History

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History Freshman Seminar:

The Historian As Detective and Storyteller: A Resource Guide

Background Books Journal and Magazine Articles Maps Newspaper Articles

Pictorial Resources Radio Statistics Web Sites for the 1930s Writing Tools

Background

Sometimes you may need some information to get more familiar with your topic. Below are some materials that can provide background in History. Hunt Library has additional resources, so if you need help finding information, please ask at the Hunt Library reference desk.

• Ciment, James. Encyclopedia of the Great Depression and the New Deal. 2 vols. Armonk, N.Y.: Sharpe Reference, 2001.
  HUNT REF-1 973.917 C57E

• Derks, Scott. Working Americans, 1880-1999. 3 vols. Lakeville, CT: Grey House Pub., 2000-2001.
  HUNT REF-1 305.5620973 D43W
  Vol. 1-The Working Class; Vol. 2-The Middle Class; Vol. 3-The Upper Class. Each volume is arranged by decade, giving facts, prices, etc.

• Derks, Scott, ed. The Value of a Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States, 1860-1999. Lakeville, CT: Grey House Pub., 1999.
  HUNT REF-1 338.52 V2152A2
  Older edition, The Value of a Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States, 1860-1989 is in the oversized section the the second floor, and can be checked out, HUNT OVRSZQ-2 338.52 V2152.

• Edelheit, Hershel and Abraham J. Edelheit. A World in Turmoil: An Integrated Chronology of the Holocaust and World War II. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
  HUNT REF-1 940.5318 E21W

• Khan, Veryan, ed. Beacham's Encyclopedia of Social Change: America in the Twentieth Century. 4 vols. Osprey, FL: Beacham Pub. Corp., c2001.
  HUNT REF-1 306.0973 B365
  Traces the evolution of social ideas and values in the United States during the twentieth century, using such indicators as advertising, crime and justice, family life, fashion, music, race and class, sex and gender, and work.

• Kupiec, Mary Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams, eds. Encyclopedia of American Social History. 3 vols. New York: Scribner, c1993.
  HUNT REF-1 306.0973 E56

• Kutler, Stanley I., ed. Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. 5 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996.
  HUNT REF-1 973 E56

• Layman, Richard, ed. American Decades: 1930-1939. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.
  HUNT REF-1 973.92 A5122 1930-1939
  There are also volumes for each decade from 1900 to 1990. The series American Eras covers the period from 1600 to 1899. See: HUNT REF-1 973.8 A512

• 1930s Timeline (America in the 1930s, University of Virginia)

• Olson, James S., ed. Historical Dictionary of the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1985.
  HUNT REF-1 973.903 H675

• Pendergast, Tom, and Sara Pendergast, eds. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. Detroit: St. James Press, c2000.
  HUNT REF-1 973.9 S143

• Rollin, Lucy. Twentieth-century Teen Culture by the Decades: a Reference Guide. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999.
  HUNT REF-1 305.2350973 R75T

• The World Almanac and Book of Facts. New York: Press Pub. Co. (The New York World), 1923- .
  1920-present.
  HUNT REF-1 and BND-JOUR-3
  Current volume in HUNT REF-1, older volumes, including 1937 and 1938, are on the third floor.

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Books

To find books on your topic, use the catalogs listed below. If you need help finding books on your topic, ask at the Hunt Library reference desk. The reference staff can help you identify appropriate terms and search strategies to use for your topic.

• Cameo
  Library catalog of the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries including books, titles of periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers), videos, etc.

• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
  Catalog of Pittsburgh's public libraries. Carnegie Mellon faculty, staff, and students can borrow materials by getting a Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh library card at the Main Library lending desk. Library Cards are free to residents of Allegheny County (bring proof of address), as well as out-of-town college students residing in the county (bring your Carnegie Mellon ID card and proof of local address).

• Pittcat (University of Pittsburgh Libraries)
  Catalog of the University of Pittsburgh Library System, including all branch campus libraries. Carnegie Mellon faculty, staff, and students can borrow materials by getting a Special Borrower's card at the Hillman Library circulation desk with their Carnegie Mellon ID cards and proof of current Carnegie Mellon affiliation. See University of Pittsburgh Library System Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement for details.

• Worldcat (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1200-present (Updated daily)
  Citations to books, titles of journals, manuscripts, and other materials in libraries throughout the United States, as well as some international libraries. You can limit your search to books by selecting Book in the Type option. Each record will let you know which libraries have that item.

If you need books that are not in the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, you can use E-ZBorrow or Interlibrary Loan. E-ZBorrow items usually come in a few days, while Interlibrary Loan can take a longer period of time.

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Journal and Magazine Articles

Below are some resources for finding journal and magazine articles on your topic. If you need help using these or with developing a search strategy, please ask at the Hunt Library reference desk.

• America: History and Life (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1964-present (updated monthly).
  Citations and some abstracts to journal articles, dissertations, and book and media reviews on United States and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. Use the advanced search to search or browse subject terms. Use the Time Period line to limit to a particular century, e. g. 1900H or even a particular decade, e. g. 1930d. You can combine one or more decades, e. g. 1920d or 1930d or 1940d.

• Readers' Guide Retrospective, 1890-1982 (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature
  Print: 1890-present.
  HUNT REF-1/INDEX
  Citations to articles from popular interest magazines. To find out if the magazine you need is in the library, search for the title of the magazine in Cameo.

  
  If you just want to read the popular magazines of the times, 1937 issues of Life and Newsweek are on the third floor of Hunt Library, in the bound journal section. Issues of Time for 1937 are on microfiche on the third floor. If you want to look for articles on a particular subject from the 1930s, use the Readers' Guide listed above.

