Research Guides: History: World

Primary Sources

The Avalon Project
A project of the Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library, this is a digitized collection of legal, historical, economic, diplomatic, and other government-related documents from as early as 4,000 B.C.E. to 9/11.
Children and Youth in History
A project of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, this resource includes over 300 primary source documents about children and young people in world history - divided by region
EuroDocs
A very deep and broad research portal containing primary documents devoted to European history. Choose your country of interest first, then time period to be presented with a list of artifacts.
EyeWitnesstoHistory
Offers brief selections of primary sources from critical moments in history such as the career and assassination of Julius Caesar to the death of FDR. Also includes photo gallery and movie clips from pre-World War II era.
Hanover Historical Texts Collection
A selection of primary sources from Ancient Greece and Rome, Europe from the middle ages to modern times, and American history, hosted by Hanover College.
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook
The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook collects and organizes primary sources by civilization and time period, providing full-text translations of ancient primary sources.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Provides full-text primary sources spanning from the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 C.E. to the Renaissance, Reformation, and age of the New World Exploration in the 1500s.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook
Offers full-text primary sources for World Civilization courses from the Reformation to the 21st century, and American history from the Colonial era to present day. Organized chronologically and by topic.
Marxists Internet Archive
An all-volunteer, non-profit, digital public library that contains the writings of 592 authors and 53,000 documents representing a complete spectrum of political, philosophical, and scientific thought within Marxism or relevant to its understanding, including the Communist Manifesto.
New York Public Library Digital Collections
Over 715,000 digitized multimedia items from the New York Public Library's collection featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
Perseus Digital Library
A digital collection of primary and secondary sources including ancient Greek and Roman works, Arabic language documents, Germanic materials, Humanist and Renaissance Italian poetry in Latin, early modern English literature, 19th century American history and digital copies of the Richmond Times Dispatch daily newspaper during the Civil War, as well as links to other digital collections.
Digital Inquiry Gorup (Formerly SHEG)
Offers materials to help educators and students promote historical analysis. Create an account or log in to access example primary source materials for select lessons.
Women in World History
A project of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, this resource includes over 200 primary source documents about women in world history - divided by region.

Find Library Resources

Type keywords in the Library Search box below to search most of the SKYCTC, KCTCS, and KYVL databases to find articles, books, and other resources.

How to Find Resources in Library Search
A short introduction to searching and saving favorites in Library Search.
Tutorial on How to Use Library Search
For an in-depth tutorial on how to do effective searches in Library Search.

Secondary Sources: Books

Below is a small sample of the ebooks SKYCTC has in the collection. Use the Library Search tool above to find books and eBooks online, and visit the SKYCTC Learning Commons on the Main Campus (Building L, Room 119) to check out print materials. If you need help finding resources:

Ask a Librarian or Tutor
Submit a question here, and a librarian or tutor will get back with you during business hours. You may also call our Help Desk at 270-901-1171 for assistance.

The Worlds of Medieval Europe by Clifford R. Backman
ISBN: 0195121686
Publication Date: 2002-08-22
The Worlds of Medieval Europe updates and revises traditional textbook representations of the Middle Ages by balancing the conventional focus on political affairs, especially those of northern Europe, with equally detailed attention to medieval society as it developed in the Mediterranean.
Blood Sisters: the women behind the wars of the roses by Sarah Gristwood
Call Number: DA250 .G75 2014
ISBN: 9780465060986
Publication Date: 2014-03-04
The Wars of the Roses, which tore apart the ruling Plantagenet family in fifteenth-century England, was truly a domestic drama, as fraught and intimate as any family feud before or since. But as acclaimed historian Sarah Gristwood reveals, while the events of this turbulent time are usually described in terms of the men who fought and died seeking the throne, a handful of powerful women would prove just as decisive as their kinfolks' clashing armies.
Elizabeth I and Her Circle by Susan Doran
Call Number: DA355 .D669 2015
ISBN: 9780199574957
Publication Date: 2015-06-01
This is the inside story of Elizabeth I's inner circle and the crucial human relationships which lay at the heart of her personal and political life. Using a wide range of original sources--including private letters, portraits, verse, drama, and state papers--Susan Doran provides a vivid and often dramatic account of political life in Elizabethan England and the queen at its center, offering a deeper insight into Elizabeth's emotional and political conduct--and challenging many of the popular myths that have grown up around her.
The Coming of the Terror in the French Revolution by Timothy Tackett
ISBN: 9780674736559
Publication Date: 2015-02-23
How did the French Revolution's ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity descend into violence and terror? Timothy Tackett offers a new interpretation of this turning point in world history. Penetrating the mentality of Revolutionary elites on the eve of the Terror, he reveals how suspicion and mistrust escalated and helped propel their actions.
Simon Bolivar by John Lynch
ISBN: 9780300137705
Publication Date: 2007-08-01
In the first major English-language biography of “The Liberator” in half a century, John Lynch draws on extensive research to understand Bolívar's life in the context of his own society and times, and to explore his remarkable and enduring legacy. Simón Bolívar illuminates the man's inner world, the dynamics of his leadership, his power to command, and his modes of ruling the diverse peoples of Spanish America.
The Second Indochina War by William S. Turley
ISBN: 9780742555259
Publication Date: 2008-10-17
Now in a thoroughly revised edition, this influential book offers a concise history of the "Vietnam War" as seen by all sides, not just from the American perspective.
Soviet Union by Stephen Lovell
ISBN: 9780199238484
Publication Date: 2009-09-01
This Very Short Introduction blends political history with an investigation into Soviet society and culture from 1917 to 1991. Stephen Lovell examines aspects of patriotism, political violence, poverty, and ideology, and provides answers to some of the big questions about the Soviet experience.

