Books & eBooks
All academic eBooks will appear in your search results in the Library Catalogue. Those available through Libby are also in our Catalogue but can also be searched separately through the Libby platform, which you also need in order to access these titles.
History
The Library’s extensive collection covers all aspects of United States history from its beginnings to the present day. There are various shelfmarks covering the history of the United States but the majority of the books can be found under the shelfmark H. United States. Immediately following this section are other, more specific, shelfmarks:
H. United States, Civil War: this shelfmark covers all aspects of the American Civil War
H. United States, Congress &c.: this shelfmark includes works on the United States Congress and individual works on the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively
H. United States, Constit.: this covers constitutional history, the United States electoral system and governance (for the legislative bodies see H. United States, Congress &c.)
H. United States, Social &c.: here you will find books on economic and social history
Other shelfmarks in the general History section relevant to the United States are:
H. Alabama Question: this covers civil war history specifically regarding the naval operations of the British built CSS Alabama and the issue of Alabama Claims (damages sought by the United States against Great Britain in 1869)
H. America, Discovery of: here you will find books on early American history and exploration
H. Army, United States: this shelfmark covers military history
H. Spanish-American War: here you will find books about the war fought between the United States and Spain in 1898.
Works on indigenous people of the United States can be found in H. United States, H. United States, Social &c., but also in S. Ethnology &c.
US Government publications
H. United States, Govt. Publs. is an interesting collection of official publications from the United States Government and individual State Departments on a wide range of subjects from territorial expansion to labour rights and the rights of women and children. Many of these documents have been digitised and are freely available online or through subscriptions held by the London Library.
Foreign Relations of the United States
Message from the President of the United States to the two Houses of Congress
New York State legislature Journal of the Assembly
United States Children’s Bureau (Open Library on Internet Archive – search by author)
United States National Monetary Commission
United States Statutes at large or at this link or this link.
Biography
Works about and by presidents and key figures in United States history can be found under their names in the main Biography section.
Art
The Library holds an extensive collection of books on American artists and catalogues from major exhibitions and galleries in the United States. Books found in A. Art are shelved under art historian not artist. Works by or about individual artists are shelved throughout the art collection depending on the medium in which they work, for example books on Georgia O'Keeffe can be found in A. Painting, O'Keeffe. Books on photography can be found in A. Photography.
Literature
The Library has an extensive collection of works by major American authors. Works of fiction can be found in Fiction; poetry and criticism can be found in L. English Lit.; and plays in L. English Drama.
Other literature shelfmarks of interest are:
L. American Anthols.: this contains anthologies by American authors
L. American Indian: this shelfmark includes both primary and secondary works on the literature of indigenous writers throughout both American continents
L. American Lit., Hist. of: works on the history of American literature and works of criticism when they include three or more writers
Philology
Philology, American Languages: this shelfmark contains both instructional language books on native languages, for example: A grammar of Comanche; Navajo made easy; and works about native languages, for example: The languages of native North America.
Religion
Books on religion associated specifically with the United States can be found under the following shelfmarks:
R. American Eccles. Hist.
R. Heresies: includes works on the Amish society and on scientology and other minority religious groups in the United States
R. Mormons
R. Shakers
Books on Judaism and Jewish communities in the United States can also be found in H. Jews, general books on other religious communities in the United States can also be found in H. United States and H. United States, Social &c.
Topography and travel
The majority of the topographical and travel books on the United States can be found under the shelfmark T. America (Gen.). The collection includes travel writing, guide books and also covers the geography and archaeology of the United States and the history of individual towns and cities.
Also found in T. America (Gen.) is a collection of illustrated guide books called the American Guide Series produced by the Federal Writers’ Project under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This series covers the history, geography and culture of the individual states and others cover individual cities, regions and interstate roadways.
Three individual states are shelved separately so books primarily concerned with these states can be found under the shelfmarks: T. Alaska, T. California and T. Hawaii.
There is also a small collection of American-themed encyclopaedias – Encyclopaedia of the Great Plains; The American Midwest; New Encyclopaedia of the American West; The encyclopaedia of Chicago; Encyclopaedia of New York City, Encyclopaedia of New England.
More guide books can be found under the shelfmark Guide Books, America (North), located on the gallery in the Issue Hall.