Penn State University Libraries - HIST 420: Recent European History

Lionsearch  - is a search engine for fast, simple access to materials from the Penn State University Libraries. LionSearch searches the CAT (online catalog), and some of library databases, e-journals, and e-books.  It does not replace the databases above, but can be a convenient starting point.

Google Scholar provides a convenient single search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including some books and articles.  It does not include all the library's content, so use it as a supplement to library searching, not a replacement.

Historical Abstracts
Use to find articles about world history (from 1450 to the present). The main scholarly database in the field of European history.

Francis
Use to find scholarly articles from journals in the humanities and social sciences. The database is a convenient way to locate scholarship produced in Europe, and is especially strong for locating French sources.

IBZ  (International Bibliography of Periodical Literature)
Use to find scholarly articles in all subject areas. Especially strong coverage of German scholarship as well as articles published on the European continent.

Art Abstracts and Art Index Retrospective
Use to find articles and information about artists, art movements, and individual works of art from all time periods and cultures. More Art databases can be found here.

MLA International Bibliography
Use to discover articles, book chapters, and other writings about world literature, including specific authors and works, or more general literary themes.

Periodicals Index Online
Use to find older scholarship (published before 1995) in many subject areas. Good coverage of European sources.

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
Use to find articles written about music and musicians. More music databases are here.

Women’s Studies International
Includes material from a variety of women's studies databases covering key research in the field. More women’s studies databases are here.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
The best place to start to find articles on political topics. More political science databases are here.

CCVE (formerly European Navigator. Multimedia Library of documents on postwar European integration/unification.

Empire Online, 1492-1969. Original documents on the history of colonialism. Emphasis on the British Empire.

Eurodocs Online Sources for European History

Europeana (European Digital Library)

European Library (digital books, maps, images, etc…) 

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs (includes WWI and Spanish Civil War Posters)

Modern Internet History Sourcebook

Testaments to the Holocaust

Western European Studies Resources

MANY primary sources are not online.  Use The CAT to find early printed books, government documents, maps, videotapes, sound recordings, music scores and many other types of materials.  Limit your CAT search by date to find documents produced near the time of the event you are researching.

The Special Collections Library contains original primary source documents. Many of these can be found in The CAT, but others are not yet listed

The News and Microforms Library contains primary source documents in microformat (microfilm, fiche, etc...).  We have early pamphlets on socialism, documents from the Holocaust, women's rights materials, etc...   Ask for help locating these

Below are some keywords you can use in The CAT to locate published primary documents:

Sources (combine with other keywords for document collections, e.g. Germany history and sources)

Eyewitness or Personal Narratives (wolrd war 1914-1918 and eyewitness)

Letters or Correspondence (add an author's name, e.g. Charles De Gaulle and correspondence)

Diaries/Diary (Works best with the author's name, e.g. Diary and Anne Frank)

Documents or Documentary (combine with a topic, e.g. documentary history and france.)