SouthCentral students have access to books at WKU Libraries and the Warren County Public Library, see our Partner Libraries page for more information. Use the WKU Courier Service to save a trip and pick up WKU Libraries books at the SKYCTC.

WKU Libraries Homepage
Visit WKU Libraries to search for WKU Libraries books and other resources.
Fill out a WKU Courier Service request
We will deliver books, DVDs, videos, and audiobooks from WKU Libraries to Main Campus, Transpark, Glasgow Health, Glasgow Tech, & Franklin campuses for you to pick up!
Warren County Public Library
For assistance at the Lisa Rice Library (formerly the Main Library), call (270) 781-4882, ext. 4.
Partner Libraries
Visit one of our partner libraries! SKYCTC students, faculty, and staff can check out materials from WKU Libraries or Warren County Public Library free of charge with their SKYCTC ID card.

Search our specific eBook repositories for titles!

EBSCOhost eBook Collection This link opens in a new window
Electronic book collection, including fiction, nonfiction, and reference.
Watch this short video on how to use this database:
Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
SKYCTC's ebooks from ProQuest. Includes thousands of ebooks from leading publishers like Wiley, 130 university presses, and more. Collections cover subjects such as: biology, business management, computer science/IT, education, engineering & manufacturing, history, literature, nursing and other health-related fields, physical sciences, psychology, religious studies and sociology.
eBooks from the University Press of Kentucky This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
KYVL has partnered with the University Press of Kentucky to make more than 1,300 titles in the collection freely available to KYVL members. This collection includes topics ranging from architecture to business, education to law, Arts & Humanities and studies in Romance languages to social & behavioral sciences and STEM fields.

Secondary Sources: Articles & Documentaries

Use the search engine below to search for articles and primary sources in history and other related disciplines from EBSCOhost Databases. Databases included are: Academic Search Complete, Academic Search Premier, MAS Ultra - School Edition, MasterFILE Premier, Middle Search Plus, Military & Government Collection, Newspaper Source, Primary Search, Religion & Philosophy Collection, Sociological Collection, and TOPICsearch.

For additional research materials, select one of our Gale historical databases. Once you have chosen a database, type in your topic keywords in one of the search engines and narrow results with the menu on the right. Use the Topic Finder feature to discover related subject keywords and sources about your research interests.

See Academic Video Online (AVON) from Clarivate to view our streaming video collection.

Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window

Full-text, scholarly articles in physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects. Includes full-text coverage of the New York Times back to 1995
World History (Gale) This link opens in a new window
This collection provides well-rounded coverage of both the current thinking and events in World History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field. This compilation of journals provides robust and balanced coverage of this field, useful both to the novice historian as well as to the advanced academic researcher.
Watch this short video on how to use this database:
War and Terrorism (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Journals and magazines for analysts, risk management professionals, and students of military science, history, and social science. Covers historic and contemporary topics in the fields of war and terrorism.
Watch this short video on how to use this database:
Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window
Academic Video Online (AVON) spans a wide range of subject areas. Includes content like documentaries, films, and demonstrations from publishers like the BBC, PBS, and Sony.

A-Z Database Guide
To see other databases provided by SKYCTC, see our A-Z Database List.