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Maps

• Hitting the Road: Road Maps From the Map Collection of Yale University Library
  A few map covers from the 1930s.

• Maps From History (Robert Droz)
  Links to road map images from 1934 and 1938, as well as some in the 1920s.

• 1930's Road Maps of Pennsylvania (Harold Cramer)
  Scanned images of map covers and maps of Western Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh area.

• Road Maps: The American Way (Osher Map Library, University of Southern Maine)
  Images of maps and map covers ca. 1920s-1930s, as well as some earlier and later ones.

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Newspaper Articles

To find particular names of newspapers from particular cities, see:

Gregory, Winifred, ed. American Newspapers, 1821-1936; A Union List of Files Available in the United States and Canada. New York: H.W. Wilson Company,1937.
HUNT REF-1 016.071 A51.

Proquest Historical Newspapers (Carnegie Mellon users only)
Search and display full text of historical issues of the New York Times (1851-1999) or Wall Street Journal (1890-1986). You can also search the historical New York Times and the Wall Street Journal simultaneously as well. Use the date limits at the bottom of the screen to make your search more specific. Proquest also provides access to current newspapers. Go to Proquest Direct. Once connected, select Proquest Newspapers, from the database menu. Click on the Select Multiple Databases link to make up your own combinations of Proquest Newspapers, National Newspapers and/or Wall Street Journal. You can also choose either the Basic or Advanced Search. Recommended: Advanced Search, which offers flexibility in where you want your search terms to appear.

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Pictorial Resources

Below are resources for finding historical pictures and photographs. Hunt Library has many other pictorial resources, too. Many can be found by doing a subject keyword search in Cameo, the Carnegie Mellon online library catalog, using the terms pictorial and X, where X is the subject in which you are interested. If you need help finding historical pictures, please ask for assistance at the Hunt Library reference desk.

• Adams, James Truslow, ed. Album of American History: Volume V: 1917-1953. New York: Scribner, 1960.
  HUNT REF-1 973.084 A21A
  One volume of a six volume set with supplements. An index is in vol. VI.

• AP Photo Archive (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Contains regional, state, national and international news photographs with descriptive captions and identifying information including photographer, date and location. Downloading, printing, and display of images is permitted for Carnegie Mellon users for educational purposes. Distribution or display of images via any electronic format must be confined to the Carnegie Mellon community. To get images from the 1930s, type in from 1930 to 1939 or just type 1937. You can also combine your date range with a subject term.

• CaMIL: Carnegie Mellon Image Locator (Arts and Special Collections, Carnegie Mellon University Libraries)

• Editors of Time-Life Books. This Fabulous Century: Volume IV: 1930-1940. New York: Time-Life Books, Inc., 1969.
  HUNT REF-1 917.3 T583T
  One volume of an 8 voume set. Index in back of each volume.

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Radio

• Dunning, John. On the Air: the Encyclopedia of Old-time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
  FA-REF-4 791.44 D92O

• History of Broadcasting (Dr. Marvin R. Bensman)

• Lackmann, Ronald W. The Encyclopedia of American radio: An A-Z Guide to Radio from Jack Benny to Howard Stern. Updated ed. New York: Facts on File, c2000.
  FA-REF-4 791.44 L14EA

• Old-Time Radio (Louis V. Genco)

• Sies, Luther F. Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., c2000.
  FA-REF-4 791.44 S57E

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Statistics

Below are some of the resources available for finding general historical statistics. If you are having trouble locating the statistics that you need, please ask for assistance at the Hunt Library reference desk

• Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970. Washington, D. C.: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1976.
  HUNT REF-1 317.3 U25ABS SUPP. 1970
  Historical Statistics of the United States on CD-ROM: Colonial Times to 1970 [CD-ROM]. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
  HUNT REF-1 317.3 U25ABS SUPP.

• Kuznets, Simon Smith, ed. Population Redistribution and Economic Growth: United States, 1870-1950. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1957-64.
  HUNT REF-1 304.60973 K97P

• United States. Bureau of the Census. Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce,
  HUNT REF-1 317.3 U25ABS
  1878-present.

• United States Historical Census Data Browser (University of Virginia)

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Web Sites for the 1930s

• America in the 1930s (University of Virginia)
  "Films, radio programs, literature, journalism, museums, exhibitions, architecture, art, and other forms of cultural expression" from the 1930s.

• New Deal Network (Institute for Learning Technologies, Columbia University)
  "Photographs, political cartoons, and texts (speeches, letters, and other historic documents) from the New Deal period."

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Writing Tools

• Bernstein, Theodore M. Bernstein's Reverse Dictionary. New York: Times Books, c1988.
  HUNT REF-1 423.1 B53B2

• Glanze, Walter D. Illustrated Reverse Dictionary: Find the Words on the Tip of your Tongue. Pleasantville, N.Y.: Reader's Digest Association, 1990
  HUNT REF-1 423.1 I29

• Oxford English Dictionary (Carnegie Mellon users only)

• Oxford Reference Online: English Dictionaries and Thesauruses (Carnegie Mellon users only)

• Oxford Reference Online: English Language Reference (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  For resources on grammar, usage, idioms, etc.

• Roget's II: The New Thesaurus (Project Bartleby)

• Roget's II: The New Thesaurus. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., c1995.
  HUNT REF-1 424 R611 1995

• Skapura, Robert. History: A Student's Guide to Research and Writing. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1988. (Carnegie Mellon users only)

• Storey, William Kelleher. Writing History: A Guide for Students. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  HUNT REF-1 907.2 S88W

• Strunk, William Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, c1999.
  HUNT REF-1 808 S927E4

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