RocketSearch databases :: History and Biographies

A variety of resources are available at your fingertips if you know where to look!

Database name Description Need a library card? Part of AVL? How to access this resource

AlabamaMosaic

AlabamaMosaic is a repository of digital materials on Alabama's history, culture, places, and people. Its purpose is to make unique historical treasures from Alabama's archives, libraries, museums, universities and other repositories electronically accessible to Alabama residents as well as scholars throughout the world.  As a part of AlabamaMosaic, HMCPL is digitizing images from a collection of historic Huntsville photographs that are housed in the library's archives.

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alabamamosaic.org

Accessible to Alabama residents and to students, researchers, and the general public in other states and countries.

Annals of American History

History, society, and everyday life come into focus through a variety of articles and media. You now have access to search the 5.2 million words, graphics, and multimedia from the Annals of American History Online, including: 2,100 entries from 1493 to the present, and original source documents such as speeches, essays, biographies, and editorials.

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http://america.eb.com/ for AVL users

Biography Reference Bank

Contains biographical information on approximately half a million people, from antiquity to the present, along with thousands of images. It contains the full text of the articles from more than 100 volumes of biographical reference books published by H. W. Wilson, including all the articles from all volumes of Current Biography, the World Author Series, Nobel Prize Winners, World Artists, World Film Directors, American Reformers, and numerous biographical books on musicians and composers throughout history, as well as thousands of biographies from other respected publishers.

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[link via AVL]

Fold3 (formerly Footnote)

Search or browse nearly fifty million historical documents and photos, many of which have never been made available on the Internet before.

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Available in our library branches without a library card. Access outside library locations requires logging in with your library card number and PIN, then following the "Fold3" link on the My Account page.

History Reference Center

Features cover-to-cover full text for more than 650 historical encyclopedias and other non-fiction books. The database also includes full text for nearly 60 leading history periodicals; 58,000 historical documents; 43,000 biographies of historical figures; more than 12,000 historical photos and maps; and 87 hours of historical film and video.

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[link via AVL]

HMCPL Obituary Index

The HMCPL Obits Index is an index of all obituaries published in local papers. Visit obits.hmcpl.org to search our index and purchase print copies of obituaries for a nominal fee. An extra bonus: we cross-reference obituaries with interment sites. So, if you find an interment site of interest, you can view a list of other people buried there, and perhaps find additional people you didn't know you needed to look for.

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Visit http://obits.hmcpl.org.

Huntsville History Collection

HHC (huntsvillehistorycollection.org) is a virtual archive of resources about the history and historic architecture of Huntsville and Madison County, Alabama. The collection brings together photographs, illustrations, surveys, and history about homes, locations, and people.

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huntsvillehistorycollection.org

Available to everyone.

World Vital Records

Search billions of family history and genealogy records and access unique, exclusive local and world collections.

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Available in our library branches without a library card. Access outside library locations requires logging in with your library card number and PIN, then following the "World Vital Records" link on the My Account page.