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HISTORY: GENERAL RESOURCES

The websites discussed in this guide offer a variety of history-oriented resources with an emphasis on world history and on the discipline of history in general. It includes “gateways,” primary source documents and information on their use, research methodology, attribution/citing of sources, journals, and “non-text” resources.

This does not include sites which are exclusively devoted to topic-specific resources such as labor history, women’s history, etc., although there are links to such resources within the “gateway” sites below. There are also links to American history within these “gateways.” And, for in-depth information on American history, please see the Johnson & Wales University Library webguide AMERICAN HISTORY.


Academic Info: History Gateway

• This meta-site links to thousands of sites for world history, country/regional histories, and topic-specific history (environmental history, economic history, history of science, etc.)
• Excellent annotations accompany most sites
• Outstanding; one of the best and most comprehensive sites for a wide variety of historical information; very well-organized


Avalon Project

• Sponsored by Yale University Law School
• Links to a comprehensive archive of “digital documents relevant to the Fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government”
• Accesses hundreds of full-text documents (treaties, charters, protocols, speeches, etc.) from ancient times to the present
• International in scope
• May be browsed chronologically and by topic; includes option of retrieving treaties by their common name; also searchable
• No commentary accompanies the documents
• “Help Desk” available; also includes FAQ feature
• Outstanding; easy- to-navigate, this is one of the best sites for all kinds of primary historical documents


Citing Electronic Information in History Papers

• Developed and maintained by Maurice Crouse, Department of History, Memphis University
• Extensive (28 p.) guide for citing sources utilized in researching/writing history papers; includes research recommendations, “Models and Examples,” bibliography
• “Models and Examples” discusses citing methodology for the following resource formats: books/parts of books, journals/magazines/newspapers, abstract/review sources, e-mail (personal), electronic conferences/newsgroups/lists, government publications, legal documents
•“You may freely reproduce this document, provided that you reproduce it in its entirety and without any modification”
• Revised July, 2004
• Outstanding; does an excellent job of analyzing methods for conducting historical research; extensive use of “Models and Examples” make this especially useful


Computers and Audiovisual Resources in History

• Sponsored by the Department of History, Tennessee Technological University
• Links to the following resources: historical images, virtual presentations, historical speeches/sound sites, general A-V/ multimedia resources, history-oriented electronic exhibitions, museum/art resources, maps, geographic name locators, photographs, CD-ROMs, television sites
• Also links to journals, societies, articles and academic websites which deal with the role of computers in teaching and researching history
• No annotations
• Outstanding; one of the best and most comprehensive sites available for utilizing these types of historical resources


Digital Librarian: History

• Maintained by Margaret Vail Anderson
• Alphabetized directory of links to over 330 general historical resources: “gateways,” world history, American history (including state/local history), topic-specific sites (military, economic, religion, etc.), primary sources (diaries, documents)
• Also links to museums, professional associations/organizations, archives
• Annotations accompany many sites
• International in scope (mostly – but not exclusively – English language resources)
• Also links to 15 additional Digital Librarian history-oriented pages
• Excellent; one of the best sites for an overview of the field; great for beginning research


Directory of Historical Resources

• Affiliated with the History Database Program of the History Computerization Project (Malibu, CA)
• This alphabetized “directory of directories” of almost 400 sites links to a wide variety of institutions/organizations with interests/resources in history: academic sites, library sites, professional/scholarly associations/organizations, journals, topic-specific sites, archives, museums, government agencies, state historical associations, media (national and international)
• Many sites (academic ones, in particular) include sub-links to programs, specific resources
• International in scope
• No annotations
• This page was last updated in 1997; as a result, approximately one-quarter of links are currently not active
• Despite the drawback of not being recently revised and not being annotated, there is much useful information here, particularly in the breadth of the types of resources available (many of which would probably remain unknown to researchers had they not been presented here); patience and persistence are needed to utilize this resource productively, but there is much information of great use to be found


