LibGuides: Creative Writing: Time Period


Library Research Guides

Dates and Time

Dates

Calendar Converter
Not using the Georgian Calendar (the most widely used civil calendar today)? This site will help you convert dates into a variety of calendars (Julian, Hebrew, Islamic, etc.).
The Change from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar
Lists when various countries made the switch, also includes helpful links to the two different calendar systems.
Day of the Week Calculator
Use if you have a specific date and want to find out on what day of the week it fell.
What is the day of the week, given any date?
Similar to the Day of the Week Calculator, but explains the math, too, so you can do it yourself.

Time

timeanddate.com
Includes World Clock, Time Zones, and Time Zone Computer.

Newspaper and magazine articles

Historic

Boston Globe Historical This link opens in a new window
Full Text of the back issues of the Boston Globe from 1872 to 1982
Chicago Defender Historical This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the African American newspaper, Chicago Defender, from 1910 to 1975.
Chicago Tribune Historical This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the Chicago Tribune from 1849 to 1970.
Illustrated London News This link opens in a new window
Includes a full run of the illustrated newspaper, 1842-2003, including specials and presentation pieces.
Los Angeles Times Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the Los Angeles TImes from 1881 to 1990.
New York Times Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the New York Times from 1851 to 2010.
Eight Centuries This link opens in a new window
A collection of periodical indexes created in the nineteenth century. Includes: Index to the New York Times (1863-1905); Index to Harper's Magazine (1880-1905); Poole's Index to Periodical Literature (1802-1906); Stead's Index to Periodical Literature (the "British Poole's") (1890-1902); Index to the New York Daily Tribune 1875-1906; Descriptive catalog of the government publications of the U. S. (1774-1881).
Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing to older popular magazines published in the United States and Canada.
Springfield Republican Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
Back issues of the Springfield Republican from 1844 to 1946.
Sunday Times (London) This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of the Sunday Times (London) from 1822 to 2006.
Times of India (Historical Archive) This link opens in a new window
Full text of back issues of The Times of India from 1838-2005
Times London (The Times London) This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of The Times (London) from 1785 to 2010.
Washington Post Historical This link opens in a new window
Full text of the back issues of The Washington Post from 1877 to 1997.

Mount Holyoke College Student Newspaper Collection
(1891 - April 2017) The title of the student paper has changed over time from The Mount Holyoke to The Mount Holyoke News to Choragos to The Mount Holyoke News. Tip: This digital collection is still a work in progress. Currently you can only search by keyword, not by date. However, it is possible to sort by date issued and browse in chronological order.

Contemporary

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Indexes popular as well as academic magazines and journals.
Boston Globe (1980-present) This link opens in a new window
Recent issues of the Boston Globe.
Chicago Tribune (1985-present) This link opens in a new window
Recent issues of the Chicago Tribune
Los Angeles Times (1985-present) This link opens in a new window
Recent Issues of the Los Angeles Times.
New York Times - All Years (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Access to the New York Times for all available years via ProQuest.
Massachusetts Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full text of recent issues of Western Massachusetts newspapers including the Springfield Republican and the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The Mount Holyoke News
Online edition of The Mount Holyoke News

National Newspapers - U.S. Newsstream This link opens in a new window
Recent issues of leading US newspapers, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites in active full-text format.
Washington Post (The Washington Post) - All Years This link opens in a new window
Access to a combined database of all available years of the Washington Post. Coverage: Approximately 1877-present.

Find even more on our News Sources guide!

History reference works

Dictionary of American History by Stanley I. Kutler
Call Number: Main Library Reference E174 .D52 2003
ISBN: 0684805332
Publication Date: 2002-12-11
The Oxford Companion to United States History by Paul S. Boyer (Editor)
Call Number: Main Library Reference E174 .O94 2001
ISBN: 0195082095
Publication Date: 2001-07-04
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History by Mary Kupiec (Editor); Peter W. Williams (Editor); Mary K. Cayton (Editor)
Call Number: Main Library Reference E174 .E58 1993
ISBN: 0684805618
Publication Date: 2001-03-26
The Reader's Companion to American History by Eric Foner (Editor); John A. Garraty (Editor)
Call Number: Main Library Reference E174 .R43 1991
ISBN: 0395513723
Publication Date: 1991-10-21
Atlas of World History by Patrick O'Brien (Editor)
Call Number: Main Library Reference D21.5 .A89 2010
ISBN: 9780199746538
Publication Date: 2010-10-15
Oxford Reference Timelines

Book-length histories

Book-length works on a time period (historical era or even the more recent past) are a good way to get a more substantial grasp of that period. They may also suggest additional resources to check - make the author's research work for you! To find history books, search Discover. Enter the terms describing the event or period or even historic figure in which you're interested in the first search box, then use the next search box (selecting "Subject Terms") to enter the term "history."

