"Our liberties we prize and our rights we will
maintain."
-- State Motto
IDENTIFYING BOOKS & OTHER LIBRARY RESOURCES
Use UNISTAR, the online catalog, to identify and locate books and other resources about Iowa history. A wide range of subject headings will lead to information about Iowa history. Useful subjects include:
Be aware that Rod Library owns many county histories, church histories, city histories, business histories, cemetery books, and plat books. Use a UNISTAR word search to find such books.
ARCHIVES & MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS
The Rod Library Special Collections and University Archives has many archives and manuscript collections related to local and state political and educational history.
Manuscript Collections
URL: http://www.uni.edu/petersog/manuscript.html
Guides to Individual Collections and Series
URL: http://www.uni.edu/petersog/collguid.html
List of Iowa County and City Histories Held in Special
Collections
URL: http://www.uni.edu/petersog/cohistory.html
Two encyclopedias give overviews of Iowa history with both short and long articles and essays.
The Encyclopedia of Iowa
UNI Ref F 621 E53 1995
Story of Iowa: The Progress of an American State
UNI Ref F 621 P55 v. 1-4
The Library collection includes a variety of both general and specialized atlases and maps on different aspects of Iowa history.
Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875
UNI Map Ref G 1430 S1 A6 1970
Illustrated Review Showing Development of the State of Iowa
UNI Map Ref G 1430 R6 1915
Fire Insurance Maps from the Sanborn Map Company Archives,
Late 19th Century to 1990. Iowa.
UNI Microfilm G 4151 G475 S3 1993 Reels 1-6
Use these book to find quick facts about the state of Iowa, the events that occurred in Iowa, and the places in which those events occurred.
Iowa Facts
UNI Ref F 616 I28 1988
Moments in Iowa History
UNI Ref F 621 F56 1997
A History of Iowa
UNI Ref F 621 S15
Discovering Historic Iowa
UNI Ref F 619.3 P72 1975
Iowa Labor History Oral Project Index
UNI Reference HD 8083 I8I58 2003
Indexes oral history interviews of the Iowa Labor Collection at the State
Historical Society of Iowa.
Outside In: African-American History in Iowa 1838-2000
UNI Ref E 185.93 .I64O98 2001
The Iowa Quick-Fact Book
UNI Ref F 619.3 .I73 1991
Chronology & Documentary Handbook of the State of Iowa
UNI Ref F 621 .C57
These books identify books, articles, and other resources relating to the history of Iowa.
Bibliography of American County Histories
UNI Ref Z 1250 F54 1985
Literature of Pioneer Life in Iowa
UNI Ref Z 1283 M92
Iowa History and Culture
UNI Ref Z 1283 D38 1989
Iowa History Reference Guide
UNI Ref Z 1283 P46 1952
Iowa and Some Iowans
UNI Ref Z 1283 I66 1988
These print resources will give much useful information on Iowans past and present.
Iowa Biographical Dictionary
UNI Ref CT 234 I59 1996
The Blue Book of Iowa Women
UNI Ref F 620 R33
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
UNI Index/Abstract CT 100 B475
Available through the
Rod Library home page.
Select this
title from the
Databases A-Z listing
under Journals and Magazines (Panther Prowler).
Historical census information comes in two formats: raw census schedules and public reports. The raw census schedules contain information about specific individuals. The public reports contain demographic information about geographic areas.
Census, 1840-1920, Iowa
UNI Microfilm HA 371.5
The raw census schedules on microfilm contain information specific to individuals. These schedules are released 72 years after each census. For the 1880, 1900, and 1920 censuses, there is an index/soundex to individuals which helps researchers locate individuals when they know a geographic location of a person but not the exact spelling of that person's name. For 1890, there are no raw census schedules available, as most of this census was destroyed in a fire.
Data available from these schedules varies from year to year, and may include such items as name and age, number of years in the U.S., marital status, whether a convict, birthplace of parents, and number of children born.
Census of the United States
UNI Docs Ref C 3.15:
Library has 1790-1960
UNI Docs Ref C 3.223:
Library has 1970-1990
Iowa was included in the U.S. Census beginning in 1840. Each of the public reports from the early censuses lists data by state. To find information about Iowa, first locate the year of interest. Then locate the report of interest. Reports include: population, race, age, nationality, occupation, agriculture, mining, manufactures, education, and many more.
Historical information about the University of Northern Iowa is readily available at the Rod Library.