Eye Witness to History: History Through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It

• Sponsored by Ibis Communications, Inc.
• Links to over 140 personal narratives and first-hand accounts of momentous events in history, from ancient times through the 20th century
• Browsable by time period or index
• Also features “Photo of the Week” and “Voices of the 20th Century”
• Updated January 2005
• Excellent resource; provides access to primary source materials not readily available elsewhere in one place


Footnotes to History

• Compiled and maintained by James Erwin
• Created to provide “… an overview of ephemeral states, micro nations, secessionist states, and every other kind of country you never heard of in high school”
• Links to information for over 450 of these entities, past and present
• Identifies source for each entry
• Includes “Subject by Entry,” bibliography
• Searchable
• Great resource for keeping track of volatile areas (former USSR, the Balkans, etc.)
• Links to other websites with related content
• Excellent; fascinating resource for research on areas of history not often covered by other sites; cross-referencing especially useful


Historical Journals On-Line

• Maintained by the Department of History, Tennessee Technological University
• Links to indexes, directories, projects, online history projects as well as direct links to journals (includes limited full-text)
• Also provides links to books, software, film, CD-ROM and video reviews, copyright information
• International in scope
• Updated September, 2004
• Excellent; great for convenient links to many of the most prominent history journals


Historical Text Archives (HTA)

• Maintained by Don Mabry, retired director of the Institute for the Humanities, Mississippi State University
• “The HTA publishes high quality articles, books, essays, documents, historical photos, and links, screened for content, for a broad range of historical subjects”
• “HTA Contents: 682 articles, 67 books, and 5842 links”
• While the articles and online books are excellent, the real value of this site is its links to over 5,800 history sites, which include topic-specific sites for 24 subjects (history of mathematics, women’s history, genealogy, etc.) and national/regional historic sites
• Annotations accompany most links
• Excellent resource, especially for its extensive and impressive links; easy-to-navigate


History Channel

• This homepage for the History Channel includes program schedules, “This Day in History,” “Video/Audio” (historical video clips, great speeches of the 20th century)
• Free newsletter available
• Links to A&E, Biography Channel
• Excellent; a great resource for popular history


History Guide

• Created and maintained by Steve Kreis
• “Contains ninety lectures in European history from ancient Sumer to the fall of Soviet-style communism in 1989”
• Target audiences are high school students and undergraduates taking history courses
• Links to primary source documents; also includes links to meta-sites and world history sites
• “A Student’s Guide to History” offers an impressive array of useful strategies/tips for successful research in history, exam-taking, and related topics
• Revised May, 2004
• Outstanding; well-organized for research at a comprehensible level for its target audience


History Journals Guide (HJG)

• Maintained by Stefan Blaschke, University of Cologne (Germany)
• “Aims to be a starting point for researchers, graduates, students, librarians and other interested persons and intends to provide an easy access to up-to-date and historical information”
• “Part of the WWW Virtual Library and its History Index”
• International in scope
• Online directory of links to periodicals, articles index, and reviews index
• “Periodicals Directory” currently links to almost 6,500 journals; each link has a profile of the journal under consideration and many include some or all of the following information: URL, title abbreviation (if any), site description, editor(s), publisher(s), “start-end-date,” frequency, language(s), ISSN number; indexed alphabetically, by electronic format, chronologically, geographically, topically, “lingually”
• “Online Articles Index” currently indexes articles for nearly 245 journals; indexed alphabetically, chronologically, geographically, topically
• “Online Review Index” currently links to nearly 20,000 reviews from 120 “sources” (primarily academic/professional journals); indexed by primary source, secondary source
• Also includes “History Journals News,” directory of discussion links, conference information
• “Freely accessible for all users worldwide”
• “Updated regularly”
• Outstanding; a cornucopia of high-quality sites and services; excellent cross-referencing; mandatory for anyone conducting historical research; easy search capabilities


History Journals Index (HJI)

