The two-story Randolph Campus library. View more photos of the Randolph Campus.
Library and Research
The Randolph Campus library serves all Middle and Upper School students, faculty, and staff as a resource for learning and research; promotes a culture that values diverse literary and intellectual voices; and encourages reading for pleasure.
Explore our resources below and please contact Cat Mullen, Randolph Campus Librarian, or Vicki Janisch-Tri, Randolph Campus Library Assistant, with questions or to suggest materials for the collection.
The SPA library is open every school day from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. unless otherwise posted.
- Access our catalog
- Find a book
- Access audiobooks and ebooks
- Access a database to find an article or web resource
- Request materials via Interlibrary Loan
- Class Pathfinders
- View citation management tools
- Read a newspaper or magazine
- Primary Sources
- Movies
Access our catalog
The library catalog allows you to search our print collections on both campuses, as well as discover ebooks, audiobooks and movies to which we have access.
Find a book
- Search the SPA Online Catalog to locate a book in the SPA collection.
- Search MNLink to search for materials at local public libraries.
- Search WorldCat to explore books and other materials in libraries across the world.
Access audiobooks and ebooks
for recreational reading
We have a small but growing collection of audiobooks and ebooks available via MackinVia for recreational reading. Click on this link to access our collection and login with your SPA Google credentials. If you have a mobile device you can also download an app (search for MackinVia) and access them on the go.
If you are looking for scholarly ebooks that will support your research, the following databases have significant ebook collections available
- JSTOR (PW)
- Project Muse (PW)
In order to accommodate distance learning Project Muse has opened up access to thousands of scholarly ebooks.
- EBSCOhost ebook Collection
EBSCO also has a wide selection of scholarly monographs, as well.
Access off campus passwords for these databases here.
for additional ebooks or audiobooks, the following resources are available without any library affiliation.
- Ebooks Minnesota
In this diverse collection of titles, readers will find books on a variety of educational and entertaining topics. Featuring books that were created in the great state of Minnesota, readers will enjoy titles that represent where they come from and support local publishers and writers.
- Indie Minnesota
An assortment of titles from local Minnesota authors in this exciting anthology. In this growing Indie Minnesota collection of great reads, discover mystery, romance, nonfiction, children's and young adult titles from authors right in your own state. Short story collections, serial mysteries, memoirs and fantastic literary fiction await readers of all interests and ages.
your public library is an amazing resource, too!Links to area libraries:
Access a database to find an article or web resource
SPA's collection includes access to 48 scholarly databases via ELM, a service for citizens of Minnesota, as well as 22 additional databases to which the school subscribes. View database passwords.
General
Provides wide-ranging and hard-to-locate information about the background, geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Included among the 271 geographic entries is one for the "World," which incorporates data and other information summarized where possible from the other 270 country listings.
EBSCO Host (PW)
Portal of several large EBSCO databases covering all subjects and ranging from popular magazine articles to scholarly peer-reviewed journals.
Includes general topical overviews, dictionary and thesaurus tools, and other basic reference resources.
Gale Resources in Context (PW)
Provides holistic topic perspectives by integrating a multitude of content, including: Reference articles; periodical and newspaper articles; primary sources; multimedia records, including charts, graphs, maps and tables; and video and audio content from NBC, NPR and many other respected sources.
JSTOR (PW)
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that includes full-text content of more than 1,400 academic journals, as well as thousands of primary sources.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
Primary source material including historical documents, maps, photographs and sound collections from The Library of Congress.
Opposing Viewpoints (PW)
Contains more than 700 titles covering some of today's most controversial topics. New reference content is added on an ongoing basis, and new full-text periodical and newspaper articles are added every day.
Oxford Research Encyclopedias (PW)
Developed in collaboration with international communities of scholars across all fields of study, Oxford University Press has developed new comprehensive collections of in-depth, peer-reviewed summaries on an ever-growing range of topics.