UNI Historical Information
http://www.uni.edu/petersog/homehistorical.html
Fifty Years at the Teachers College
UNI Ref LD 2587 W7
The First 75 Years
UNI Ref LD 2587 H3
A Century of Leadership and Service
UNI Ref LD 2587 L36 1990
IDENTIFYING JOURNAL AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Articles published in scholarly journals, popular magazines, and
newspapers on Iowa history are indexed in numerous print and electronic indexes and abstracts.
To search the electronic indexes available through the Rod Library
Web page,
America: History and Life
Rod Library
Databases A-Z
UNI Index/Abstract E 171 A4
Library has: 1954-
JSTOR
Rod Library
Databases A-Z
Covers Humanities as well as Arts and Sciences.
The Historical New York Times (via ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest))
Digitized newspaper articles from the New York Times
1851-2003. After going to ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest), select News - The
Historical New York Times from the drop down menu of databases.
The History
Cooperative
Rod Library
Databases A-Z
Product of a collaboration by American Historical Association, the Organization
of American Historians, the University of Illinois Press, and the National
Academy Press to provide "online historical scholarship."
Des Moines Register Index
UNI Index/Abstract Card File
Library has: September 1965-June 1976
Des
Moines Register Index to card file
UNI Index/Abstract AI 21 D45
Library has: June 1975-June 1987
UNI Reference Microfiche
Library has: 1986-June 1992
UNI CD-ROM Network
Library has: 1991-
Des Moines Register on NewsBank
(full text articles)
1999-
IndexUNI
URL: http://www.library.uni.edu/indexuni/
Provides citations to publications from UNI.
New York Times Index
UNI Index/Abstract AI 21 N44
Library has: 1851-
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
1983-present
Rod Library
Databases A-Z
UNI Index/Abstract AI 3 R48
Library has: 1901-
Index to the Waterloo Courier
UNI Index/Abstract AI 21 W37
Library has: 1974-1991
REPRESENTATIVE PERIODICALS IN IOWA HISTORY
Periodicals in Iowa history may be found in UNISTAR. The following periodicals have Iowa history as their main focus.
Annals of Iowa
UNI Periodicals F 616 A66 (1863-)
Iowa Heritage Illustrated
UNI Periodicals F 616 P16 (1996-)
Iowa Historical Record
UNI Compact Periodicals F 616 I57 (1885-1902)
(Continued by Iowa Journal of History and Politics)
Iowa Journal of History
UNI Compact Periodicals F 616 I58
(Continues Iowa Journal of History and Politics)
Iowa Journal of History and Politics
UNI Compact Periodicals F 616 I58 (1903-1948)
(Continues Iowa Historical Record)
(Continued by Iowa Journal of History)
Iowa Natural Heritage (natural history of Iowa)
UNI Periodicals QH 1 I575 (1996-)
Iowan
UNI Periodicals F 616 I82 (1952/53-)
Palimpsest
(UNI Periodicals and Compact Periodicals F616 P16 1920-1995)
(Continued by Iowa Heritage Illustrated)
Explorations in Iowa History
URL:
http://www.uni.edu/iowahist/
From Native Prairie to Present: Our Agricultural Heritage
URL:
http://www.campsilos.org/index.htm
Historical Tour of Black Hawk County
URL: http://www.cedarnet.org/tour/
Iowa Digital Library
URL: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/
Iowa Heritage Digital Collection
URL:
http://iowaheritage.org/cdm4/collections.php
Iowa History Project
URL: http://iagenweb.org/history/
Iowa Legislature Heritage Digital Collections
URL:
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/heritage/
Iowa Timeline of State History
URL:
http://www.shgresources.com/ia/timeline/
ISU County Histories Collection
URL:
http://ddr.lib.drake.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/isu-ch
Kinyon Digital Library
URL: http://www.kinyon.com/iowa/
State Historical Society of Iowa
URL: http://www.iowahistory.org/cultural/index.html
Library | MyUNIverse |
Calendar | Email |
WebCT | My
Library | Contact Us |
Site Index | UNI
Copyright © 1997-2008 Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa, 1227 W. 27th St., Cedar Falls, IA 50613-3675 Tel. (319) 273-2838 | FAX (319) 273-2913 | TTY (319) 273-7299 http://www.library.uni.edu/instruction/guides/historyiowa.shtml Last updated: Thursday, Aug 14, 2008 |
Last Revised: 16 May 2007 CK.
UNI is an equal opportunity educator and employer with a comprehensive plan for
affirmative action.