Finding Books

For books at OU: use KL's Online Catalog
    Most appropriate subject headings:  Cities and Towns
                                                         Urbanization

For books at other MI libraries: use MeLCat

For books at other libraries: use WorldCat

When you find and retrieve a book that suits your research needs, be sure to browse the titles of other books found near your book, as these may also be helpful.

Journal Article Databases

   America: History and Life

A bibliography of articles, book reviews, and dissertations dealing with the history of the United States and Canada.

JSTOR

A database of hundreds of full-image journals in a variety of subject areas, including history and anthropology. Coverage of most journals extends back to the journal's first issue (sometimes in the 1800s) up to, but not including the last few years.

Project Muse

A database of over 100 full-text journals in the humanities and social sciences. Coverage extends back to the last few years.

History Cooperative

Contains full-text articles from 25 history journals for the past few years.

Humanities Abstracts

Selective collection of high-impact humanities journals, some of which are full-text.

Academic OneFile

Lists periodical citations, and includes some full text. Coverage is from 1980-present. Also includes selections from encyclopedias and other reference books for some topics.

Citation Searching

A very effective research strategy is to consult the reference lists and bibliographies of books and journal articles that you find; these bibliographies should help you identify other valuable materials on your topic. Your next step is to determine whether KL owns that book or journal article.

e.g.: Suppose you find the following citation in the bibliography of a book or article you're reading:

Morgan, Kenneth. "Robert Dinwiddie's Reports on the British American Colonies.". William and Mary Quarterly. 65.2 (2008): 305-346

Check to see if KL owns this journal (William and Mary Quarterly) by searching the Library Catalog. (Be sure to perform a Journal Title search using the title of the journal —William and Mary Quarterly — NOT the title of the article.) If Kresge Library does not have this article, you can order a copy through Interlibrary Loan.

Contact Information

Librarian:  Bill Cramer

Email:   wcramer@oakland.edu

Telephone:   (248) 370-2480

Print Reference Books

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970
    Physical copy located in Government Documents (1st floor) classified
    C3.134/2 H62/789-970; also available electronically (see library catalog).
Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Times to the Present
     Ref. HA 202.H57 2006 (v.1-5)
Michigan Manual  MICH DOC JK 5831 .A32; library has 1897/98 thru
      2007/08. Note:  Latest copy kept at reference desk. Online from
       1999/00 to 2007/08 available here.
Directory of Michigan Municipal Officials  REF JS 303 .M5 M52 no. 1

Census of Population for Michigan Cities

IN PRINT:  Volumes in the Government Documents collection (1st floor), classified C 3.223/18 for 2000 and C 3.223/11 for 1960-1990. Scattered volumes for 1940 and 1950.
ONLINE:   City-level data can be found on the U.S. Census Bureau's
 American Factfinder website.  The Historical Census Browser
gives data for all decennial censuses from 1790 through 1960, but only goes down to county level.

Useful Websites Via KL Documents Center  

SEMCOG/Southeast Michigan Council of Governments 
Useful up-to-date statistical data included by community

Home pages for some communities and counties
Under "Local Information", many provide historical information. You may also want to check the website for the public library in the community you are interested in.

Local government information is also available on the extensive University of Michigan Documents Center website

General Library Information

Ask a Librarian

Floor map of the Kresge Library

Interlibrary Loans via ILLIAD