finding relevant books through the library catalog
- Go to the library’s catalog at manatee.polarislibrary.com
- Type in your query in the Search bar. You can search by author, title, or keyword.
- On the right-hand side of the page, you will find options to narrow your search by publication date, format, author, etc. You will also see the option to narrow your search by items that are available now at each library location.
browsing the shelves
When searching the Non-Fiction section, you will find books of similar subjects grouped together using the Dewey Decimal system:
Call Numbers for Historical Research:
Manatee County History 975.962
Florida History 975.9
American History 973
Politics and Society 320s
North American History 970s
European History 940s
Asian History 950s
African History 960s
South American History 980s
Biographies 920
eaton room: local history resources
The Eaton Room collection at the Central Library contains local resources including history books on Manatee County and the local area, historical maps, local high school yearbooks, telephone book
s and city directories dating back to 1897, newspaper archives on Microfilm, census records dating back to 1830, Florida history magazines and journals, and other materials pertaining to local history.
The Historic Digital Collections features the four collections—Historic Images; Historic Interviews, Speeches & Miscellany (documents); Historic Maps; and Postcards. Each collection can be browsed and searched individually.
It also features Manatee County Neighborhood Histories.
library databases
- To access, visit the library’s website at www.mymanatee.org/library and click on the Research & Learning button. Then click on the Articles, Research & Information button. You can view databases by title or subject. Some helpful databases include:
- Academic OneFile
- HeritageQuest Online
- History Reference Center
- Literary Reference Center
- NewsBank (Florida newspapers & more)
- Sources in U.S. History: The Civil War
- U.S. History Collection
- World History Collection
other helpful websites
Florida Memory
State Library and Archives of Florida resources
Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services
List of libraries and archives that have primary sources
National Archives
Digital copies of Federal primary sources like the Constitution and military records.
Exploring Florida
Florida primary sources including documents, photos, maps, and music. Click on Floripedia for historic documents.
Library of Congress
National primary sources clustered in topics like “Harlem Renaissance” and “Woman’s Suffrage.”
Citing Primary Sources
Choose Chicago or MLA style and then your source for an explanation and example citation.