To access ebooks and journal articles, you will be prompted for your Gettysburg College login (your user name is the start of your email address).
Use the "Sign In" link in the upper-right corner before you search to skip login requests for some resources and save/pin items.
We have a service called Interlibrary Loan that allows Gettysburg College students, faculty, and staff to borrow materials unavailable at Musselman Library from other libraries around the world. This service is fully integrated with MUSCAT Plus, the library catalog. Members of the campus community (including you!) are able to make and manage requests through their library account.
First, check to see if our library has access to the article by searching for the title in Muscat Plus. If it is available through one of our subscriptions, the article should appear in your results list and provide links to the database through which you can read the full text.
If it is unavailable through our library, change the dropdown beside the search bar to the "Search Other Libraries" option. If we are able to get it for you through Interlibrary Loan, it should appear in the results list and prompt you to "Request a digital copy." Please note that you will need to be signed in using your campus credentials in order to place these requests.
You will be notified via email when the article is available to access in your library account.
First, search our catalog, MUSCAT Plus, to see if we have an eBook copy of the title you need. You can filter to books that are available online by selecting "Online Resources" from the dropdown menu beside the search bar. If the book says Available Online, you can simply follow the link it provides instead of placing an ILL request.
Some databases that house free and legal copies of books include: Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg, and HathiTrust.
You are most likely to find a copy of a book on one of these sites if they were published before 1928, meaning they are now in the public domain. However, there may be some more recent publications depending on the copyright license, so feel free to search for your book regardless of the publication date.
If you only need a chapter of the book...
Check if we own a print copy and request that the chapter be scanned into a PDF for you by a member of our staff. To do so, sign into MUSCAT Plus, search for your book and select it in the results list, then hit "Get a scan of chapter or pages." Please enter as much information as you can (i.e. chapter title, page range). If you're not sure what chapter you want, we can send you a scan of the Table of Contents. Table of Contents are also frequently available in the preview of a book on Google Books.
If we don't own a copy or it is checked out, search WorldCat. If the book is available on this platform, select the "Gett It!" button. This will direct you to sign into your MUSCAT Plus account, then give you the option to request a book chapter scan from another institution that owns a copy.
If you want a physical copy of the whole book...
Search for the title on WorldCat to see if a public or academic library near you owns a copy. You can see the list of libraries with a copy, organized by state and name, when you select "Libraries worldwide that own item." If you see a library you know is close to you, reach out to them about borrowing their copy. As a local community member, you will most likely be able to set up an account with them and borrow items.
As a masters student at Gettysburg College, you have access to a wealth of primary sources, many of which are available online. A selection of resources are included in the following tabs.
For a full listing of available digital collections, please refer to the A-Z list of primary source digital collections.
You can locate published primary sources in MUSCAT Plus using a few methods.
1. Using an advanced keyword search, you can add an event, person, place, or other detail AND any of the words below:
diaries, correspondence, personal narratives, interviews, documents, sources
Ex: United States -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
2. On the left side of your search results, there is a filter bar. Expand the section called "Source Type," then select "Primary Sources" if it comes up as an option. If you are an online student, it will also be helpful to select the filter that says "Available Online."
Reading book reviews can be a very helpful part of identifying sources for your historiography. Databases will index reviews that appear in scholarly journals or other publications. The process below for Muscat Plus and JSTOR will be similar in other databases.
1. In Muscat Plus, search for the book title, author, or topic.
2. Once you have a set of search results, expand the Source Types filter on the left side of your screen and select Reviews.
3. The remaining results should all be reviews. Select one result and scroll down to the "Full text availability" heading. By clicking on any of the links provided there, you should be able to access the full text of the review.
1. When in JSTOR, click Advanced Search to the right of the search box.
2. Enter your terms, searching for the book title, author, or topic.
3. Under Narrow Results, mark Review in Item Types. Click Submit Advanced Search to run your search.
While dissertations and theses may be a part of your historiography, they can be challenging to access since print copies are often only held by the library at the degree-granting institution. Some recent dissertations may be available online, but it depends on the university.
As a result, we are unable to complete requests for digital scans of sections of a print dissertation or thesis via interlibrary loan.
If you're seeking a copy of a PhD dissertation or MA thesis:
