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Getting Started
One place to start is California History Research Guides from the California State Library. You can use these guides to help you choose a geographic location (see local history guides by county or by city) or to think about a specific topic or community that might be connected to your area of interest (see general topic guides). From there, the guides can help you locate sources for your research.
Another great resource is Calisphere, which provides access to digital collections from across California's libraries, archives, and museums.
Academic Articles and Books
In the CTW 1 Library Tutorial, you learned how to use the articles tab on the library homepage to find articles on a topic. Here's a video reminding you how to do that.
You might also like to browse the journal, California History or search in one of the databases below to find information about your topic:
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California History (Journal)California History is the premier journal of historical writing on California. Showcasing exceptional scholarship, engaging writing, and innovative research, California History is essential reading for students and scholars of the history of California and the West, as well as California residents curious to understand the imprint of the state’s rich past.
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America: History and Life with Full Text This link opens in a new windowThis database provides articles, books, book reviews, and dissertations on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present, and publication dates go from the late 19th century to the present.
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Diversity Collection This link opens in a new windowThis database provides access to three full-text databases, GenderWatch, Ethnic NewsWatch, and Alt-PressWatch.
In the tutorial, you also learned how to use the books tab on the library homepage to find books on a topic. Here's a video reminding you how to do that.
The library has resources on a huge range of California history topics, so if you can't find what you're looking for, please reach out to a librarian for help!
Videos
The library has streaming videos, including documentaries about California locations, topics, and histories. You can search our streaming video on the videos tab of the homepage, and here's a link to a simple search for California to give you an idea of what's available.
Newspapers
The following links are great places to find local California news from a variety of locations and time periods.
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California Digital Newspaper CollectionA repository of digitized historical California newspapers from 1846 to the present. Includes newspapers in Spanish, Japanese, Italian, German and other languages. Can be browsed by county and has text search.
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California News Sources This link opens in a new windowThis database includes articles from more than 500 news sources from around California, from 1983 to current. Includes The San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News. Updated daily.
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Los Angeles Times (1881-Present) This link opens in a new windowThis database provides full-text newspaper editions of Los Angeles Times from 1881. Coverage includes politics, society and events of the day.
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Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 This link opens in a new windowThis database provides the full text of hundreds of Hispanic American newspapers (many of them bilingual) published between 1808 - 1980. Included are newspapers from California, Texas, New Mexico, New York, and many other states.
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Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new windowThis database contains two collections: 1) A current collection (1990-present) of full- text newspapers, magazines, and journals from ethnic and minority presses. 2) A History collection (1959-1989) of full-text newspapers, magazines and journals, focusing on African American, Hispanic American, and Native American presses.
More Primary Sources
Here are a few other places you can search for other primary sources, like photos, letters, and other documents.
- SCU Digital Collections
Includes Santa Clara Mission manuscripts and sacramental records, Early California Ephemera, 1906 Earthquake and Silicon Valley, SCU in the 70s, etc. You might also want to check out these research guides from SCU Archives & Special Collections containing primary and secondary resources: The Ohlone in Santa Clara and Early California Settlers and Immigrants Resources
- California History Collections, de Saisset Museum, SCU
One exhibit, California Stories from Thámien to Santa Clara, "is the museum's permanent history exhibition that traces aspects of Ohlone heritage, Mission period history, Californio lifestyles, and early Santa Clara College events, to offer insight into the changes across Santa Clara Valley and the roots of Santa Clara University."
- Silicon Valley History Online
Gateway to the major historical resources of California's Santa Clara Valley. Includes photographs, maps, letters, postcards, manuscripts, scrapbooks, menus, programs from events, and many other materials from local libraries, archives, and museums.
- Online Archive of California
Research gateway to unique and historical materials at archives, libraries, and museums throughout California.
- Library of Congress Digital Collections
From the Library of Congress. Browse by time period or geography, or search for your topic to find items related to California.