• Maintained by Acaclet Pons for the Department of Contemporary History, University of Valencia (Spain)
• Also known as “Indice de Revistas de Historia”
• Alphabetical directory of links to over 1,200 online journals
• International in scope
• Sites are in the following languages: Spanish, English, Catalan, French, Italian, German
• Short annotations accompany many links
• Excellent; one of the most comprehensive directories of historical journals online, HJI’s a very useful resource (especially if you’re multilingual)


History On-Line

• Sponsored by the Institute of Historical Research (IHR), in conjunction with HUMBUL Humanities Hub
• “Provides high-quality information resources for the teaching and learning of history”
• Currently links to over 40,000 records/documents sites for research and professional information
• Browse by “Type of History” (29 categories), “Geographical Area,” “Time Period,” “Type of Resource” (archives, journals, “gateways,” primary sources)
• Brief annotations accompany many links
• “Freely available and can be searched or browsed”
• Outstanding; very useful for the novice as well as the experienced researcher; easy-to-navigate


History Timelines … The History Beat

• Sponsored by SearchBeat
• Provides links to timelines for world and American history; browsable chronologically and topically
• Also includes “Top History Sites,” a short but very useful directory of links to some of the best and most extensive sites currently available
• Includes commercial sites
• Excellent; geared toward the popular level, but contains enough interesting and unusual sites to be of value to all


HyperHistory Online

• Created and maintained by Andreas Nothiger
• “An expanding scientific project presenting 3,000 years of world history with an interactive combination of synchronoptic lifelines, timelines and maps”
• Contains over 2,000 files and links to world history sites
• Browsable by “People” (important historical personages), “History” (timelines), “Events” (science, culture, religion), and “Maps”
• Excellent; does an admirable job of allowing users to compare biographical, scientific, cultural and religious events to the more traditional timeline approach to history


Images of History on the Web

• Authored by David Mattison, British Columbia Archives (Canada); published in May, 2002 issue of The Searcher
• This superb guide/overview examines over 90 sites dedicated to historical images on the Internet; these resources are primarily (but not exclusively) concerned with photographic
material and digitization projects
• International in scope (with an emphasis on Canadian and U.S. sites)
• Detailed examination of the following: “Descriptive Systems for Historical Photographs,” “Search Tools,” “Search Strategies,” “Private Galleries,” “Public Galleries,” “International Public and Private Galleries”
• Excellent annotations accompany most links
• “Down for the Count: Total Number of Online Historical Photographs” categorizes resources by country, “Collection Title,” “Image Quantity;” extensive but not exhaustive; “Excludes sites described in the ‘Search Tools’ section”
• Also links to Library of Congress’ “American Memory” project
• Includes copyright information
• Outstanding; the best online directory of sites for historical images currently available; comprehensive and extremely well-written and annotated


Internet History Sourcebooks Project

• Developed and maintained by Paul Halsall; sponsored by Fordham University
• “The Internet History Sourcebooks are collections of public domain and copy permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use”
• “Internet History Sourcebooks” are available for ancient, medieval and modern history; these sourcebooks consist of extensive full-text documents pertaining to the era under consideration; also links to websites for relevant material
• Also offers “Subsidiary Sourcebooks for world history, history of religion, history of science, women’s history, ethnic/regional history
• “Special Resources” links to historically-oriented films
• Searchable
• Outstanding; one of the best – if not the best - sites for primary source and full-text resources; very well-organized and of immense benefit to anyone interested in history


Internet Resources for World History

• Maintained by David L. Langenberg, University of Delaware Library
• Directory of over 160 links to the following world history resources: “Starting Points” (“gateways”), “History by Period,” “History by Area”
• Also links to chronologies/timelines, “Text, Image, Sound and Archival Databases,” maps, museums, professional associations/organizations, mailing lists/news groups
• Excellent annotations accompany most sites
• Outstanding; a masterful job in presenting many of the best world history sites by topic and professional resource; one of the best academic sites available; useful for both the novice as well as the experienced researcher


