Pennsylvania History

America: History and Life
An index to articles relating to U.S. and Canadian history

American Periodicals Series Online, 1740-1900
Full-text of American magazines and journals that originated between 1741 and 1900

Project Muse
Contains the full-text of recent journal articles in various fields

Example:

• Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History

JSTOR
Contains the full-text including back issues of journal articles in various fields

Some examples:

• American Historical Review
  
• Eighteenth Century Studies
• Journal of American History
• William and Mary Quarterly
  

netLibrary

History E-Book Project

Evans Digital Edition (1639-1800)

The CAT - Find Books and Other Materials at Penn State

Begin your search by choosing the BROWSE page to search by title, or the KEYWORD page to search for books on your topic. For more info on searching the CAT, click here.

Online Guide to the CAT

How to find materials NOT at Penn State

General Works on Pennsylvania History

• A History of Pennsylvania (Klein & Hoogenboom). Call # F149.K55, Pattee Stacks Level 1
• Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth, Call # F149.P366. Pattee Stacks Level 1
• Pennsylvania: the Heritage of a Commonwealth, Call # F149.S763, Pattee Stacks Level 1

County Histories

• Browse the Collection: Pennsylvania County and Regional Histories on Microfilm (The CAT)
  
• Special Collections Library -- List of Pennsylvania County Atlases and Histories
• Online County Histories (List maintained by the US GenWEb project)
• PA's Past: Digital Bookshelf
  

Bibliography of Pennsylvania History 2nd Edition
Call # Z1329.P39 1957, Arts and Humanities Reference, Pattee Stacks Floor 2. A list of works (books and journals) about PA History. Continued by: Bibliography of Pennsylvania History: A Supplement

Guide to the History of Pennsylvania
Call # F149.G85 1993. Arts and Humanities Reference, Pattee Stacks Level 2. A collection of essays describing themes in Pennsylvania history.

Guide to Historical and Genealogical Research in Pennsylvania
Call # Z1329.H73, Arts and Humanities Reference Collection, Pattee Stacks Level 2, Rare Books, 1st Floor Paterno.

Keystone Treasures: A Guide to Museums and Historical Organizations in Pennsylvania
(Find in the CAT), Call # AM12.P4C88 2000, Arts and Humanities Reference Collection, Pattee Level 2.

PA - Online
A searchable bibliography of books, articles and dissertations.

Guides to Archives & Special Collections:

Penn State and Centre County Materials in the Rare Books Room and Pennsylvania Historical Collections and Labor Archives. Call # Z5816.P4S75, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, Pattee Stacks Level 2.

Guide to African American Resources at the Pennsylvania State Archives
Call # E185.93.P41H63, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, Pattee Stacks Level 2.

Guide to Photographs at the Pennsylvania State Archives
Call # CD3474.P472 1993, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, Pattee Stacks Level 2

Guide to the Manuscript Groups in the Pennsylvania State Archives
Call # CD3474.P45, Arts & Humanities Reference Collection, Pattee Stacks Level 2

Additional information can be found at: PSU Special Collections, Pennsylvania State Archives and the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

The library has acquired many collections pertaining to the history of Pennsylvania.  Some of these require the use of printed guides.  Unless otherwise indicated, the items below are located in the News and Microforms Library, Ground Floor, West Pattee.  Consult Microfinder for a larger listing of major collections in microformat. Most original copies of documents are kept in the Special Collections Library.   

Access Pennsylvania Digital Repository
A statewide digitization service on behalf of the Office of Commonwealth Libraries.  Includes digitized collections created by libraries and other entities located throughout Pennsylvania.

Early American Imprints. 2nd Series, 1801-1819
Call #  Microprint .Ea76 2d ser. Guide: Call # Z1215.E923.  The set contains approximately 50,000 titles published in the U.S. from 1801-1819.

Evans Digital Edition (1639-1800)
E-text collection containing  works published in the U.S.  from 1639-1800.

Federal Population Census.  Pennsylvania. 1790-1930
Call # FILM D22.  The population census schedules are the single larges source of information on individuals and communities in PA.

Unearthing the Past: Student Research on Pennsylvania History
This site is a collaborative effort between the library and the Penn State History Department. The essays are written by history students at Penn State. Each essay provides an introduction to a unique and interesting episode in Pennsylvania History. Select the primary source documents to read to see historical events through the eyes of people who were there.

Pennsylvania Archives
Call # 974.8P3a,  Dewey Collection Pattee Stacks Level 2,  132 volumes of early Pennsylvania records including military, tax, land, naturalization, marriage, and baptism records, ship passenger lists, and numerous other items. 

Pennsylvania History Online
A collaborative digital project among the Pennsylvania Statewide Library Resource Centers. To see what is currently available, click on "Browse Collections".

Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. Papers
Microfilm A52, Microfilm A253, Guide: Call # BX7642.P4P2 1976.   The collection documents the activities of the organization and contains primary sources pertaining to the abolition movement.  Later emphasis was on civil rights, education and employment.

Published American Colonial Records
Call # FILM D164, Guide: Call # Z1237.P82.   A collection of the most important published colonial and state records from their beginnings to about 1800.

