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Helps researchers looking for archival primary source materials, with an emphasis on collections held in the United States. Includes records describing historical documents, personal papers, family histories and more from thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives. Provides contact information for the institutions where these collections are kept. Coverage: Varies. Mostly citations.
WorldCat
Primary Source Timeline
See our Primary Source Timeline to browse a selection of primary source databases organized by coverage dates and locations.
Primary Sources in US History
The following databases will help you find some primary sources in US history. Don't forget to check the library catalog and WorldCat as well, to the left.
- African American Archives This link opens in a new window Explore original historical documents pertaining to the history of African Americans, mostly in the United States, but also from the Colonial era and the West Indies. Coverage: contains primary sources. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- African American Communities This link opens in a new window Access a diverse range of primary source material focusing on race relations across social, political, cultural, and religious arenas. Coverage: 1800s-2000s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- American History in Video This link opens in a new window View streaming films, including online newsreels, archival films, and documentaries covering United States history. This access may be used for on-campus showings by student groups and co-curricular programs for which no admission is charged. Coverage: 1700s to present, contains primary sources. Full text.
- America In Protest: Records Of Anti-Vietnam War Organizations (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access FBI reports dealing with every aspect of antiwar work carried out by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), as well as surveillance on other antiwar groups and individuals, with an emphasis on student groups and Communist organizations. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1967-1975, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- American Civil War: Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window Access diaries, letters, and memoirs to research views on almost every aspect of the American Civil War. Coverage: 1855-1875, contains primary sources. Full text.
- American History, 1493-1945 This link opens in a new window Access correspondence, diaries, government documents, business records, books, pamphlets, newspapers, broadsides, photographs, artwork, maps, and other resources related to American history. This collection covers colonial America, the revolutionary era, the new nation, slavery and abolition, as well as the Civil War, Reconstruction, westward expansion, the rise of industrial America, World War I, the Depression and the New Deal, women's rights, the environment, and World War II. Coverage: 1493-1945, includes primary sources. Full text.
- Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new window Temporarily on-campus only; we're working to restore off-campus access. Access diaries, travel journals and other manuscripts, treaties, speeches, artwork and rare books dating from the earliest contact with European settlers, to photographs and newspapers from the mid-twentieth century. Coverage: 1500s-1960s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- American Indian Movement & Native American Radicalism (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access FBI files that provide detailed information on the evolution of the American Indian Movement (AIM) as an organization of social protest and the development of Native American radicalism. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1968-1979, contains primary sources. Full text.
- American Politics and Society from Kennedy to Watergate (History Vault) This link opens in a new window Explore topics such as the space program, civil rights, oral histories of administration officials, the American Indian Movement, Watergate, and more. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 1960-1975, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window Access census data, military records, birth/death/marriage records, immigration records, slave narratives, historic maps, photographs, and biographical dictionaries and directories. This collection is especially useful for genealogy and advanced biographical research. Coverage: 1500s to present, contains primary sources. Mostly full text.
- American West This link opens in a new window Access a wide range of original documents that tell the story of the American West including printed books, journals, historic maps, broadsides, periodicals, advertisements, photographs, artwork and more. Coverage: contains primary sources. Full text.
- Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection, Series 1 & 2 This link opens in a new window Explore a collection of articles, pamphlets, and other texts pertaining to Untied States Hispanic history, literature and culture. The content is 80% Spanish, 20% English and is searchable in both languages. Coverage: colonial era to 1960. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century (History Vault) This link opens in a new window Explore the records of major civil rights organizations, personal papers from activists and observers, and FBI files covering pivotal civil rights leaders and events, as well as legislation from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. This collection also includes other aspects of African American life in the 20th century, like religion, sports, education, and entertainment. It is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 20th century, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Black Liberation Army & The Program of Armed Struggle (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access FBI documents about Black Liberation Army (BLA) activities. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1970-1983, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Colonial America This link opens in a new window Access original correspondence between the colonial governments and the British government, in this CO 5 series from the National Archives, UK. This collection includes documents from early settlement and expansion to the American Revolution and politics in the Colonies. Coverage: 1606-1822, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Confederate Military Manuscripts and Records of Union Generals and the Union Army, 1854-1870 (History Vault) This link opens in a new window Access Confederate manuscripts that cover all aspects of confederate military service and provide glimpses of life on the home front, as well as Union Army records, including the papers of spies, scouts, guides and detectives; records on military discipline from courts-martial, courts of inquiry and investigations by military commissions; and records of the U.S. Colored Troops. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 1854-1870, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Documenting the American South This link opens in a new window Access texts, images and audio files related to Southern history, literature, culture, and religion. This collection includes books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews and songs. Coverage: 1500s to 1900s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Everyday Life and Women In America This link opens in a new window Access primary source material for the study of American social, cultural, and popular history in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This collection includes images, monographs, pamphlets, periodicals and broadsides, addressing political, social, and gender issues; religion; race; employment; marriage; home and family life; health and more. Coverage: 1800-1920, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access documents offering a range of viewpoints on political, social, cultural and economic issues in the 1960s. This collection contains FBI files on organizations, individuals, and events, including the Black Panther Party, North Carolina; Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers; Malcolm X; Kent State; Muslim Mosque, Inc.; Students for a Democratic Society; and the Weatherman Underground Organization. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1956-1971, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Fold3 This link opens in a new window Access United States, as well as some international, military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. Coverage: United States Revolutionary War era to present, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt & Race Relations, 1933-1945 (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access materials for the study of the early development of the Civil Rights Movement concerned with the issues of lynching, segregation, race riots, and employment discrimination. This collection provides insight into FDR's political style and a record on civil rights. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1933-1945, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of the Walter E. Beach Library Fund.
