Access, use, and reproduction of the electronic resources made available through the Grinnell College Libraries are governed by license agreements with publishers which may impose greater restrictions on use than does copyright law. The user is responsible for observing these agreements as well as the copyright laws of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), including the fair use guidelines that protect scholarship and research.
When accessing subscription databases from off-campus, you will be asked to sign in using your campus username and password. If you have any problems accessing library resources from off campus, please contact Rebecca Ciota or Tony Lewis.


Fully integrated and cross-searchable collection of over 135 academic dictionaries providing short-entry content, as well as many of Oxford’s encyclopedias and companions and other scholarly works.

Customized search engine for the library's print and online reference works, with some full text.
Links to newspaper Web sites from around the world, organized by country. From the Internet Public Library.

Indexes 2,000 journals published worldwide covering the history of the United States and Canada. Includes some full text. Coverage includes articles, book and media reviews, and abstracts of dissertations.


Digital repository of complete full-text backfiles of several hundred scholarly journals in the Arts & Sciences, Health & General Sciences, and Ecology & Botany, except for the most recent two to five years.

Access to the full text of approximately 350 scholarly electronic journals in the arts & humanities, social sciences, and mathematics.
Historical Newspapers and Magazines


1690-1922. Electronic editions-of-record for local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers compiled in a single database. Paid ads are excluded.


1690-1922. Full text of hundreds of early American newspapers, including titles from all of today's 50 states.



Complete online access (including advertisements) to the full text of the New York Times from 1851 to 2013. For current access, see U.S. Newsstream, LexisNexis Academic, and other sources.

Before 1000 BCE to the present. Catalog of millions of books, web resources, and other materials held in libraries worldwide, maintained by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). The best way to identify resources beyond Grinnell College's collections.




Constantly updated, AP Images provides access to millions of primary source photos from 1825 to the present. Also provides audio, video, graphics, and interactives. This database may be used for educational purposes only.
Provides information on, and access to, the digitized version of the Library of Congress' primary-source collections on American history and culture, including photographs, documents, sound recordings, and motion pictures.
Building a national preserve of documentary films about American folk or roots culture. Produced by independent filmmakers, these hard-to-find films give voice to the arts and experience of diverse American groups.

Chris Jones
Special Collections Librarian and Archivist of the College
Tel: 641-269 3364
Or, request a Library Lab. Chris will get in touch with you to set up an appointment to meet.