Historic American Buildings Survey. Pennsylvania
Call # Micro 4 HABS.  Photographs and written descriptions, prepared by the Historic American Buildings Survey, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, National Park Service.  Arranged by counties.

Pennsylvania (Colony). Records of the Provincial Council 1682-1776
Call # FILM A53, Guide: Call # F146.P45.  Reproduction of the manuscript Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania along with published Minutes of the Provincial Council,  and the Executive and Crown Correspondence of the Governor-in-General (referred to as the Papers of the Provincial Council).

Three Mile Island Collection
Videotapes, reports, and photographs that were generated during the 1979-1990 cleanup and recovery of the Three Mile Island 2 (TMI-2) nuclear reactor

Index to Early American Periodicals to 1850
Call # Microprint.e765, News & Microforms Library, Ground Floor, West Pattee

Poole's Guide to Periodical Literature, 1806-1902
Call # AI3.R4, Arts and Humanities Index Tables, Pattee Level 2

• Pennsylvania Heritage  
• Pennsylvania History 
• Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography - Online Index 1952-2005
  Back issues are available online.
• Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine
• Western Pennsylvania History (formerly Pittsburgh History)

Newspapers

The News and Microforms Library web site lists newspapers in the Pattee/Paterno Libraries.  You should also search our online catalog, The CAT. To identify newspapers in other libraries use the guides below.

• Pennsylvania Newspapers and Selected Out of State Newspapers, Call # Z6952.P4P478,  Arts and Humanities Library. Reference Collection, Pattee Stacks Level 2 
• Pennsylvania Newspapers: A Bibliography and Union List, Call # Z6952.P4S3 1978, Arts and Humanities Library. Reference Collection, Level 2, also News and Microforms Library, Ground Floor West Pattee.

For more information on locating newspapers, consult the Historical News Sources Guide.

Online Newspapers & Journals (Note: Full-text may only be available selected years)

Most Newspapers on the Web often provide access to only a few years or a few days.  A guide to newspapers on the Web can be found on the News and Microforms Library web page.  A few historical sources for earlier years include: 

Accessible Archives
Full text of 18th and 19th Century News, including: The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1800,  Pennsylvania Newspaper Record: Delaware County, 1809-1870 & Pennsylvania Genealogical Catalogue, Chester County, 1809-1870

Daily Collegian (1887-1987)
Full text of Penn State's student newspaper

America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1922

New York Times Historical, 1851-1999
Not a PA newspaper, but often covers significant events occurring in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Civil War Newspapers

Scholarly Journals Online

Archive of Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies

Personal Papers and Other Primary Source Materials

The library has acquired materials by and about prominent Pennsylvanians including Albert Gallatin, Joseph Priestley, Mary Grew, and William Penn.; To determine if the library has sources for the person you are interested in try a keyword search in The CAT using their name combined with one of the following terms: Letters, Papers, Sources, Correspondence, Diary/Diaries, Archives.

Many personal papers are NOT published and can only be accessed at the library or archive holding the original documents. The Useful Web Sites section of this guide contains links to libraries focusing on Pennsylvania History.

American National Biography Online
Offers portraits of more than 17,000 men and women -- from all eras and walks of life -- whose lives have shaped the nation.

Archival Resources
Enables searching for archival materials from over 150 institutions. The records contain detailed information about collection contents, organization and accessibility.

ArchivesUSA
A subject guide to special collections in archives across the country. Additional information can be found in the detailed finding aids contained in the National Inventory of Documentary Sources (NIDS), Call # MICRO 4 NIDS, News and Microforms Library, Basement West Pattee.

Texts and other documents are available online for many individuals, from the prominent to the obscure. Try an Internet Search Engine (e.g. Google.com, AltaVista.com), or ask for Help.

Biographical Sources

The easiest way to locate a biography is to do a Browse Subject search in The CAT. Enter the name of the person as a subject. For autobiographies do an Author search.

Many people are not famous enough to have entire books devoted to them (or you may not want to read an entire book!) In these cases your best bet is to consult a biographical dictionary or encyclopedia. Typically these sources provide a brief essay (a paragraph to a few pages) summarizing the individual's life and accomplishments. The library has hundreds, if not thousands, of these sources. The ones below will get you started.

Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography.
Call # F148.E58. Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee. Selected volumes online.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index
An online index to biographies published in biographical encyclopedias and dictionaries on all topics/regions/disciplines.

The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Index
Call # F146 .P655.  Pattee Stacks Level 1. An index to topics covered in the magazine, including individuals. Back issues are available online.

Pennsylvania Scrap Book Necrology
(Obituaries from circa 1891-1904, mostly of PA Civil War veterans).

Atlases and Maps

Facts, Dates and Places

Libraries of Research Collections of Interest

Pennsylvania Government Documents

Useful Web Sites

Eric Novotny
History Librarian
Arts & Humanities Library
W321 Pattee Library
Penn State University
814-865-1014
ecn1@psu.edu

Services for History Researchers

or Your Campus Librarian.