Databases & eBooks

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America's News: Historical and Current

Includes full-text articles from the Richmond Times-Dispatch (1985–current)*, digital issues of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (1903–1986), as well as digital issues (2018–current) for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bristol Herald Courier, Culpeper Star Exponent…

American Historical Periodicals from the American Antiquarian Society (series 1–5)

A collection of periodical titles which date from the colonial period to the start of the twentieth century. Early titles focus on colonial life with later issues providing coverage of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, as well as documenting the second Industrial…

American History Collection: Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America Digital Edition

Includes all of the contents of the twenty-two-volume letterpress edition from Johns Hopkins University Press.

American History Collection: Founders Early Access

Freely available unpublished letters and other documents from the nation's founders.

American History Collection: Papers of George Washington Digital Edition

Provides the complete contents of The Papers released to date: the Colonial Series (1748–1775), Revolutionary War Series (1775–1783), Confederation Series (1784–1788), Presidential Series (1788–1797), Retirement Series (1797–1799) and the complete…

American History Collection: Papers of James Madison Digital Edition

Contains the complete contents of the print edition: the Congressional Series (1751–1801), Secretary of State Series (1801–1806), Presidential Series (1809–1817), and Retirement Series (1817–1828).

American History Collection: Papers of James Monroe Digital Edition

Includes the Documentary History of the Presidential Tours of James Monroe, 1817–1819 and Selected Correspondence and Papers, 1776–Feb. 1817, with 3 additional volumes to follow.

American History Collection: Papers of John Marshall Digital Edition

Provides the complete contents of the print edition: Correspondence and Papers (1775–1800), Selected Law Cases (1784–1800), and Correspondence, Papers, and Selected Judicial Opinions (1800–1835).

American History Collection: Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition

Provides volumes 1-45 of the Main Series (1760–March 1805), volumes 1-18 of the Retirement Series (1809–Sept. 1822), and volumes 1 and 2 of the Memorandum Books (a look at the daily life of Jefferson).

American History Collection: Papers of Woodrow Wilson Digital Edition

Includes the complete contents of the letterpress edition, volumes 1 to 69 (1856–1924).

American History Collection: People of the Founding Era, a Biographical Resource

Provides biographical information for men and women born between 1713 and 1815, drawn from the digitized papers of the Founding Fathers and other documentary editions of the Founding Era collection.

American Periodicals

Searchable digital images of over 1,100 periodicals published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and many other historically-significant periodicals.

Ancestry for Virginians

Free access to select Ancestry.com materials from the Library of Virginia's collections. Available to Virginia residents who are authenticated using GeoIP validation. Users may need to enable geolocation services on their browser to gain access. Please note:…

AncestryInstitution

Access to census records, family trees, vital records, historical maps, immigration records, city directories, military records, and much more. Free remote access to select Ancestry.com materials from the Library of Virginia collections is available to Virginia residents…

Antique Map Price Record

Includes the most up-to-date information on the antique maps market, compiled from the offerings of dealer and auction catalogs.

Archival Resources of the Virginias

Database of finding aids with descriptions of manuscript and archival collections held by Virginia and West Virginia universities, colleges, libraries, historical societies and museums.

Archive Grid

Tool for discovering archival materials such as historical documents, personal papers, and family histories located in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies worldwide.

ArticleFirst (via FirstSearch)

Citations for articles listed in the table of contents of journals covering a wide variety of subjects (1990–current).

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Biography and Genealogy Master Index

An index to reference works that contain multiple biographies such as biographical dictionaries, who’s who publications, subject encyclopedias, and literary criticism volumes.

Books in Print

Allows users to determine the publication status of U.S. books, ebooks, audio books, video, and multimedia titles. Users can also create lists of titles using various criteria such as awards won, format, audience category, review sources, and much more.

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Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Searchable database of historical U.S. newspapers from nearly every state and territory in the United States published through 1963.

Civil War in Words and Deeds

Regimental histories and first-person accounts compiled in the postwar period and early 20th century which chronicle the highs and lows of army life from 1861 through 1865. This collection comprises, in its entirety, the microfilm collection Travels in the…

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Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867–1970

Historical Virginia fire insurance maps that are in black and white and searchable by city or town. They include information such as building outline, size and shape, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries, and property numbers. Details on…

Documenting the American South

A digital publishing initiative, sponsored by UNC libraries, that provides access to primary materials related to southern history, literature, and culture. There are 16 thematic collections including “Oral Histories of the American South,” "The Southern Homefront…

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Encyclopedia Virginia

Topical and biographical entries about the history and culture of Virginia. Entries are accompanied by primary documents and media objects, including images, audio and visual clips, and virtual tours of historic sites.

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FamilySearch

Provides the largest collection of freely available digitized genealogical records in the world, and is international in scope. All users must create a free account and log in to be able to view items. Please note: The Library of Virginia is a FamilySearch affiliate…

FIMo (Fire Insurance Maps Online)

Historical Virginia fire insurance maps and real estate atlases that are in color and searchable by address, place name, or geographic coordinates. High definition, color and gray-scale images display important historical details such as construction materials which…

fold3 Library Edition

Military records from the Civil War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican American and Early Indian wars, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. Also provides access to some non-military record collections.

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Gale Legal Forms

Provides Virginia legal forms for divorce, wills and estates, real estate, bankruptcy, landlord tenant, power of attorney, name change, business incorporation and more. Forms must be downloaded for use.

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HarpWeek (1857–1912)

A fully-indexed and keyword searchable electronic archive of the news and literary journal Harper's Weekly.

HathiTrust Digital Library

A repository of digital content that includes books, journals, and serials. Provides full-text access to public domain and open access items.

HeinOnline Social Justice Suite

Provides access to 4 databases: Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture, and Law; LGBTQ+ Rights; Civil Rights and Social Justice; and Gun Regulation and Legislation in America. …

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Indigenous Peoples of North America

Archival and published resources regarding the history of American Indian tribes (1500s to 1900s) and the Indians Rights Association (1882-1986), the first organization to advocate for Native American rights. Includes collections from American and Canadian…

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JobNow

Provides assistance with career selection, resume creation, and job search strategies and interviews. Includes practice tests such as GED, SAT, PSAT, ASVAB, and many more. Also provides computer software lessons, U.S. Citizenship test prep, ESL support and…

JSTOR

Full-text archives of over 1,000 leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as open access monographs.

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Magzter Library

A wide selection of digital magazines and newspapers in multiple languages that can be accessed on mobile devices, tablets, and computers. Android and iOS users can download the Magzter Library app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

MasterFile Complete

Full-text magazines, reference books and primary source documents, as well as an extensive image collection containing photos, maps and flags.

Mergent Market Atlas (formerly Mergent Online)

Covers over 50,000 U.S. and foreign public companies and includes a description of each firm, statistics, financial information and ratios, annual reports, SEC filings, mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, long-term debt,  capital stock, and institutional…