Library Guides: HIST 420G-Illinois History Research: Finding Books

Finding Books & Government Publications

Books can contain summaries of research on a particular topic, such as Roger Biles' Illinois: A History of the Land and its People, or personal narratives of events, such as Reminiscences of the Civil War by a group of men from the 103rd Illinois Infantry. Books can be found using Library online catalogs, such as WestCat and I-Share, or union catalogs such as WorldCat, an index to books, maps and other resources owned by libraries throughout the World. When searching WestCat, I-Share and WorldCat, the subject heading for Illinois History is:

Illinois--History

This phrase can be copied into a Subject Search in WestCat. Searches can be narrowed further if needed by browsing through related subjects for an appropriate subject heading.

Illinois--History
This link can be used to connect to a list of subjects on Illinois History in WestCat.
WIU Libraries: WestCat I-Share Find and Order

I-Share This link opens in a new window
I-Share provides information about library materials at over 80 academic and research libraries located throughout Illinois. All WIU Students, Faculty and Staff can set up an account to borrow materials available in other I-Share libraries. When an item in the I-Share catalog is found, users can request that it be sent to WIU or any other I-Share library at no charge..
WestCat This link opens in a new window
WestCat provides information about the books, government publications, recordings, and other library materials available in the WIU Libraries. Some of the materials are available on the shelves, while others are available online.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
WorldCat can be used to locate books, maps and other resources owned by libraries throughout the World. If WIU does not own the item, it can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.