Points of View Reference Center (PW)
Pro vs. con essays that present multiple sides of current or controversial issues. Plus magazine and newspaper articles, primary sources, and more related to those issues.
Statista (PW)
Statista is a statistics/infographics portal that allows access to quantitative data, market reports, statistics and studies from a wide range of sources.
University of Minnesota Libraries
Search the University of Minnesota Libraries to identify articles and books related to your topic. Most resources can be requested via interlibrary loan.
The WDL makes it possible to discover, study, and enjoy cultural treasures and significant historical documents on one site, in a variety of ways. Content on the WDL includes books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, journals, prints and photographs, sound recordings, and films.
Presents information on foreign policy, national security and international affairs.
English
Project MUSE (only available at SPA)
Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social science content for the scholarly community. MUSE is the trusted source of complete, full-text versions of scholarly journals from many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies, with over 120 publishers currently participating. UPCC Book Collections on Project MUSE, launched in January 2012, offer top quality book-length scholarship, fully integrated with MUSE's scholarly journal content.
World Religions: Belief, Culture and Controversy (PW)
Covers religion around the globe, from prehistory to the present. Includes articles, media, visuals, statistics and timelines.
The OED is the definitive guide to the English language. Look up the meaning of over 600,000 words, discover when a word was first used, and track how its meaning may have changed over time.
History
Accessible Archives (PW)
Search 18th and 19th Century newspaper and periodical collections, including eyewitness accounts of historical events, vivid descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements, and genealogical record. Specific collections include material related to the Civil War, slavery, women's suffrage, early American county histories and more.
American History (PW)
From the explorers of the Americas to the issues of today’s headlines, investigates the people, events, and stories of the United States' evolution.
American History in Video (PW)
Includes newsreel footage, including the complete series of United Newsreel and Universal Newsreel as well as award-winning documentaries.
Daily Life Through History (PW)
International in scope, enables students and researchers to discover the everyday details about past eras that make historical accounts relevant and meaningful.
Great Events from History and Great Lives from History (PW)
Great Events and Great Lives offers a far-reaching view of history, and include worldwide coverage of important events, men and women in all areas of achievement from ancient times to the modern era.
History Study Center (PW)
Covers global history from ancient times to the present day. Contents include reference books, essays, journal articles, historical newspaper and magazine articles, maps, rare books, government documents, transcripts of historical speeches, images and video clips. Study Units offer editorially selected material on over 500 historical topics.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project (Fordham University)
Brings together collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts. From the outset the site took a very broad view of the sources that should be available to students and as well as documents long associated with a "western civilization" approach to history also provides much information on Byzantine, Islamic, Jewish, Indian, East Asian, and African history. You will also find many documents especially relevant to women's history and LGBT studies.
National Journal (PW)
Includes access to:
National Journal Daily - journalism on congressional activity, also available in print or via email newsletter
The Hotline - daily journalism on House, Senate and Gubernatorial races
The Racetracker - one-stop shop for elections. Track House, Senate and Gubernatorial races through custom dashboards. Easily pull relevant information from tracked campaigns--from polling data to campaign contributions and much more
The Almanac - congressional, federal agencies, cabinet departments and White House staff directory, profiles of elected officials, election results, committee and subcommittee information
Daybook - exportable listing of important events on and around Capitol Hill, submit your own events to be promoted, add to your calendar.
Project MUSE (only available at SPA)
Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social science content for the scholarly community. MUSE is the trusted source of complete, full-text versions of scholarly journals from many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies, with over 120 publishers currently participating. UPCC Book Collections on Project MUSE, launched in January 2012, offer top quality book-length scholarship, fully integrated with MUSE's scholarly journal content.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers (PW)
Includes: Chicago Defender (1910-1975); The Guardian (1821-2003); The Observer (1791-2003); Los Angeles Times (1881-1988); Minneapolis Tribune (1867-1922); The New York Times (1851-2008) with Index (1851-1993).
