Resources

Your Historical Toolkit

Digital & Online Resources

Start your research journey from the comfort of your dorm or home with these excellent online resources: Academic Databases: Your college or university library likely provides free access to hundreds of textbooks, journals, articles and other databases. These are essential for finding peer-reviewed articles and scholarly works on even the most obscure topics. The Internet Archive (archive.org): A wonderful place to find millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more, all digitized and preserved. It's fantastic for finding out-of-print books. Reputable Historical Blogs/Wikis: While always cross-reference, specialized blogs and meticulously cited fan-run wikis can be great starting points for identifying key figures and initial sources for a very niche subject.

Local Physical Resources

Don't forget these local institutions: Sheridan Library: Often tucked away on a basement floor, Special Collections holds unique manuscripts, rare books, and documents specific to the college and surrounding area. Call ahead to schedule an appointment! Oakville Public Library: Public libraries are often gold mines for local niche topics. They usually have historical newspapers, city directories, and photo archives that you can't find anywhere else. Oakville Historical Society & Archives: These independent organizations are dedicated to preserving the very specific history of your local area. They are an invaluable resource for truly niche local topics and their staff are usually passionate experts. Museum Research Libraries: If a local museum focuses on a certain area (e.g., maritime, industry, art), their internal research library may be open to students and offer highly specialized books and periodicals.

Club Specific Tools

As a member, you'll also get access to our shared club resources: Presentation Archive: Review successful past presentations for inspiration on structure and source citation. Research Tip Sheets: Documents created by our leadership team covering effective citation methods, interviewing techniques, and primary source verification.