Culture/ Pop Culture

American Popular Culture Through History series
Multivolume set covering American popular culture from The Revolutionary War Era to The 2000s. Click on title link to see a full list of volumes and their call numbers.
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History by Mary Kupiec (Editor); Peter W. Williams (Editor); Mary K. Cayton (Editor)
Call Number: Main Library Reference E169.1 .E624 2001
ISBN: 0684805618
Publication Date: 2001-03-26
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture by Solomon H. Katz (Editor); William Woys Weaver (Editor)
Call Number: Main Library Reference GT2850 .E53 2003
ISBN: 0684805685
Publication Date: 2002-12-17
Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America by Gary S. Cross
Call Number: Main Library Reference GV53 .E53 2004
ISBN: 0684312654
Publication Date: 2004-07-15
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture by Sara Pendergast (Editor); Tom Pendergast (Editor); Jim Cullen (Introduction by)
Call Number: Main Library Reference E169.1 .S764 2000
ISBN: 1558624007
Publication Date: 1999-12-01

Wikipedia
Particularly good for current popular culture.

Period photos and art

AP Newsroom This link opens in a new window
AP Newsroom contains breaking news, feature stories, photographs, graphics and audio clips produced by the AP’s network of award-winning journalists, who operate in more than 250 locations worldwide. Includes 170 years of news stories, 12 million historical and contemporary images and an extensive collection of audio clips.
ARTstor This link opens in a new window
The Artstor Digital Library provides over 1.6 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences with an accessible suite of software tools for teaching and research. You need to register (free for MHC community members) if you wish to download ArtStor images.

Google Image Search
Search images online, use advance search to specify size, color, type, and license restrictions.

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Art Online offers access to online art reference sources including Grove Art Online, Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and Oxford Companion to Western Art.

Museum web sites are also a good source of images, not just for the images themselves but also because they're good about providing information about the image, too.

Documentaries and period films

Discover This link opens in a new window
Search Discover for documentaries and period films. Limit your results by Source Type to Videos.
Search the library catalog only (enter search terms and then limit) or dozens of databases together. A great place to start your research on almost any topic.

Google Video
Searches other web video sources like YouTube and Vimeo, too.
IMDB (Internet Movie Database)
This free database is good for identifying useful films (you can even search by plot - see Advanced search for more search options) as well as getting additional information (director, producer, cast, release date, etc.) that may help you buy or borrow a copy.

AVON - Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window
Includes over 70,000 video titles spanning the widest range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more; curated for the educational experience.
Docuseek This link opens in a new window
Docuseek streams essential independent, social-issue, and environmental films to colleges and universities, providing exclusive access to content from renowned leaders in documentary film distribution. All 2000+ films are immediately available, and come with performance rights for campus viewings.
Kanopy Streaming Video This link opens in a new window
Kanopy Streaming provides full access to online video from PBS, HBO, the Criterion Collection, and much more. NOTE: MHC provides limited access to films on Kanopy; many public libraries offer broader access

Music

Audio recordings

Discover This link opens in a new window
Search Discover for audio recordings. Limit your results by Source Type to Audio.
Search the library catalog only (enter search terms and then limit) or dozens of databases together. A great place to start your research on almost any topic.
Classical Music Library
Classical music for streaming from the Middle Ages to the present. Audio recording, often with album liner notes for additional information.
Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window
The Naxos Music Library is a huge online collection of classical music, historical recordings, jazz, world, folk and Chinese music for streaming. All members of the MHC community have access and are invited to listen the great albums there, whether for academic work or just for fun. Browse and listen online without logging in, or create an individual account on the website to make playlists, tag favorites, and access music on your phone via the android or iphone app.

YouTube
YouTube is another good source of music. Search on artist or song name.

Lyrics

10 Sites to Check Songs Lyrics for Free
Tip: Many of these sites contain user-submitted lyrics and not everyone hears the same words! For maxium accuracy, check more than one sites to make sure the results corroborate each other.