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 (PW)
Organized around the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000, this collection includes 110 document projects and archives with almost 4,200 documents and 56,000 pages of additional full-text documents. It also includes book, film, and website reviews, news from the archives, and teaching tools.
World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras (PW)
Covers early human history around the globe—from prehistoric times to the beginnings of the Renaissance. In addition to articles, it includes media, visuals and maps.
World History: The Modern Era (PW)
Covering history from the Renaissance to today. In addition to articles, it includes media, visuals and maps.
World Religions: Belief, Culture and Controversy (PW)
Covers religion around the globe, from prehistory to the present. Includes articles, media, visuals, statistics and timelines.
Science
Applied Science & Technology Source (PW)
Offers a diverse array of full-text and indexed content covering the full spectrum of the applied sciences and computing disciplines — from acoustics to aeronautics, neural networks to nuclear engineering.
GreenFile (PW)
This comprehensive resource draws on the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology. Topics covered include global climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling and more.
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition (PW)
Scholarly and professional publications across all medical disciplines including strong coverage of nursing and allied health.
Please note: This link will take you to the journal's main search interface, but will not necessarily give you access to content. The Nature Research portfolio includes journals, online databases, and services across the life, physical, chemical and applied sciences and clinical medicine. Focusing on the needs of scientists, Nature (founded in 1869) is the leading weekly, international scientific journal. In addition, for this audience, Nature Research publishes the Nature research journals and Nature Reviews journals, plus a range of prestigious academic journals including society-owned publications. Online, nature.com provides over 6 million visitors per month with access to Nature Research publications and online databases and services, including news and comment from Nature, NatureJobs plus access to Nature Education's Scitable.com. For information on Nature Research publications, online databases and services, visit the A-Z index or go to the catalog.
We also have full-text access to articles from Nature published between 1997-2015 via EBSCOhost (PW).
PubMed Central® (PMC) is a free archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM). In keeping with NLM’s legislative mandate to collect and preserve the biomedical literature, PMC serves as a digital counterpart to NLM’s extensive print journal collection. Launched in February 2000, PMC was developed and is managed by NLM’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Medicine
Alt Healthwatch (PW)
This database focuses on the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated approaches to health care and wellness. It offers libraries full text articles for more than 180 international, and often peer-reviewed journals and reports. In addition, there are hundreds of pamphlets, booklets, special reports, original research and book excerpts. Alt HealthWatch provides in-depth coverage across the full spectrum of subject areas covered by complementary and alternative medicine. This database features indexing and abstracts going back as far as 1984, and full text going back as far as 1990.
Consumer Health Complete is a comprehensive resource for consumer-oriented health content. It is designed to support patients' information needs and foster an overall understanding of health-related topics. Consumer Health Completeprovides content covering all areas of health and wellness from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated medicine. In addition, Consumer Health Complete includes the Clinical Reference System and the Lexi-PAL Drug Guide, which provides access to up-to-date, concise and clinically relevant drug monographs. The database is updated on a weekly basis.
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition (PW)
This database provides nearly 550 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition also features the Lexi-PAL Drug Guide, which covers 1,300 generic drug patient education sheets with more than 4,700 brand names.
PubMed Central PubMed Central® (PMC) is a free archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM). In keeping with NLM’s legislative mandate to collect and preserve the biomedical literature, PMC serves as a digital counterpart to NLM’s extensive print journal collection. Launched in February 2000, PMC was developed and is managed by NLM’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Business
Provides full text for more than 2,300 journals, including full text for more than 1,100
peer-reviewed business publications. This database provides full text back to 1886, and searchable cited references back to 1998, covering the areas of marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. The database also includes other sources of full text information such as country economic reports from the EIU, Global Insight, ICON Group and CountryWatch and detailed company profiles for the world's 10,000 largest companies. Additional full text, non-journal content includes market research reports, industry reports, country reports, company profiles and SWOT analyses.
eBooks
Request materials via Interlibrary Loan
Class Pathfinders
View citation management tools
Check out this guide to understanding plagiarism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Writing Center.
