LibGuides: History: Home

Historical Research at CSU Stanislaus

The CSU Stanislaus University Library offers many resources to historical researchers. Use this guide as a starting point for finding primary sources (see below) and explore the tabbed navigation to the left to find books, journal articles, and other resources for specific topics.

Ways to search library catalogs and databases for primary sources

Use the Advanced Search for best results

AUTHOR search: to find materials someone has written
KEYWORD search: To look for primary sources, combine a topic, keyword, or person's name with any of the following:
- autobiography
- personal narratives
- letters
- correspondence
- diaries
- memoirs

Tip: "sources" is the official subject sub-heading used in the Library Catalog (via OneSearch) and WorldCat to describe primary sources. For example, the subject heading "Crusades--Sources" indicates the work contains primary sources on the crusades. Books listed in these catalogs that contain the word "sources" in a subject heading should have primary source materials.

Primary Sources Online

Library of Congress Digital Collections - American History This link opens in a new window
Historical records on U.S. History arranged by subject from the National Digital Library at Library of Congress. Includes written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music.

California Digital Newspaper Collection (CDNC)
Project of the Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research (CBSR) at UC Riverside. A selection of early California newspaper images.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
American newspaper pages from 1836-1922; (digitized historical newspapers).
Colonial North American Project at Harvard University
This website provides access to some of the remarkable materials digitized as part of the ongoing, multi-year Colonial North American Project at Harvard University.
CSU Japanese American Digitization Project
This collection, generated by a consortium of CSU Archives, features documents, oral histories, photographs and other materials relating to the incarceration of Japanese American during World War II.
Making of America, Cornell University
The Cornell University Library Making of America Collection is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints.
Hathi Trust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository and provides long-term preservation and access services to digitized content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house member institution initiatives. Items in the public domain are in full-view for everyone and items held in copyright are searchable.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project

Guides for Related Topics

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Includes sources related to Environmental History

Master's and Doctoral Theses by Stanislaus Students

Theses and Dissertations may be found by searching these resources:

CSU ScholarWorks
Browse by campus to limit your search for Stan State electronic theses/projects and dissertations.
One Search for Thesis/Dissertations
Search the University Library for Theses and Dissertations held in our collections

Need Help?

Ask your Librarian! Librarians are available in person, via online chat, via email, by appointment, and by phone. Please contact us if you need further assistance with your research.