Descriptions for History/Biography Databases

Access PA Library Catalog
Catalog holdings of almost 3,000 Pennsylvania school, public, academic and special libraries are included in this database. Search by author, title, subject or keyword to locate over 44 million items.

African-American History Online
Explores all aspects of the African-American experience, from the past to the present. Features biographies, historical documents, photographs, timelines and maps, quotes, and a bibliography.

American History Online
Authoritative reference to the most important individuals, events, and topics in the United States, spanning more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history. The resource is organized by content type, topic, era, and activity as well as by the National Standards for U.S. History.

American Indian History Online
Fast access to more than a thousand years of culture, legends, and leaders. More than 150 Native American groups are presented through primary source documents, biographies, historical maps, and photographs.

Ancestry Library
For genealogical research, with digitized images of the U.S. Federal Census from 1790 forward, the American Genealogical Biographical Index, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, and more.

Ancient and Medieval History Online
A global view of the ancient world, exploring the civilizations of Africa (general), Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesoamerica, and Mesopotamia.

AP Images
More than 500,000 current and historical photographs and graphics can be searched by date, place and subject. More than 800 photographs are added to the archive daily. Click here for an online tutorial from the James V. Brown Library.

Biography Reference Bank (Select link under Biography heading.)
Links to biographical articles on over 470,000 individuals. Full text articles, abstracts and photographs are available from periodicals, feature articles, interviews, essays, performance reviews, speeches and obituaries. Click here for an online tutorial from the James V. Brown Library.

Biography Resource Center
Information on the lives of more than one million people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas.

Bloom Literary Reference Online
Provides author bios, great works of world literature, a timeline and, most notably, professor Harold Bloom’s selection of authors and works that represent the greatest achievements of the Western literary tradition.

Facts for Learning (Select link under General Reference heading)
The Elementary School Module teaches younger students how to ask questions, use core reference resources, understand indexes, choose research topics, search online, and read charts and graphs. The Middle School Module provides content written for students in grades 5-8 and is designed for students able to use a more sophisticated format. Click here for an online tutorial from the James V. Brown Library.

HeritageQuest
The database is available for home use. Genealogy buffs should keep in mind that our other database, Ancestry Plus, does not allow home access but contains different kinds of family-history information. You can visit your local public library for the full complement of genealogical resources.

Historical New York Times
The database covers The New York Times from its first issue in 1851 through 2003. To see a complete article, just click on the title in a list of search results, and the system displays the image of the full article. You can also access the complete image (in pdf format) of any page in any issue or even browse the database and scan individual issues page by page.

History Reference Center (Select link under General Reference heading.)
750 history reference books and encyclopedias, and cover-to-cover full text from nearly 60 history magazines; 58,000 historical documents; 43,000 biographies of historical figures; more than 12,000 historical photos and maps; and 87 hours of historical film and video. Click here for an online tutorial from the James V. Brown Library.

Literary Reference Center (This database has been discontinued; see Bloom Literary Reference Online, above to access "Bloom Guides.")

Literature Resource Center
To meet the research needs of undergraduate and high school students, the database provides access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline. It covers more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,000 of the most-studied authors.

NetLibrary
Electronic books (eBooks) are available through this link. NetLibrary eBooks are full text searchable and available for use on personal computers in online formats. Click here for an online tutorial from the James V. Brown Library.

New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
eBook bringing a global perspective to bear on timeless questions about the individual and society. A distinguished team of international scholars explore new thinking in areas previously covered (communism, linguistics, physics) and present cross-cultural perspectives on more recent topics such as postmodernism, deconstruction and post-colonialism.

New York Times, Historical
The database covers The New York Times from its first issue in 1851 through 2003. To see a complete article, just click on the title in a list of search results, and the system displays the image of the full article. You can also access the complete image (in pdf format) of any page in any issue or even browse the database and scan individual issues page by page.

p4A_AntiquesReference
Information about antiques and collectibles, used “to estimate the value of similar items for sale, for purchase or for insurance purposes, to substantiate a formal appraisal,” and more.

UXL American Decades
eBook covering events and social history beginning in 1900 and ending in 1999.. Chapters begin with a chronology of world events and a general overview of the decade. Within each topic, alphabetically arranged entries discuss historically important events, issues, definitions of difficult concepts or terms, and other interesting trivia and sideline stories.

World History Online
Spans prehistoric times through the modern era. Fully hyperlinked content includes biographies, subject entries, primary source documents, a timeline, and maps and charts to provide a detailed and comparative view of people, places and events.