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is an excellent online resource for multiple citation styles, including APA, Chicago, and MLA. This resource also offers guides to writing in specific subject areas such as writing in the sciences, writing in literature, and creative writing.
SPA subscribes to Noodle Tools, a program that offers integrated tools for note-taking, outlining, citation, document archiving/annotation, and collaborative research and writing. Includes MLA, Chicago, and APA styles. Here are instructions for creating an account.
Read a newspaper or magazine
Newspapers
SPA provides digital access to the New York Times Online and the Star Tribune. Here is a link to instructions to set up your individual account for the New York Times and instructions on how to obtain digital access to the Star Tribune.
Through our New York Times subscription, we also have access to the TimesMachine, a digital archive of over 150 years of historical New York Times journalism, as it originally appeared. As long as you've made and are logged into an NYT account, you will be able to search and view these issues.
We have electronic access to the following newspapers via ProQuest Newstand. While this access is not the same as a direct subscription to the publications, articles are indexed and full-text is available. You will need a username and password to access this database at home.
- Wall Street Journal
- Washington Post
- USA Today
- New York Times
Click here to access ProQuest Newstand.
Another great resource we have access to is the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, the oldest continuously operated Black newspaper and longest-lived Black-owned business in the Twin Cities.
Magazines
We subscribe to many print magazines, which you can find in stands throughout the library.
Primary Sources
Are you wondering what a primary source is and how it's different from a secondary, or even a tertiary source? Here's a great explanation from the University of Minnesota Libraries to get you started.
Our Primary Sources Portal, below, can help you find online primary source material organized according to discipline.
Legal Documents
Digital Collections from the Library of Congress Primary source material including maps, photos, sheet music, sound collections all from Library of Congress. Focus is on United States history, but includes international topics, as well.
Selected Historic Decisions from the US Supreme Court Full-text of select Supreme Court decisions
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School – Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy Full-text documents related to US History, law, economics, politics, diplomacy & government. Provides links to supporting documents
FedWorld/FLITE U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Home Page Full-text of Supreme Court decisions between 1937 and 1975
Foreign Governments: Constitutions, Laws and Treaties Links to world government documents and other general information and other countries
Supreme Court of the United States Gives definitions of and calendars for Supreme Court proceedings
World Events
WORLD
Eurodocs Primary source material about Western Europe
EyeWitness: History Through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It Material (journals, maps, newspapers, photos) alongside brief summaries and commentaries about World History
German Propaganda Archive German propaganda (essays, posters) and materials produced for propagandists. Also provides background info about the authors
Hanover Historical Texts Project
Historical Atlas of the 20th Century Maps showing trends in government, economics, etc. Some text summaries of info are displayed in the maps
History of the United Kingdom Primary Documents History of the UK through links to primary documents. Links provide commentary, forum discussions, maps and photos
Internet Medieval Sourcebook Full-text medieval sources and links to Ancient, Medieval and Byzantine sources about Saints' lives
Middle East Peace Process Documents Middle East sources, including books, links, maps and newsletter
National Archives (UK) Teaching/learning resource tool with links to British National Archives sources
United Nations Treaty Collection
University of Texas Historical Maps Links to historical map websites
EVENT
American Slave Narratives From the Federal Writers' Project 1936-1938
Avalon Project: World War II Documents
Civil War Women--Primary Sources
Dr. Seuss Went to War (political cartoons)
Historic Government Publications of World War II
Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive
Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties
North American Slave Narratives
Personal experiences of World War I
Powers of Persuasion: Poster Art of World War II
Private Art (Letters to and from the homefront--WWII)
Oral History Archive of World War II (from Rutgers University)
Suffragists Oral History Project
They Drew Fire: Combat Artists of World War II
War Relocation Authority: Photographs of Japanese-American Relocation and Resettlement
Speeches
American Rhetoric: Online Speech Bank 5000+ full-text, audio and video(streaming) versions of public speeches, lectures and debates.
