Library Guide for HIST 499: United States post Civil War to World War II

Listed below are several sources and tools either owned by Kraemer Family Library or accessible from the Kraemer Family Library web site. All electronic resources may be searched from any computer connected to the UCCS network. For more information about remote access, check with the librarian at the Reference Desk or click on the link, Off Campus Access.

 

Books at Kraemer Library

Kraemer Library Catalog
Provides access to books, audio visual materials and other print resources at the Library.

Subject searching
Subject searching uses controlled vocabulary and will retrieve relevant items on your research topic.

The subdivisions under broad subject headings will help you narrow your search for information. Here are three examples of subdivisions listed under the main subject heading Reconstruction:

Reconstruction
.....Reconstruction Southern States
.....Reconstruction U. S. History 1865-1877
.....Reconstruction U. S. History 1865-1877 Sources
.....Reconstruction U. S. History 1865-1877 South Caroline

Looking for Primary resources? Check for subject headings that have endings such as:

...correspondence
...diaries
...interviews
...personal narratives
...public opinion
...sources

Keyword searching
Keyword searching allows you to search for any word(s) in the subject, title, author, and content notes for all item records in the catalog. Keyword searches are not as concise as subject searches and may retrieve irrelevant items. However, keyword search is very useful...

...if you don't know the appropriate subject heading for your topic.
...the subject heading is too general or too specific.
...if your topic is multi-disciplinary.
...if you are searching for a new trend or concept.

Examples: "carpetbaggers" or "reconstruction and education and freedmen"

Finding Books Off Campus

Can't find what you are looking for?

Prospector
Search and request books and AV materials from over 20 research and public library collections throughout the state of Colorado and Wyoming. Items requested through Prospector will arrive at Kraemer within 3-5 working days. When the items are available for pickup from the Circulation Desk, you will be notified by e-mail.

WorldCat
An international catalog that UCCS students, staff and faculty may request items not available at UCCS or in Prospector. You need an ILLiad account to request items in WorldCat. Items can take 2 weeks or more to be delivered.

 

Reference Collection

The Reference Collection is a great place to start your research. Reference books provide basic introductions to broad subject areas, unfamiliar concepts, ideas, events, people, and places and often contain bibliographies that identify major primary and secondary sources on a topic. Listed below a few reference books on various American history topics. The Reference Collection is located right behind the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor of El Pomar Center.

Annals of America REF E173 A793 1976

Companion to American Thought REF E169.1 C685 1995

Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery REF E441 D53 1988

Dictionary of American History REF E174 D52

Documents of American History REF E173 D59 1988

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History REF E185 E54 1996

Encyclopedia of American Indian History REF E77 .E48 2008.

Encyclopedia of American Social History REF HN57 E58 1993

Handbook of North American Indians REF E77 H25

Historical Dictionary of the New Deal : from Inauguration to Preparation for War REF E806 .H58 1985

Great Depresssion in America REF E169.1 Y595 2007

Reader's Companion to American History REF E174 R43 1991

Treaties with American Indians : an Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and Sovereignty REF KF8203.6 .T74 2008.

 

Finding Articles on your Topic

Researching off campus? You'll need to install the Library VPN to access the library's resources. Directions for Installing the Library VPN.

Academic Search Premier
Provides full text for more than 3,430 scholarly publications covering academic areas of study including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies. It also includes book reviews. This database is updated on a daily basis.

America: History and Life EBSCOhost
A comprehensive bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.

Expanded Academic ASAP
This database abstracts a broad range of scholarly and general periodicals in most subject areas including history with some full-text coverage. Coverage from 1980 to the present. Good source for book reviews.

Dissertations and Theses
Indexes the complete range of academic subjects appearing in dissertations accepted at accredited institutions. Abstracting of dissertations begins with 1980 and abstracting of theses begins with 1988.

JSTOR
Full-text of 117 core journals in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Coverage includes the entirety of each journal with the exception of the current five years.

New York Times The entire newspaper is available electronically through the Pikes Peak Library District. If you have a PPLD card and pin number you can access this database remotely.

Project MUSE
Project MUSE covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, and many others.

WilsonWeb OmniFile Full Text Mega
This database abstracts a broad range of scholarly and general periodicals in most subject areas including history with some full-text coverage. Coverage varies.

 

Journals available at UCCS

To determine if Kraemer Family Library has access to a certain journal in print or electronic format, use the Find Journals By Title or ISSN link on the Kraemer Family Library home page.

 

Finding articles not available through Kraemer Library

ILLiad
If the Library doesn't have access to the article you want, you can still get it through interlibrary loan. With an ILLiad account, you can place your requests online and be sent an electronic copy of the article you requested. This service can take anywhere from a few days to two weeks.

 

Recommended Web Sites

Below are some general web sites that will help you get started finding primary resources on the Web on topics in American History. The list is far from comprehensive.

Using Primary Resources on the Web

American History from 1865

American Memory Project

History Matters

 

Need Research Help?

Contact the Kraemer Library REFERENCE DESK at 719-255-3295 or e-mail the desk at refdesk@uccs.edu
Or contact Sue Byerley: 719-255-3290; sbyerley@uccs.edu.