- Gateway to North America: People, Places, and Organizations of 19th-Century New York This link opens in a new window Explore residential and business directories, organization records, urban guidebooks, and other sources tracing New York's inhabitants over time and place, where they lived, where they worked, and what they did. Coverage: late 1700s to early 1900s, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- History Commons This link opens in a new window “Complete Collection of Historical American Newspapers, Books, and Journals Module" - Access historical American newspapers, journals and books, including collections covering African-American newspapers, the Civil War, Native Americans in history, Women's Suffrage, World War I, Pennsylvania, and Quarantine and Disease Control in America. Coverage: mid 17th century through early 20th century - varies by collection, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Homophile Movement: Papers of Donald Stewart Lucas, 1941-1976 (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access material relating to the early homosexual civil rights movement and the San Francisco manifestation of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. This collection includes correspondence, meeting minutes, constitutions and by-laws, newsletters, manuscripts, financial documents, reports, statistics, legal decisions, surveys, counseling records, and funding proposal. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1941-1976, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Images of America: A History of American Life in Images and Texts This link opens in a new window Access historical images and texts that celebrate places and people in America, cultivated from a series of local history books. Explore a town's history or compare the histories of towns, cultures, ethnic groups, architectural features, and more. Coverage: historic events from 1600 to present, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Images of the American Civil War: Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera This link opens in a new window Access graphic documentation of military, civil, and political life in both the Union and the Confederacy during the American Civil War. This collection includes recruiting posters, cartoons, song sheets, photos, sketches, envelopes, and more. Coverage: 19th century, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Immigration: Records of the INS, 1880-1930 (History Vault) This link opens in a new window Access records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that cover topics such as Asian, Mexican and European immigration, Ellis Island, medical inspections of immigrants, and prostitution. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 1880-1930, contains primary sources. Full text.
- In Response to the AIDS Crisis: Records of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 1983-1994 (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press clippings that document the activities of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1983-1994, contains primary sources. Full text.
- J. Walter Thompson: Advertising America This link opens in a new window Access documents relating to the history, operation, policies and accomplishments of one of the world's largest and oldest advertising firms. This collection includes account files, staff newsletters, speeches, research, staff meeting minutes, and a selection of print advertisements. It covers a range of brands, companies and industries, from automobiles to cosmetics and cruises. Coverage: 20th century, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Jewish Life in America This link opens in a new window Explore the history of Jewish communities in America, from the arrival of the first Jews in the 17th century right through to the mid-20th century. Coverage: 1654-1954, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Law and Society since the Civil War: American Legal Manuscripts from the Harvard Law School Library (History Vault) This link opens in a new window Explore documents relating to three Supreme Court Justices, the first Black federal judge, high-profile cases, and insights into developing ideologies and laws, as far back as 1861 with the Papers of Oliver Wendell Holmes, which span from the Civil War to the Great Depression. The papers of Louis D. Brandeis and Felix Frankfurter provide a behind-the-scenes view of the Supreme Court between 1919 and 1961. The Frankfurter Papers reveal how the Supreme Court approached the Brown v. Board of Education decision. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 1861-1976, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new window Access primary materials from the Library of Congress, covering various periods of American history. This collection includes photographs, manuscripts, rare books, maps, recorded sound, and video. Special online collections include Native American history, African-American history, United States presidents, immigration, literature, and cultural history. Coverage: American history - time periods vary, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- NAACP Papers (History Vault) This link opens in a new window Access primary sources that document the organization and major campaigns of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This collection covers topics such as education, voting, court cases, lynching, segregation, employment, housing and discrimination complaints, among others. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 1910s-1970s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Nixon Years, The This link opens in a new window Access papers from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the entire period of Richard Nixon’s presidency. Coverage: 1969-1974, contains primary sources. Full text.
