1. Facts and Background Information
2. Finding Books
3. Finding Articles
4. Biography
5. Finding Archival Materials & Primary Sources
6. Selected Web Resources

Facts and Background Information

• Dictionary of the History of Science — PRINT
  REF Q124.8 .S43 2001
  Short, dictionary-style entries for major figures and concepts in the history of science.
• Encyclopedia of scientific principles, laws, and theories — PRINT
  Hagerty 2nd Floor Q121 .K74 2008 v. 1-2
  Two volumes with index and bibliography.
• The history of science in the United States — ELECTRONIC
  Covers the history of American science, scientists, and institutions from the colonial period through the Civil War. Includes bibliographic references and index.
• Instruments of science : an historical encyclopedia — PRINT
  REF Q184.5 .I57 1998
  Part of the Garland Encyclopedias in the History of Science series. Articles on the invention, use, and history of scientific apparatuses.
• McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology — PRINT, ELECTRONIC
  REF Q121 .M3 2002, AccessScience Online
  Twenty volumes, with thousands of articles. Includes cross-references, bibliographies, and a comprehensive index.
• Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science — PRINT, ELECTRONIC
  REF Q125 .O86 2003, Oxford Reference Online
  “Modern” is defined as 1550 to contemporary times.  Includes a broad array of brief articles covering all disciplines, historical periods, concepts, and methodologies and philosophies. International in scope.
• Reader’s Guide to the History of Science — PRINT, ELECTRONIC
  REF Q125 .R43 2000, Credo Reference
  Excellent resource to consult at the beginning of a research project. Each entry begins with a list of the leading works on a topic, followed by an essay on the topic & each work’s contribution.
• Social Issues in Science and Technology — PRINT
  REF Q175.5 .N49 1999
  Short entries with bibliographic references on “100 areas in which advances in science and technology have raised new issues for human societies” including abortion, animal rights, extinction, biotechnology, and pollution.

Finding Books

• Searching the catalog for books on the History of Science:
• Try an LC subject search: Science - History Science - Social Aspects Science - History 17th Century Astronomy - History Feminism and science

• Try a keyword search: Cosmology and History Natural Philosophy Women and Chemistry
• Try an author search: Shapin, Steven Kuhn, Thomas S. Darwin, Charles

Finding Articles

• America: History and Life — ELECTRONIC
  Historical coverage of the United States, Canada, and Mexico from prehistory to the present; covers articles written from 1964-present. Search can be limited by the chronological range of the events discussed instead of just by the publication date of the book or article.
• Brepolis Medieval Bibliographies — ELECTRONIC
  Combined searching of the most important indexes for Medieval Studies research, the International Medieval Bibliography, Bibliographie de Civilisation Médiévale, and International Directory of Medievalists. Brepolis is a comprehensive index for Medieval Studies. The online database comprises over 300,000 records. All subjects relating to the Middle Ages are included, within the date range 400-1500 AD. Geographical areas covered are Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
• C.R.I.S. (Combined Retrospective Index to Journals in History: 1838-1974) — PRINT
  REF Z6205.C18 (11 volumes)
  Volumes 1-4 cover World History; volumes 5-9 cover US History; volumes 10 and 11 are author indexes. Very short entries with keyword, reference title (article title), author, year, volume, journal and page. The journals are numbered to save space. Full journal titles are listed in the back of each volume. Incomparable history index for its range of coverage, going back much further than most electronic resources.
• Historical Abstracts — ELECTRONIC
  Historical coverage of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present; covers articles written from 1955-present.
• History of Science, Technology and Medicine - ELECTRONIC
  
  Provides searchable access to citations for journal articles, conference proceedings, books, book reviews, and dissertations in the history of science, technology, and medicine and allied historical fields. Coverage is for items published from 1975 to the present.
• JSTOR — ELECTRONIC
  Searchable full text collection of journal articles on various subjects, including over thirty history journals.
• Science Direct — ELECTRONIC
  ScienceDirect is a search platform which provides access to more than 1000 full-text journals in a wide range of subject areas.  Broad holdings in the sciences.  Coverage for some journals goes back into the 1920s and some history of science and mathematics journals are included in this database.

Biography

• American Men and Women of Science— PRINT
  Q141 .A47
  Previously entitled American Men of Science. Included are scientists who have made significant contributions in their field, either by distinguished achievement through publications, research activity, and peer review, or by attaining “.a position of substantial responsibility requiring scientific training and experience.”
• Biography Resource Center — ELECTRONIC
  Hundreds of biographies of historical figures from around the world. Search by name or use the “Biographical Facts Search” to browse by nationality, ethnicity, gender, occupation, etc.
• The Cambridge dictionary of scientists — ELECTRONIC
  The second edition of this important biographical dictionary.
• Dictionary of Scientific Biography — PRINT
  Q141 .D5
  Fourteen volumes and four supplements. An authoritative source for information on deceased scientists who have made significant contributions to the history of science. International in scope and covering all periods from antiquity to the twentieth century.
• Encyclopedia of World Scientists — PRINT
  REF Q141.O25 2001
  Includes the well-known scientific greats of history, as well as contemporary scientists and over 200 women and minority scientists. Brief biographical essays arranged in alphabetical order by name make up the bulk of this reference. Also included are indexes by field of study, nationality, and year of birth, as well as a chronology and general index.
• International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists — PRINT
  REF Q141.O27 2002
  Uses the same format as the Encyclopedia of World Scientists (above). This volume covers 500 women scientists, from ancient Greece to contemporary times, from Europe to Asia.
• Women in science : antiquity through the nineteenth century : a biographical dictionary with annotated bibliography– ELECTRONIC
  Good coverage of women scientists before the Modern era even though many entries are brief.  Entries are cross-referenced with the seven chronological bibliographies included in the work.