All Things Considered Archive (radio transcripts including many interviews) National Public Radio transcripts, including many interviews from 1996 to present
Conversations with History (Interviews) Video interviews from 1982 to present. Interviewees include diplomats, statesmen, and soldiers; economists and political analysts; scientists and historians; writers and foreign correspondents; activists and artists
Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World Women's speeches (text) from 1848 to present
Historical Voices Collection of audio spoken-word materials (also includes some photos) spanning the 20th Century
History and Politics Out Loud Archive of politically significant audio materials
History Channel: Speeches Audio and video speeches (Both International and U.S. speakers)
History Place: Great Speeches Collection Collection of "great" speeches from 1220 to 2005 (commercial site)
"I Do Solemnly Swear . . .": Presidential Inaugurations Collection of presidential inauguration materials from Washington to Bush
Lost and Found Sound (from NPR's All Things Considered) NPR audio collection of speeches, home recordings, etc. (Note: No search feature)
Talking History Collection of oral history materials
Vincent Voice Library Collection of spoken word recordings dating back to 1888, over 100,000 people from all walks of life
U.S. History
U.S. History
Repository of Primary Resources Links to 5,000 websites w/manuscripts, archives rare books, photos and other primary sources for research
NARA 100 Milestone Documents 100 milestone documents compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration chronicling U.S.
Ad Access Database (advertisements) Search ads from beauty and hygiene, radio, television, transportation and WWII
American Memory Collection Finder Contains historical docs, photos, maps, film and audio, sheet music, song sheets and other printed text
Census Statistics Census info on people, households, business, industry and geography. Includes features such as: "Newsroom", a special topics section and population clock
Charters of Freedom From the National Archives, includes historical docs, exhibits, presidential libraries, federal records and government docs
Chronology of US Historical Documents (U. Oklahoma) Documents ranging from pre-Colonial to the 21st Century
Conversations with History (interviews with notables) Provided by University of California, includes mix of Google video, podcasts, blogs and a radio library all focused on interviews of distinguished men and women
Emergence of Advertising in America Advertising in the U.S. from 1850-1920. Includes timeline and category search. From Duke University
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence Variety of subjects and special collections such as the U.S. Constitution and Lewis and Clark
Founders' Constitution Sponsored by the University of Chicago's "Press & Liberty" Fund; includes major themes of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and Amendments
Historically Significant Images in American History Over 500 public domain images of American political history
New York Public Library Digital Library Digitized collection of rare and unique photos, manuscripts, music, video and exhibitions
U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1873 Congressional docs
Presidents
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum
"I Do Solemnly Swear . . .": Presidential Inaugurations Collection of presidential inauguration materials from Washington to Bush
Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents (Washington to Bush)
Nixon White House Tapes History of Nixon White House tapes, audio-national archives and records administration
Presidential Debates Watch past debates and read old transcripts--can search site by candidate and debate history
Presidential Libraries Website links for all presidents, includes Presidents directory.
Maps and Images
Maps & Images
American Memory Collection (Library of Congress)
NARA ARC Basic Search (select Photographs)
American Memory Maps Collection 1500--1999
Flickr Albums of the Smithsonian Institution
Perry Castaneda Library Map Collection
Editorial Cartoons
Historical
Baldy Editorial Cartoon Database: 1946-82, 1997
America in Caricature 1765-1865
They Drew Fire: Combat Artists of World War II
Minnesota Digital Library
Modern
American Memory
Movies
Teachers can access our film streaming platform, Swank, in order to assign movies to students. For additional instruction on how to assign movies, please visit this resource.
We also have access to select movies on Kanopy.
This guide will walk you through the process of accessing movies.