- North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories This link opens in a new window Access contemporaneous letters and diaries, oral histories, interviews, and other personal narratives from immigrants to the United States and Canada between 1800 and 1950. Coverage: 1800-1950, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Overland Journeys: Travels in the West, 1800-1880 (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access records of daily events and personal accounts of emigrants who traveled to the American West. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1800-1880, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of the Walter E. Beach Library Fund.
- Photogrammar In the 1930s, the U.S. government sent photographers to all the states to capture America “at her most vulnerable.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s team wanted a record of what was going on—and images of real lives and struggles to help rally support for his New Deal policies. More than 170,000 images were taken between 1935 and 1946. Yale University and the Library of Congress have made the entire collection available online.
- Phyllis Lyon, Del Martin & The Daughters of Bilitis (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access documents by and about the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in United States history, founded by Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin who created and helped shape the modern gay and feminist movements. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1955-1984, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin: Beyond the Daughters of Bilitis (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access documents from the many decades of Phyllis Lyon & Del Martin’s work for, and leadership of, the LGBT movement and the women’s rights movement both in San Francisco and nationally. This collection includes minutes, correspondence and notes related to their work with the ACLU, San Francisco Coalition for Human Rights, and other organizations. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1966-1984, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Race Relations in America This link opens in a new window Access documents relating to three pivotal decades in the fight for civil rights. This collection includes speeches, reports, surveys, and analyses produced by the Race Relations Department's staff and Institute participants, including Charles S. Johnson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thurgood Marshall. Coverage: 1943-1970, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Reconstruction of Southern States: Pamphlets This link opens in a new window Access openly available pamphlets that provide insights into the three major initiatives of the Reconstruction Era in American history: restoration of the Union, transformation of Southern society, and enactment of progressive legislation favoring the rights of freed slaves. These pamphlets were collected by the Department of State Library and comprise speeches, debates, political statements, legislative bills, and more. Coverage: 1865-1869 and 1877, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Revolutionary War Era Orderly Books from the New York Historical Society This link opens in a new window Access orderly books (a form of journal kept by military units containing their orders and other day-to-day information) from American units during the Revolutionary War, as well as some from the French & Indian War, the War of 1812, and from British units. Coverage: 1748-1817, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960 to 1974 This link opens in a new window Access diaries, letters, autobiographies and other memoirs, written and oral histories, manifestos, government documents, memorabilia, and scholarly commentary from/about 1960s America. Themes include arts, music, culture; civil rights; counter-culture; law & government; technology; student activism; the Vietnam War, and more. Coverage: 1960-1974, contains primary sources. Full text.
- U.S. Diplomatic Post Records, 1914-1945 (History Vault) This link opens in a new window Access United States State Department records consisting of correspondence and reports from American diplomats stationed around the world. Locations represented include Japan, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Iran, Iraq, Beirut, Jerusalem, Aden, Lebanon, Russia and the Soviet Union. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: 1914-1945, contains primary sources. Full text.
- U.S. Serial Set and Serial Set Maps (1789-Present) This link opens in a new window Access House and Senate documents and reports from congressional committees, from the late-1700s to present, as well as high-resolution maps from 1789-2007, from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey, among others. Coverage: varies. Full text. This purchase was funded in part by the Walter E. Beach Library Fund.
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- Virginia Company Archives This link opens in a new window Access primary sources that document the founding and economic development of the Virginia colony, relations between colonists and indigenous peoples, and early trade between Britain and America. Coverage: 1590-1790, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 This link opens in a new window Access documents relating to the history of women in social movements in the United States. This collection covers topics including black women suffragists, gender bias reports, women and antislavery, commissions on the status of women, notable American women, and more. Coverage: 1600-2000, contains primary sources. Full text.
- World War II: U.S. Documents on Planning, Operations, Intelligence, Axis War Crimes, and Refugees (History Vault) This link opens in a new window Access primary source records from World War II, including Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Map Room Files, Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Records of the War Department Operations Division, United States Navy Action and Operational Reports, Records of the Office of War Information, Papers of the War Refugee Board, and Top Secret Studies on United States Communications Intelligence During World War II. These records are supplemented with smaller collections documenting United States planning and participation in World War II. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via History Vault. Coverage: varies - mostly 20th century, contains primary sources. Full text.
Historical Newspapers
- 19th Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window Access full-text content, including images, of historical primary source nineteenth century newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the United States. These newspapers are cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 1800s, contains primary sources. Full text.
- African American Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Explore a cross-searchable collection of historical content from leading African-American Newspapers. Titles included are: Atlanta Daily World (1931-2010), Chicago Defender (1910-1975), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001), Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2010), and Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988). Coverage: 1893-2010, but varies by title; contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was made possible in part through a bequest of Eleanor Cogan (Honorary Doctor of Liberal Arts, 2003), library volunteer and longtime friend of the college.
