National History Day Research

Theme

The 2020 National History Day theme is Breaking Barriers in History. What does this mean to you? Find out more in the 2020 NHD Theme Book, (PDF), which includes multiple articles introducing sample topic ideas.

Contest Information and Dates

• District Contests
• Maryland History Day
• National History Day
• Contest Rules
• Project Category Information

Support available from Enoch Pratt Free Library / State Library Resource Center

• Attend our National History Day Research class at the Roland Park Branch on Thursday October 3, at 4 p.m. or 6.30 p.m.
• Call (410) 396-5320 or email ssh@prattlibrary.org to make a 1hr appointment at the Central Library for you or your team. A member of staff can help you to narrow your topic, find primary sources, get your research started, or review your final project. Appointments begin Monday September 16.
• Request a visit for your class. Library staff can come to your classroom, or you can bring your class to the library to review sources or learn about research.
• Connect with a librarian 24/7 through the Maryland AskUsNow! chat-reference service.

State Library Resource Center Resources

• Contact State Library Resource Center departments to ask about their unique resources and special collections
• Find articles in our collection from Periodicals and Newspapers
• Use your library card to access SAILOR databases including Heritage Quest, History Reference Center, and Explora
• Visit the Pratt Library to access journal articles and book reviews in J-STOR
• Use your library card to access articles from historic newspapers
• Review our History web-guides, including several primary source guides

Online Primary Source Collections

• American History Research Guide - University of Vermont Libraries
• African History Primary Sources - Bowdoin College
• African Studies and African History - Georgetown University
• British History Online - Institute of Historical Research
• Calisphere - University of California
• Canadian History - History Education Network
• Chronicling America - Library of Congress
• Connecting to the Past - Ohio State University
• Digital History - University of Houston
• Digital Maryland - State Library Resource Center
• Discovering American Women's History Online - Middle Tennessee State University
• DocsTeach - National Archives
• Documents for the Classroom - Maryland State Archives
• Eurodocs - Brigham Young University
• European History Primary Sources - European University Institute
• Latin American History - Johns Hopkins University
• Library of Congress Digital Collections
• Making of America - University of Michigan
• 100 Milestone Documents - National Archives
• Online Resources - Maryland Historical Society
• Teaching with Primary Sources - MPT / Thinkport
• Trove - National Library of Australia

Contact Other Local Institutions

• County Historical Societies in Maryland
• Library of Congress
• Maryland Historical Society Student Research Center
• Museums in Maryland
• National Archives
• Smithsonian Institution Museums