Skip to Main Content


Find Books and eBooks - World History

Start Your Research with Library Databases - World History

Academic Search Complete

scholarly and peer-reviewed journals - a good choice for most topics

click here for a how-to video about using Academic Search Complete

Credo Reference

features encyclopedia and other references sources - a good starting point for getting background information and a big-picture overview of your topic


click here for a how-to video about using Credo Reference

Ethnic NewsWatch

newspapers, magazines & journals of the ethnic, minority and native press

click here for a how-do video about how to use Ethnic NewsWatch

Gale Ebooks: Virtual Reference Library

access to online reference books about business, environment, history, literature, medicine, multicultural studies, nation & world, and science

Watch Films - World History

Global Studies - Kanopy

Documentaries and feature films in African Studies, Asian Studies, Indigenous Studies, Latin American Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and more.

World History - Academic Video Online (AVON)

Streaming video from well-known producers like PBS, BBC, History, plus extensive archival footage.

World History - Films on Demand

Watch acclaimed documentaries and award-winning educational films.

European History - Films on Demand

Watch videos on European History topics such as ancient Europe, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and more.

Primary Sources

Primary sources are documents, images, recordings, or any other physical objects created during the time period being researched.  They are essential to the study of history because they allow a researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during a historical event or time period. 

In the field of History, primary sources include (but are not limited to):

  • Books written during the period for your topic (e.g. during the 1780s)
  • Books written by key participants of an event
  • Published collections of correspondence and other personal writings
  • Memoirs and reprints of primary source material
  • Newspapers from the time (these provide a first rough draft of events)
  • Popular magazines from the time  (news, fashion, sports, etc.)
  • Official government publications from the time
  • Manuscript material such as unpublished letters, diaries and organizational and company records
  • Photographs, drawings, and other images from the time
  • Works of art and artifacts from the time
  • Maps from the time

Secondary sources are created by someone who did not personally experience first-hand or participate in the events or conditions being researched.  Instead secondary sources interpret and analyzes primary sources. 

Some common types of secondary sources in the field of History are:

  • Textbooks
  • Journal articles
  • Histories
  • Criticisms
  • Commentaries
  • Encyclopedias                                                                                                                           

Internet Resources - World History

Hielbrunn Timeline of Art History | Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History pairs essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Museum’s collection.

World Cultures & History | Library of Congress

Browse the digital collections of the U.S. Library of Congress for documents, photographs, essays and more

HistoryExtra | BBC History Magazine

The official website for BBC History Magazine, BBC History Revealed and BBC World Histories Magazine

EuroDocs | Brigham Young University

Extensive portal of websites featuring primary sources for European history, indexed by country of origin and also major time period.

Need help with citations?

CCC Library Logo

Research Help 510-215-4897

Circulation (books & technology) 510-215-4921

Email a Librarian

Today's Hours