Archives Library Information Center (ALIC)

Searchable Databases in the Library

Paid subscription databases on this web site are available at NARA terminals nationwide. NARA Only

Other users of this web site should contact their local public or university libraries to find out how they may access subscription databases.

Contents:

The NARA Library Online Catalog

  • Over 84,000 bibliographic citations
  • Strong collection in the following areas:
    • Archival administration.
    • American history and government.
    • Administrative history.
    • Biography.
    • Information management.
    • Government documents.
    • Memorials, petitions, and private relief actions of the U.S. Congress in the U.S. Serial Set.

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U.S. Serial Set Digital CollectionNARA Only
The U.S. Serial Set is a collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under directive of the Congress. It contains comprehensive and often detailed information on an extremely wide range of subjects. The LexisNexis® U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection contains hundreds of thousands of documents and over 52,000 maps, ranging from 1789 to the present.

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AncestryNARA Only
Ancestry is a subscription service offering extensive resources for researching family history including databases containing billions of digitized historical documents, message boards, educational materials, and family trees contributed by individual researchers.

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Fold3 (Formerly Footnote.com)NARA Only
Fold3 presents digitized historical documents that can be searched and browsed. The site covers a wide variety of topics, including Civil War records, Native American resources, newspapers, photographs and much more.

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ProQuest/UMI

  • Heritage Quest OnlineNARA Only
    Heritage Quest Online includes:
    • ProQuest’s Genealogy & Local History Collection of 25,000+ family and local history books.
    • Page images and corresponding indexes for the entire census, 1790-1930.
    • Selected Revolutionary War Era Pension & Bounty Land Warrant Application Files.
    • Freedman’s Bank Records, 1865-1874.
  • ProQuest Direct NARA Only
    ProQuest Direct includes:
    • Citations, abstracts, and/or full text of over 1000 newspapers and journals, including:
      • Newspaper abstracts and/or full text from 1985-
        (including the full text New York Times for the most recent 90 days).
      • Full text of the Washington Post from 1877-1989.
      • Full text of the New York Times from 1851-2002.
      • Abstracts for over 1000 journals from 1986-.
      • Full text for over 700 journals from 1992-.
  • ProQuest Obituaries NARA Only
    ProQuest Obituaries includes:
    • Page images of obituaries from several prominent newspapers from as early as 1851.
    • Notices for famous persons and ordinary people.
    • Capability of searching by name of deceased, name of any person mentioned in the obituary, and keyword.

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ALIC subscribes to the following parts of GaleNet:

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America: History & LifeNARA Only

  • This database offers access to:
    • Complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
    • 490,000 bibliographic entries for periodicals dating back to 1954.
    • Over 2,000 journals published worldwide.
  • Produced by ABC-CLIO.
  • Click on subscription access link to browse the database.
  • America: History & Life is also available to staff and researchers on CD-ROM in the library at Archives I.

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ArchivesUSA NARA Only

  • Includes:
    • Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the United States, with information on over 5,480 repositories and 132,300 collections of primary source material across the United States.
    • National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC): published since 1959, and contains over 93,100 records.
    • National Inventory of Documentary Sources - US (NIDS-US): complete indexing of over 58,600 records.
  • Distributed by ProQuest
  • Archives USA is also available to staff and researchers on CD-ROM in the library at both Archives I and Archives II.

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CIA Records Search Tool (CREST)
CREST is the name of the CIA database of declassified intelligence documents. The database, searchable by title, data, and text content, includes Directorate of Operations reports on the role of intelligence in the post WW-II period; material on the creation, organization, and role of the CIA within the U.S. Government; a collection of foreign scientific articles, ground photographs and associated reference materials; and the CIA's first release of motion picture film. This database is available in the Archives II Library (Room 3000).

An online CREST Finding Aid to research availability of CIA documents declassified and loaded onto CREST through 2008 is now available. Researchers can search by the title and date, or date span, of documents. Data for the remaining years up to the present (CREST deliveries have been ongoing) will be placed on this site at later dates.

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Ingenta (Articles)NARA Only

  • Search databases and tables of contents for FREE.
  • NARA staff: to obtain articles contact the library at 301-837-3415 or by e-mail.NARA Only
  • Others may order directly by credit card.
  • For instructions, tutorials, and other Ingenta databases see the Ingenta Home Page.

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Digital National Security Archive NARA Only

  • Contains comprehensive set of declassified government documents.
  • Covers critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century.
  • Includes glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs.
  • Documents available in PDF format.

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JSTOR NARA Only

  • Offers core journals in economics, history, political science, and sociology, as well as in other key fields in the humanities and social sciences.
  • Includes 119 titles in twenty-one disciplines.
  • Collection can be searched or browsed by discipline, title, or publisher.

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The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
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