- Indigenous Newspapers in North America This link opens in a new window Access Indigenous print journalism from the United States and Canada, including some bilingual and Indigenous-language editions. Coverage: 1828-2016, contains primary sources. Full text.
- American Jewish Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Explore a collection of historical content from American Jewish newspapers. Titles included are: The American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger (1857-1922), The Jewish Advocate (1905-1990), The American Israelite (1854-2000), and Jewish Exponent (1887-1990). Coverage: 1854-2000, but varies by title; contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Confederate Newspapers: A Collection from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia & Alabama (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window Access issues of wartime newspapers from FL, GA, TN, VA and AL, from 1860 to 1865. This collection is cross-searchable with other collections via Archives Unbound. Coverage: 1860-1865, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of the Walter E. Beach Library Fund.
- Early American Newspapers, 1690-1922 This link opens in a new window Explore fully searchable historical newspapers from all 50 states. Searches can be limited by date range, article type, language, place of publication, and newspaper title. Coverage: 1690-1922, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Access historical articles and images from the American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger; American Israelite; Atlanta Constitution; Atlanta Daily World; Baltimore Afro-American; Boston Globe; Chicago Defender; Chicago Tribune; Chinese Newspapers Collection; Guardian & Observer; Jewish Advocate; Jewish Exponent; Los Angeles Times; New York Amsterdam News; New York Times; Philadelphia Inquirer; Philadelphia Tribune; Pittsburgh Courier; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Wall Street Journal; and Washington Post. Coverage: varies by paper ranging from 1791-2018, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines This link opens in a new window Access important and rare periodicals from Confederate, Union, abolitionist, and British presses. Note: If you encounter a "Consent" page referencing a "Harpweek" account upon first access, refresh and continue on to the site; a Harpweek account is not necessary to access this resource. Coverage: 1860-1865, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- New York Times -- Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Access articles and images from historical issues of the New York Times. Coverage: 1851-2020, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive This link opens in a new window Access significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers from all counties. This collection includes these Carlisle newspapers: American Volunteer, Carlisle Herald & Expositor, and Carlisle Herald. Coverage: 1789-2012 (varies by title), contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Documenting White Supremacy and Its Opponents in the 1920s This link opens in a new window Access local, regional, and national newspapers published by the Ku Klux Klan, as well as anti-KKK and pro-KKK newspapers. Coverage: December 1921-April 1932, contains primary sources. Full text.
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- Wall Street Journal -- Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Access fully searchable, full text copies of historical articles and images from the Wall Street Journal. Coverage: 1889-2010, contains primary sources. Full text.
Historical Magazines
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 1-5 (EBSCO platform) This link opens in a new window Explore aspects of American society from the Colonial period through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Individual Series can be searched together or separately. Coverage: 1691-1912, contains primary sources. Full text. This purchase was a gift of Robert J. Weinstein, Dickinson College class of 1941.
- American Periodicals Series Online 1740-1900 This link opens in a new window Access over 1,500 periodicals that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines; 89 journals published between 1740 and 1800 offer insights into America's transition from colonial times to independence; and 118 periodicals published during the Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1877) eras; and many other historically-significant periodicals. Coverage: 1740-1900, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Liberty Magazine 1924-50 This link opens in a new window Access issues of Liberty: a Weekly for Everybody, founded in 1924 in the United States, with full-page images of every page of every issue. This magazine is browsable by date, author, or artist. It is cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources. Coverage: 1924-1950, contains primary sources. Full text.
- National Geographic Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window Access high-quality photojournalism and cartography, and in-depth coverage of cultures, nature, science, technology and the environment in this official journal of the National Geographic Society. Each page and photograph in this collection is fully searchable. Coverage: 1888-2015, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Readers' Guide Full Text This link opens in a new window Search for articles in the popular press (magazines, news magazines, general interest periodicals), on topics including art, business, computers, dance, drama, education, entertainment, fashion, film & television, food, health & medicine, history, literature, news & current events, photography, popular & classical music, politics, popular culture, religion, science, sports & fitness, transportation, and travel. Coverage: 1890-1982. Some full text.
- Trench Journals and Unit Magazines of the First World War This link opens in a new window Access rare magazines by and for servicemen and women of all nations during the First World War. Coverage: 1914-1919, contains primary sources. Full text.
- Women's Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window Access historic content for women’s magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Essence, Seventeen, Town & Country, WIN News, and Woman's Day. Coverage: 1846-2005 (varies by publication), contains primary sources. Full text.
- EBSCO Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window Access the magazine archives of Architectural Digest, The Atlantic, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Ebony, Esquire, Forbes, Fortune, Jet, Life, Maclean's, People, Sports Illustrated, Time, U.S. News & World Report and Vanity Fair. Coverage: 1857-2015 (varies by title), contains primary sources. Full text. The Ebony archive and Jet archive are, in part, gifts of the Mary Moser Memorial Library Fund.