, art, drama, archaeology and architecture.
- 19th Century UK Periodicals This link opens in a new windowBased on the repositories of the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of South Africa, the National Library of Australia, etc.
- British History Online This link opens in a new windowCore printed primary and secondary sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles.
- Empire Online This link opens in a new window
Manuscript, printed, and visual primary source materials for the study of 'Empire' and its theories, practices and consequences, predominantly from the British Library. Secondary resources include scholarly essays, maps and an interactive chronology.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowLarge and important archive for academic journals, books, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Many journals do not have current issues.
- Poverty, Philanthropy and Social Conditions in Victorian Britain This link opens in a new windowDiscover what life was like for the poorest communities in Victorian Britain, and explore the government policy, social reform movements, and philanthropic efforts of charitable institutions that sought to alleviate poverty.
- Shakespeare in Performance: Prompt Books from The Folger Shakespeare Library This link opens in a new windowProduction scripts that include personal notes, sketches and cues for lighting and music, from set design and costume to music and acting. Researchers can follow how each individual production unfolded; see what amendments were made to the text and stage management over the years; and explore the influences and connections between different productions of the same play.
- British Museum Online CollectionsObjects from the British Museum collection searchable online.
- London Archaeological ArchiveThe London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (LAARC) holds summary information on over 7500 sites or projects that have taken place in Greater London over the past 100 years, and the archives for more than 3000 of these sites/projects.
- National Archives Image LibraryBrowsing for over 70,000 images available.
- Academic Video Online This link opens in a new windowDocumentaries, interviews, performances, news programs and newsreels, field recordings, commercials, raw footage, and thousands of award-winning films.
- Docuseek2 This link opens in a new windowStreaming access to documentary and social issue films from a variety of distributors, including Bullfrog, Collective Eye, and Icarus Films.
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowOn-demand streaming video service for documentaries, training films, and theatrical releases. Films under a current license agreement are available for immediate viewing. Other films may require a request through the Kanopy site. Viewing films in a group forum is permitted as long as the viewing is by Vanderbilt authorized viewers only (current faculty, staff, or students) and it is not for commercial benefit (i.e. no admission costs are charged and no profit is made from the screening).
- Digital Theatre Plus This link opens in a new windowStreaming video collection of current, leading British theatre productions. Includes behind-the-scenes documentaries as well as teaching and learning resources to facilitate a deeper understanding of the productions and texts.
- Theatre in Video This link opens in a new window
Streaming performances of the world's leading plays and film documentaries representing hundreds of leading playwrights, actors and directors. Gull text of plays, their history of performance, production background, reference materials and ephemera. Plays are predominately 20th century and Shakespeare productions.
