History

Start with these databases:

•  Chicago Tribune, Historical Edition
Full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. This collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
• Credo Reference
A great place to begin research on any subject. Includes more than 500 trusted titles from over 70 publishers, plus relevant links to other quality sources.
• Daily Life Online
Explore how others lived and live their lives, and how their lives shaped ours. Content is enhanced with new books, articles, images, maps, primary documents, and more.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
Contains the full text of hundreds of reference books on a wide variety of subjects, including history, business, medicine, science and humanities. Includes tables of content, indexes and illustrations. (Guided Tour)
• Historical Newspapers Extra Edition
Search the Historical Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal through this easy-to-use page that includes timelines and popular topic searches.
• History Study Center
Primary and secondary sources on global history from ancient times to the present day, perfect for student reports.
•  New York Times Historical Edition
Full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. This collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
• Pop Culture Universe
An irresistible yet authoritative digital database on popular culture in America and the world, both past and present. Great for decades or history projects.

Additional databases to search:

•  American Book Prices Current
(Only available from within the Library)
ABPC is an essential tool for buying, selling and evaluating books, serials, autographs, manuscripts, broadsides, maps and documents, based on actual auction prices in the US and abroad.
•  American History from ABC-CLIO
From the explorers of the Americas to today's headlines, investigate the people, events, and themes of our nation's evolution.
• American History from Facts on File
Provides more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history.
• American Indian History Online
Access to more than 600 Native American groups and over 15,000 years of American Indian culture and history.
• Ancient & Medieval History Online
Explores six ancient centers of civilization: Africa, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesoamerica, and Mesopotamia.
• Annals of American History Online
American history through primary documents, including speeches, writings, memoirs, poems and interviews.
• Congressional Digest
Turn to this source for an even-handed presentation of opposing views on contentious national questions, Pro & Con.
• CQ Almanac
Congressional reporting in one, easy-to-use resource with original analysis and data on major legislation for each Congressional session back to 1945.
• CQ Researcher
Offers in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues, including overviews, statistics and pro/con reporting.
• CQ Weekly
Up to the minute coverage of the U.S. Congress: status of bills, votes and amendments, floor and committee activity, and backroom maneuvering produced by the largest news team on Capitol Hill.
• Current Biography Illustrated
Offers the content of the printed monthly magazine Current Biography, in searchable, electronic format. More than 25,000 biographies and nearly 20,000 images.
• Curriculum Resource Center
Student-oriented database, including historical timelines, 400 maps, science and anatomy diagrams, science experiments, mathematics exercises, and physical education and health topics.
• eBooks
Download books to your reading device or read on your computer.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Complete encyclopedia with related Internet links, best websites rated by EB editors, Britannica's Lives and the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary.
• Historical Statistics of the US
Online edition of the recently updated five volume print compendium of historical statistics. Contains over 37,000 data series, on wide-ranging topics. Users may create customized tables and spreadsheets.
• Illinois Digital Archive
St. Charles, Kane County and Illinois local history documents, maps and photos.
• Illinois Newspapers
Search local and state news sources including: Chicago Sun-Times (1986-Current), Courier-News (1/1/97-Current), Daily Herald (1/1/95-Current), the Kane County Chronicle (12/9/05-Current), and the St. Charles Republican (01/18/2009-Current).
• Local Newspaper Index
The Newspaper Index is a selective index of articles published in the Kane County Chronicle and the St. Charles Republican newspapers from 1986 to the present. The full text of these articles is available at the Library in print, online or microfilm.
• Oxford Reference Online
Search Oxford's award winning encyclopedias and scholarly reference titles on an easy-to-use site.
• Points of View Reference Center
Two hundred topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument) and counterpoint (opposing argument).
• Price It! Antiques & Collectibles
A valuable research and pricing tool with more than 20 million realized prices, more than 10 million images, and 125 searchable categories.
• Salem History
Includes Milestone Documents, the Great Lives biography series, Great Events from History, The Decades, and more.
• Sanborn Maps, Illinois
Sanborn maps are large-scale plans of a city or town from 1867-1970. The maps list street blocks and building numbers in use at the time the map was made and previous numbers.
• WorldAlmanac
Includes biographies, encyclopedia entries, facts, and statistics.
• World Book Online
Start here for background research on any topic. Articles are updated with current events information, useful links on the Internet, a monthly calendar of important dates and a Today in History feature.
• WorldCat
Locate books, periodicals, computer programs, films, maps, sound recordings, videotapes and other formats in thousands of libraries worldwide.
• WorldCat Dissertations & Thesis
Scholarly dissertations, theses and published material based on theses, including all subjects, and updated daily.  After you locate the material you would like, request it via Interlibrary Loan.
• World Data Analyst Online
Detailed statistical comparisons of countries across the world, using both the most recent and historical figures.
• World Geography and Culture
Reproducible, full-color maps, flags, statistics, images, and information about a location's geography, government, history, society, and culture.
• World History
Covers civilizations and cultures of world history from prehistoric times through the modern era.
•  Modern World History Online
Provides in-depth coverage of the history of all regions of the world from 1500 to the present.