Finding Archival Materials & Primary Sources

• American History In Video – ELECTRONIC
  American History in Video includes approximately 1,000 hours of newsreels from the late 1890s to the 1980s and includes some 200 hours of rare, hard-to-find, and diverse perspectives as captured in a wide range of short films. Alongside the contemporaneous materials are some 750 high-quality documentaries from video content producers such as The History Channel and California Newsreel.  Searchable full-text transcripts and embeddable clips for use in presentations make this a unique and valuable tool.
• Archival Finding Aids – AIP’s Center for the History of Physics — WWW
  Browse or search the finding aids of more than 40 archives in the US and UK. The page includes links to the International Catalog of Sources (ICOS).
• Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans 1639-1800 - ELECTRONIC

  An important collection of primary source documents that includes the books, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the renowned bibliography by Charles Evans.  Full-text searchable and also browsable by document type, printer, and even bookseller.  Useful for early American history, literature, political science, and the history of printing.  A seven minute tutorial can be found on youtube here. Often refered to as the Evans Collection.

• Drexel University Archives
  Drexel University Archives and Special Collections at Hagerty Library contain archival material concerning the history of Drexel University. The Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine & Homeopathy contains records of the history of Woman’s Medical College and Hahnemann University.
• In the First Person — ELECTRONIC
  An index to letters, diaries, oral histories and personal narratives. Searchable by historical events, subjects, places, and more. Contains limited access to full text and audio files. This resource should be considered primarily as a guide to the range of sources extant, interlibrary loan requests or visits to other nearby libraries may be necessary to use the sources themselves.
• NARA: US National Archives and Records Administration — ELECTRONIC
  NARA is a good source for finding government records and archival materials. Note the Online Databases and Tools section on the lower right-hand corner of their homepage. The NARA Mid-Atlantic Region Archives Facility is located at 900 Market Street in Philadelphia.
• NUCMC: National Union Catalog of Manuscripts Collections — PRINT
  Hagerty Oversize Z6620.U5 N3 Z6620.U5 N3 Index 1959-1969
  Contains manuscript records entered by libraries from 1959 forward. Hagerty’s holdings cover an eleven-year period from 1959-1969. For coverage closing the gap between 1969 and the electronic coverage begun in 1986 (see electronic NUCMC above), see the NUCMC hard copy held in the University of Pennsylvania’s Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks.
• PACSCL: Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries — WWW
  Find links to a number of archives, special collections, and specialized research libraries in the greater Philadelphia area. Many of the organizations provide links to their library catalogs and online finding aids.
• Original Sources — ELECTRONIC
  Contains original source documents, critical selections, and acclaimed works from US and world history, as well as related fields. Includes full text of more than 350,00 documents and more than 5,000 complete books.
• Washington Post (1877-1995) - ELECTRONIC

  ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1995). This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time. For more recent Washington Post articles, see LexisNexis Academic coverage (1977 - Present)

• WorldCat.org — ELECTRONIC
  Search for archival materials in WorldCat by selecting the “Archival Materials” from the “Format” list on the Advanced Search page.  Duplicates materials in OCLC section of online NUCMC (above) but has a more user-friendly search interface and record display.  Also available as an iPhone/Android app.

Selected Web Resources

This list includes only a small fraction of useful web resources for this field. More web sites, which have undergone the same selection process, as available in my Pinboard tags on the right-hand side of this research guide.

• American Memory — WWW
  From the Library of Congress. Provides access to more than seven million digital items from more than 100 historical collections, including written & spoken word, sound recordings, still & moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
• Center for the Study of Science and Technology — WWW
  A non-profit think tank located in Washington, D.C. Provides news and analysis of issues related to technology, education, and other topics.  Weekly updates available.
• ECHO: Exploring and Collecting History Online — ELECTRONIC
  A project focusing on the history of science, technology, and industry from the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Site includes reviews of related websites, a directory of online collections, and a guide to producing online history.
• H-Sci-Med-Tech — WWW
  Part of the H-Net network, this site features an active discussion list as well as reviews, job listings, and announcements.  Focus is interdisciplinary for scholars who study science, medicine, and technology across a wide variety of periods and regions of the world.
• History of Science Society — WWW
  The world’s largest society dedicated to understanding science, technology, medicine, and their interactions with society in historical context. Has over 3,000 individual and institutional members from around the world.