Our main world history database doesn't have great coverage for ancient history, but still makes a good starting point, because it allows for complex searches and limited results to a specific historical period.
Articles on the history of the world from 1450 to the present. History of the United States and Canada are covered in America: History and Life
The second step is to use our Library Search tool, which cross searches a large number of databases and will connect you to articles that appear in JSTOR, Project Muse, and many other databases.
There are a couple of free online databases that can also be helpful. The plus side is they focus on the ancient world, the downsides are they can be harder to search and most articles won't link to full text.
Full-text in Gnomon and TOCS-IN
While TOC-IN does link to some full text when it is freely accessible, Gnomon does not link at all. To find the full text of any articles listed in either database, cut and paste the title into the library search tool. If we have it, the record should appear near the top, if not, follow the instructions for getting things that WCU Libraries don't own.
When searching Historical Abstracts, Library Search, or one of the freely-accessible databases, you may find articles you want that we do not have access to. You can almost always get them for free through a service called interlibrary loan, and it usually only takes one or two days.
1. Instead of a link to a PDF below the article, you will see a link called check availability.
2. If we have the full text,the page that opens will provide a link under the "View It" heading.
3. If we don't own the full text, you can access our interlibrary loan system for articles, called ILLiad, by logging into the system using your WCU email address and password. Look for the link on the yellow bar in the middle of the page.
4. Once you log in, you will see the link to go to ILLiad.
5. To use ILLiad for the first time, click on the link for first time users and set up an account
6. Go back to the the database window and click the link to interlibrary loan again. Now that you are logged in, it will fill in the blanks on the request screen for you! Hit submit and wait for an email saying your article has arrived.
1) The default in Library search is to show articles that we DO own. To see materials we don't own, look at the top of the left-hand column for the option "Expand Results Beyond My Library".
2) Once you do that, you will see articles marked "No Full Text". Click on that link, then follow the process described above for databases.
