Use the databases listed below to find journal articles, books, and book chapters related to your research topic.
Online archive of eBooks and complete backruns of scholarly journals in a variety of academic fields.
America: History and Life is the definitive index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. Indexes 1,700 journals from as far back as 1910.
Full text access to scholarly humanities, social sciences, and mathematics journals.
Indexing and full text of hundreds of journals, books and other published sources from around the world on various humanities topics.
A powerful search tool to streamline your library research. Entering terms into a single search box yields results that include: books and e-books, research and news articles, project reports, electronic theses and dissertations, archival materials, patents, open access collections and more.
Google search for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports on all topic areas. Use to find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, prepublication repositories and universities.
Catalog of books (and other materials) in libraries worldwide.
Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature, features smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research. Scopus delivers the most comprehensive overview of the world’s research output in the fields of Science, Technology, Medicine, Social Sciences, and Arts & Humanities. As research becomes increasingly global, interdisciplinary and collaborative, Scopus helps ensure that crucial research from around the world is not missed.
Books are a vital sources of historical scholarship. To find books at the Gordon Library, type your keywords into the WPI Library Search. Use the drop-down menu to the right of the search box to select "Books & Media."
To limit your search to online books, go to the Availability filter on the left and select Available online.
To limit your search to print books, go to the Availability filter on the left and select Available on shelf.
The Gordon Library organizes its print books using the Library of Congress (LC) Classification System. Letters and numbers denote subject and location in the collection. Call numbers are typically visible on the spines of the books in the library.
Here is an example of a call number:
The first two lines describe the subject of the book.
The third line represents the author's last name.
The last line represents the date of publication.
In the LC Classification System, most United States History books fall under the E and F call numbers:
You may also be interested in:
For more call number classifications, see the Library of Congress Classification Outline.
Listed below are examples of books about the history of science and technology. These books were written or edited by historians. When you find a book for your research, remember to check the credentials of the authors/editors and to research the reputation of the publisher in order to evaluate the credibility of the book.
The American Robot: A Cultural History by 
Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television by 
Connected: How Trains, Genes, Pineapples, Piano Keys, and a Few Disasters Transformed Americans at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century by 
Contraception: A Concise History by 
Refrigeration Nation: A History of Ice, Appliances, and Enterprise in America by 
Regulating Railroad Innovation: Business, Technology, and Politics in America, 1840–1920 by 
Science and Technology Policy in the United States by 
Shaping American Telecommunications by 
Waterpower in Lowell: Engineering and Industry in Nineteenth-Century America by A peer-reviewed journal is a respected publication. Before articles are published within these types of journals, they are sent by the editors of the journal to other scholars in the field ("peers"), often anonymously, to get feedback on the quality of the scholarship, review research methods, as well as relevance or importance to the field. The article may be accepted, often with revisions suggested, or rejected for publication. Many peer-reviewed journals have low acceptance rates.
Peer-reviewed articles are typically substantial in length (often 10 pages or more) and typically have many citations.
To find peer reviewed articles in WPI Library Search, enter your keywords and then choose the Peer-Reviewed Journals filter on the left.
Primary sources are materials that provide firsthand testimony to a subject under investigation. Researchers often use these firsthand accounts of specific events to understand events from the viewpoint of people living during that time period. Primary sources include letters, diaries, photographs, newspaper articles, and pamphlets. Primary sources also include writings and recordings by witnesses who experienced the events or conditions being documented. For example, oral histories, autobiographies, and memoirs are primary sources.
Search full text and images 1851-2020 including news, illustrations, editorials, and advertisements.
Online archive of eBooks and complete backruns of scholarly journals in a variety of academic fields.
To find primary sources via Google, try adding keywords like primary sources, documents, archives, journals, papers, letters, or documentary history to your search terms. Primary sources can often be found on library, museum, and government websites.
Here are some examples of websites that have primary sources for European History:
Sometimes collections of primary source documents are republished in books. To find books like these, search WPI Library Search for books about your topic and add keywords like sourcebook, documents, primary sources, documentary history, papers, letters, journal, diary, memoir, or autobiography to your search terms.
Here are some examples of books containing primary sources:
Environmental Issues in American History: A Reference Guide with Primary Documents by 
A Hammer in Their Hands: A Documentary History of Technology and the African-American Experience by 
Hollywood's America: Understanding History Through Film by 
Revolutionary America, 1763-1815: A Sourcebook by WPI's Archives and Special Collections offer great resources for primary sources. To learn more about the Archives' collections or to schedule a visit to the Archives, please fill out their contact form or e-mail archives@wpi.edu.
When searching in the library's databases, you may find an abstract for an article but not the full-text. When this happens, click on the FullTextFinder icon.
The FullTextFinder will either redirect you to another database that has the full-text of the article or it will tell you that we don't have this article in our collections. If we don't have an article that you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service that allows WPI students and faculty to request items from other libraries free of charge.
Is there something you need that the WPI library doesn't have? Our Interlibrary Loan service allows WPI students and faculty to request items from other libraries free of charge.
Use WorldCat.org to search for books, articles, and more at libraries around the world. Request materials from other libraries via Interlibrary Loan.
The Academic and Research Collaborative (ARC) allows member users to borrow directly from Worcester area libraries. Before you can borrow materials directly from participating libraries, you need to sign up for an ARC card in person at the Gordon Library's Information Desk. Pick up your ARC card today!
As a resident of Massachusetts, you can sign up for a library card at the Worcester Public Library (WPL). WPI students with a college ID can are eligible for WPL cards. You can also sign up for an ecard, which allows you to access the WPL's online resources.
As a resident of Massachusetts, you can also sign up for a library card at the Boston Public Library (BPL). Students who live in Massachusetts while attending school are eligible for a BPL card. The BPL also has an option for an ecard, which allows you to access the BPL's online resources.
