Carnegie Mellon University Libraries
Research Help: History
Resources for Specific History Classes
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.
If you need books that are not in the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, you can use EZ Borrow or the interlibrary loan system, ILLiad. EZ Borrow items usually come in a few days, while Interlibrary Loan can take a longer period of time.
If
full text links for journal articles are not provided, click on the SFX button
Resources for Specific History Classes
Research Help: History
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.
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HUNT REF-1 304.873 E56
HUNT REF-1 304.8 E56
HUNT REF-1 328.73 E562
With the acquisition of the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, the Society has become a chief center for the documentation and study of ethnic communities and immigrant experiences shared by people whose American history began more recently-between the late nineteenth century and our own times.
The Exhibits provide some pictures and background on the American ethnic, racial, and immigration experiences.
HUNT REF-1 973.0468 H236 VOL. 3
HUNT REF-1 306.0973 E56
HUNT REF-1 305.800973 A5123
HUNT REF-1 973.0495003 A832
HUNT REF-1 973.04956 J35A
HUNT REF-1 304.80951 E56
HUNT REF-1 973.04 H33
HUNT REF-1 973.0496 E56
HUNT REF-1 973 E56
HUNT REF-1 305.800973 G151
Books
To find books on your topic, use the catalogs listed below.
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Subject terms to search or browse might be:
perhaps searched in combination with:
Please note that if you are researching African Americans, that subject terminology has changed over time, and that all variations should be searched, e. g. african americans or afro-americans.
Library catalog of the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries including books, titles of periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers), videos, etc.
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).
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.
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.
Internet Guides
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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.
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. Migration, immigrants or immigration would be good subject terms to use, perhaps in combination with an ethnic group name, e. g., chinese americans. For research on African Americans, this database uses the term blacks. 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. 1930d or 1940d or 1950d.
Citations and some full text to journal articles in all fields. Search by keyword or type Emigration and Immigration in the Subject Guide and then select Narrow by Subdivision to browse.
Citations and some full text to journal articles in all fields. Once connected to Proquest, click Databases Selected to choose the Proquest Research Library, then click Search Methods to select a way to search. Recommended: Guided, which offers flexibility in where you want your search terms to appear
to see retrieval options. This
is only for journal article citations, and may not be available in all databases.
Otherwise,
use Cameo
to see if materials are in the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. If they
aren't, you can use the
Interlibrary Loan options to either borrow or obtain a photocopy of the
material.
Maps
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HUNT REF-1 304.8 C43P
HUNT REF-1 304.80973 F58A
HUNT REF-1 304.8 S45A
Newspaper Articles
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Some newspaper resources are also listed under Primary Sources.
1975 - present (updated monthly).
Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text general reference database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press --English and Spanish language.
Features full-text access to news, business, legal and general medical/health information. The U.S. News section will let you search newspapers by region or state.
Once connected to Proquest, click Databases Selected to choose Proquest Newspapers or National Newspapers, then click Search Methods to select a way to search. Recommended: Guided, which offers flexibility in where you want your search terms to appear.
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, e. g., pictorial and immigrants or pictorial and chinese americans. If you need help finding historical pictures, please ask for assistance at the Hunt Library reference desk.
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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.
Current and past exhibits provide some pictures and background on the American ethnic, racial, and immigration experiences.
Primary Sources
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Other source material may be found by using the catalogs listed in Books and combining immigrants, immigration or ethnic group or nationality names with correspondence, diaries, sources, and personal narratives. If you need help finding primary sources, please ask for assistance at the Hunt Library reference desk.
The complete text of major 19th century African-American newspapers published in the United States. An ongoing project, new text is added to the database each month.
Search all or selected collections to find images, audio, documents, etc.
Immigrant guides, steamship ads, steerage accounts, etc.
Articles, maps, cartoons, etc. from Harper's Weekly from 1857-1912.
Articles, maps, cartoons, etc. from Harper's Weekly. This is a free site, with limited access.
Search and display full text of historical issues of the New York Times (1851-1999) and Wall Street Journal (1890-1986). Use the date limits at the bottom of the screen to make your search more specific.
Statistics
Below are some of the resources available for finding immigration and migration statistics. The resources listed at History: Statistics: General may be useful, too. Please ask for assistance at the Hunt Library reference desk if you are having trouble locating the statistics that you need.
HUNT REF-1 317.3 C29I
HUNT REF-1 312.0974886 F29S
Kept in locked case at the reference desk.
Includes data on the annual rate of moving, and the characteristics of movers and
nonmovers by type of move. site includes CPS reports from 1990-2000, as well as historical data from 1947-2000. Older issues of the CPS dealing with mobility are available in paper in HUNT REF-1/CENSUS C3.186/20 and on microfiche ASI 2546. Linda Morris' Subject Index to Current Population Reports and Other Population Report Series. HUNT REF-1 304.60973 S9412 can help identify the report number(s) you need. Reference librarians at the Hunt Library reference desk can also help you locate the material on microfiche or in paper.
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. 1970A
"International Migration and Naturalization," pp. 97-120.
HUNT REF-1 331.62 H97I
HUNT REF-1 304.60973 K97P
HUNT REF-1/CENSUS 304.873 C396 1990
HUNT REF-1/CENSUS
2002-present. Link to Archives, with vols. 1996-2001, annual reports, and other pubications. Issues of the Yearbook are also available on microfiche in Hunt Library, ASI 6264-2 1980-present. Please ask at the Hunt reference desk for assistance.
See also:
July 2005 -- http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/sc24/immigration05.html
Sue Collins, Liaison Librarian for History, sc24@andrew.cmu.edu