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Polar Exploration: Primary Sources in the Manuscript Division

Databases

A variety of free and subscription databases may help you search and find helpful primary and secondary resources. The following curated list focuses on those databases most helpful for polar exploration and related research. Using the resources below, you can find images, scholarly articles from journals and books, newspaper articles, and more.

Open Access Databases

The Open Access databases listed below are available free of charge and can be accessed remotely as long as a you have access to internet.

See Topics in Chronicling America – The Race to the North Pole, to find historic newspaper articles about the competing polar expeditions and the resulting controversy. Search across all of Chronicling America to read additional articles about adventure and discovery.

Subscription Databases

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.