Books
Search Discover Local, the library's catalog, for books about or by the person you are researching. Discover Local lists all materials owned or subscribed to by the OU library.
If the OU library doesn't have anything, try searching Worldcat. Worldcat is an international catalog of books and other materials owned by thousands of libraries. You may borrow (interlibrary loan) materials through the Worldcat database.
Newspapers
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African American Newspapers: The 19th CenturyIncludes titles such as Freedom's Journal, Frederick Douglass Paper, and The Christian Recorder.
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America's Historical NewspapersTitles from 1690-1922.
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British Library NewspapersMore than 160 newspaper titles.
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Chronicling America: Historic American NewspapersLibrary of Congress site including some digitized newspapers and a directory of newspapers published 1690-present.
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Gateway to Oklahoma HistoryThe Gateway is an online repository of Oklahoma history. You may browse through hundreds of thousands of newspaper pages dating from the 1850s to the 1920s. Includes African American newspapers.
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Hispanic American NewspapersProvides access to Spanish-language and bilingual Spanish - English newspapers printed in the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries.
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Historically Black Newspapers (ProQuest)Search and view the full text of the Atlanta Daily World 1931-2003, Chicago Defender 1910-1975, Los Angeles Sentinel 1934-2005, New York Amsterdam News 1922-1993, Norfolk Journal and Guide 1921-2003, Pittsburgh Courier 1911-2002
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Historical US Newspapers (ProQuest)Search and view the full text of all US papers from Proquest. (Chicago Tribune 1849-1997, Los Angeles Times 1881-1996, New York Times 1851-2017, Wall Street Journal 1889-2003, Washington Post 1877-2004.)
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Nineteenth Century U.S. NewspapersAmerican newspapers from the 1800s.
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Oklahoman Archives (The Oklahoman, formerly The Daily Oklahoman, 1901-present)—Update: as of 5-19-22, the database is still browsable. Due to the large size of the archive, searches may need to be limited with a date range in order to return results.
Because Gannett found this database unprofitable, beginning February 3rd, 2022, the full Oklahoman Archives will no longer be available. Access to the most current 30 days will continue. For other ways to access online content see this blog post. -
Times Digital ArchiveLondon Times newspaper, 1785-1985. Does NOT include the Sunday edition.
Journal Articles
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America: History and LifeDatabase covering the U.S. and Canada, prehistory to the present. The library has licensed this database for 6 simultaneous users.
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Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America (16th century- )Database covering Native North American history, life, and culture. Formerly known as Bibliography of Native North Americans (BNNA)
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History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (1975- )Database covering this history of science, technology, and medicine. The library has licensed this database for 5 simultaneous users.
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JSTORFull text and complete archives of core scholarly journals in many disciplines, some dating from the 1600s. Current issues may not be available.
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Project MuseThis database contains the full text of scholarly journals in the humanities, including history.
Western History Collections
WHC has three main divisions:
- Manuscripts - materials such as diaries, journals, personal and office correspondence, literary manuscripts, business records, and scrapbooks. View the WHC manuscript collection finding aids in ArchivesSpace.
- Library - more than 80,000 volumes, including books, scholarly journals, Reports and Bulletins of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and a collection of contemporary Native American newspapers.
- Photographic Archives - approximately 2 million images representing a wide variety of photographic processes and subject. See the online gallery for a selection of images.
Digital Collections from the WHC that might be of interest include:
- Doris Duke Collection of American Indian Oral History - Typescripts of interviews (1967-1972) conducted with hundreds of Indians in Oklahoma regarding the histories and cultures of their respective nations and tribes.
- Indian-Pioneer Papers Collection - Typescripts of interviews conducted during the 1930s regarding the settlement of Oklahoma and Indian territories.
- Native American Manuscript Collections - WHC has more than 200 manuscript collections about Native Americans, most from the 19th and 20th centuries. Focus is on Indian history in Oklahoma, Indian Territory, and the southwestern United States.
Family History Resources
- The Western History Collections Manuscript Collections feature many family collections, so check the box above for more information. Also see ArchivesSpace and this page with finding aids to the Western History Collections.
- FamilySearch: This is a bit like the free version of Ancestry.com. (In Norman, Ancestry.com is only available in-house at the Norman Public Library branch of Pioneer Library System, unless you have your own personal subscription.) Although it is free, you must create an account first.
- Use the "search records" function to search resources such as the United States Census.
- Use the "search records" function to search resources such as the United States Census.
- Fold3: A Metropolitan Library (OKC public) database. Sign up for a library card if you don't have one. Provides access to historic U.S. military records, including the stories, photos and personal documents of the men and women who served. You can also search archives for African Americans, Native Americans and the U.S. Bureau of Investigation case files, historical newspapers, historical documents, U.S. Census records, U.S. naturalization records, and city directories.
- Genealogy Resources through the Metropolitan (OKC Public) Library System: Many resources are available online through Metropolitan. Sign up for a library card if you don't have one. Even if you don't live in OKC, those who live, work, or attend school in Cleveland, McClain, or Pottawatomie counties may apply for a Metro reciprocal account, which offers access to their collection and most services.
- Genealogy Resources through Pioneer Library System (PLS): Many resources are available online through PLS as long as you have a library card, which you are eligible for if you attend OU. Sign up for a library card if you don't already have one. Ancestry.com must be used onsite, but many other resources are available offsite. Norman Public Library is just up the street from campus, at the corner of Webster and Gray.
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U.S. Census Resources at the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS): The OHS Research Center features several online research aids. These include 1933 Unemployment Relief records index, the 1890 Oklahoma Territory Census records index, and American Indian Censuses on Microfilm index. and other resources available onsite.