History - Oregon: Getting Started
Featured Titles
Chosen Country by ISBN: 9781250169129Publication Date: 2018-05-22Probably the best single book on the take over of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge by the Bundy family and their supporters.
The Only Woman in the Room by ISBN: 9780870718953Publication Date: 2017-05-15Paulus was a major figure in mid-20th century Oregon politics, and came darn close to being governor. This book is based on tapes she made before her death.
Thunder in the Mountains by Call Number: Cascade Library 979.5004 S52t 2017ISBN: 9780393239416Publication Date: 2017-04-04The tragedy of the Nez Perce War of 1877 is examined through the actions of Tribal Chief Joseph and Army General O.O. Howard. (Howard was living in Portland when the war began.) Very interesting. Among other things the Nez Perce passed through Yellowstone National Park, and went shopping at stores while on their journey.
Catalog Searches
Oregon Historical Quarterly
Online full-text articles from the Oregon Historical Quarterly, 1926 to the present through the JSTOR database. After you connect, login through the Portland Community College link, and the articles will be free.
If the table of contents doesn't work for you, the more detailed Oregon Historical Quarterly Index, 1981-present (which will give you the names of people and events in these articles) will be your next step. You can use the Ctrl-F feature of your web browser search for a specific word. Be careful here. A mention of a name or event doesn't mean the article that has that name or event is in any way about that person or event.
PCC Library also has printed indexes to The Oregon Historical Quarterly, from 1900 - 1980. You will need to come to the library to see them.
Check out paper copies of Oregon Historical Quarterly from PCC Library.
Guides and Indexes to Oregon Publications
Search the Oregon Newspaper Index which indexes over 845,000 articles in the Oregonian newspaper from 1851-1987. This index is maintained by the University of Oregon.
The OREGON INDEX is a list of over 700,000 file cards, listing articles and publications that had information related to Oregon. It started in the early 20th century and continued into the 1980s, when it was computerized. (See below for that.) The Oregon State Library has made a searchable scan of those 700,000 cards, which you can find at https://digital.osl.state.or.us/islandora/object/osl:or_index
The index tells you where these articles can be found...you will have to track down the publications after talking to a librarian on how to do it.
Other Indexes:
Oregon Index 1985-2004 (Made by the State Library of Oregon) This is the continuation of the paper version. Many publications, some of them national. Coverage varies from publication to publication, but there is nothing else like this for Oregon History.
Oregon Newspaper Index (Made by the University of Oregon)
Includes indexes of the Oregonian (1900-1979 – slightly different coverage than the Oregon Index), the Eugene Register Guard (1963 – 2004) and the Oregon Daily Emerald (campus newspaper, 1900-1979).
Corvallis Gazette-Times Index (Made by the Corvallis Benton County Library)
Obituaries, articles, letters to the editor, and other notable news from 7-1-1969 through 11-30-1999.
Suggested Databases
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull text of over 1000 scholarly journals in the arts and sciences, from their earliest issues up to 3-5 years ago. Does not include current issues of the journals. Video tutorials are available.
- EBSCOhost This link opens in a new windowSearch from a wide range of research databases for magazine and journal articles. Updated daily. View the EBSCOhost handout
Mobile URL: EBSCOhost Mobile - U.S. History (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowThis collection of over 40 journals provides balanced coverage of both current thought and events in U.S. History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field. Useful both to the novice historian and to the advanced academic researcher.
- U.S. History (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new windowA collection of full text periodicals, reference works, and primary sources as well as scholarly analyses. Images, videos, and audio recordings bring additional perspectives to United States history from pre-colonial times to the present.