Repositories of Primary Sources

• Maintained by Terry Abraham for the University of Idaho Library
• Links to over 5,500 websites for primary sources (manuscripts, rare books, historical photographs, etc.)
• Scope is international
• Concentrates on actual “physical” repositories; virtual collections are not included
• Revised May, 2004
• Excellent site for “one-stop-shopping” for primary sources


Scholars’ Guide to WWW

• Developed and maintained by Richard Jensen, retired professor of history, University of Illinois-Chicago
• Directory of links to the following subject areas: general history, American history, business/economic history, area/ethnic studies, religion, political science, popular culture
• Also links to online maps, news sources, publishers, humanities “gateway” sites
• Brief annotations accompany most links
• Links to additional “Jensen’s Online Guides” for military history, Civil War, Vietnam War, railroad history, American political history
• “Updated every few weeks”
• Outstanding; the selection of links is excellent and the site is well-organized; links for American history, general history, business/economic history, and area/ethnic studies are particularly notable


Teacher Oz’s Kingdom of History

• Created and maintained by Tracey Osborne
• “Everything relating to history … which means … everything that relates to Humanity”
• This fascinating meta-site links to thousands of history sites in all its aspects, across time periods, cultures and formats
• Links to hundreds of topics, many of which are not addressed in other history pages
• Excellent cross-referencing
• Not annotated
• Frequently updated
• Outstanding; this massive undertaking is the best page currently available on the Internet for browsing history-related sites; excellent, exhaustive, esoteric and entertaining


Using Primary Resources on the Web

• “Written by the Instruction & Research Services Committee of the Reference and User Service Association History Section in the American Library Association”
• Guide to locating, understanding, evaluating, utilizing and citing primary sources in conducting research in history
• Links to “gateways,” primary source, history subject directories, print guides, photographs/other “non-text sources”
• Criteria for evaluating primary source sites include the following: “Who is Responsible for the Website?,” “Determining the Origin of the Document,” “Is the Content Clearly Explained, Organized, and Accessible?,” “Is There a User Fee?”
• Excellent; while not extensive, this site does an admirable job of providing a solid introduction to those not familiar with primary source materials


Voice of the Shuttle (VOS): History

• Created and maintained by Alan Liu, English Department, University of California at Santa Barbara
• Links to extensive meta-sites, topic-specific sites (education, military, science/technology) etc.), national/regional histories
• Brief annotations accompany many links
• Links to other VOS pages on the humanities/social sciences
• Outstanding; this comprehensive (56 p.) section of the VOS is mandatory for anyone conducting historical research


WebChron

• Maintained by David W. Koeller, History Department, North Park University
• “The site consists of a series of hyperlinked chronologies developed by instructors and historical articles prepared by students intended for use by history classes”
• Intended “to create a more interesting, more useful, multi-dimensional chronology”
• Chronologies include world, regional and cross-cultural topics (art, religion, technology)
• “Not intended to be exhaustive”
• Excellent; very useful for basic research in survey courses at the undergraduate level


World History Archives

• Maintained by Haines Brown, Hartford Web Publishing
• “Documents to support the study of world history from a working-class and non-Eurocentric perspective”
• Links to over 8,000 primary source documents and scholarly articles for the cultural, economic, political and social aspects of world history and regional/national history
• Annotations accompany many links
• Many documents were posted in the late 1990’s; there has been some updating, however
• Excellent resource for historical material no usually found elsewhere


World History Compass

• Maintained by Robert Schiller
• Directory of history-related websites arranged by “General and International History,” by time period, by region/country, and topic (primarily technological) • Also links to archives, libraries, museums
• Excellent annotations accompany many sites
• Outstanding selection of sites make this an excellent place to begin research; regional/country links are especially useful

Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content or stability of any websites linked to this page.

Compiled by Rick Keogh, 2/00; updated 1/05; links last checked 9/07

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