History 103/104 Prepared by Margaret Fast - Librarian for History
Library Catalog // Digital Collections // Indexes to Primary Sourcess // Early American Newspapers Before 1900 // American Newspapers After 1900 // Online Databases // Primary Sources - Archives, Manuscripts, etc. // How to get newspapers we do not have (via Interlibrary Loan - -ILL)
Library CatalogSearch the Library Catalog to locate books, videos, microforms, and journals held at this library. From the Library home page, access specialized subject bibliographies and other guides; search databases which index & often provide full-text articles in journals, & newspapers, check course reserve material by class or professor's name; and request materials (articles) through Interlibrary Loan (Illiad), or (books) from Summit (the Orbis/Cascade Alliance).
Once you have identified the appropriate Library of Congress Subject Heading, you can pair that heading with specific subheadings that identify materials as primary sources.
Some of the subheadings are:
correspondence diaries early works to 1800 interviews pamphlets periodicals personal narratives
Getting Started - Background Information & Research Tips
American Decades 1900 - 1999 Ref.E169.12.A419
American Eras Ref. E169.1.A471979 1997 v.1 Early American civilizations and exploration to 1600; v. 2 The colonial era, 1600-1754; v.3The Revolutionary era, 1754-1783; v.4 Development of a nation, 1783-1815; v. 5 Westward expansion, 1800-1860; v.6 The reform era and eastern U.S. development, 1815-1850; v.7 Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1877; v. 8 Development of the industrial United States, 1878-1899.
Doing Oral History D 16.14.R57 1995
Encyclopedia of Local History Ref. E180.K25 2000 This work provides an overview of how to conduct research. It recommends aids to local & regional historians by identifying sources, how to discover trends to explore, and researching the "context" of events.
"Library Research Using Primary Sources" - U. C. Berkeley, provides strategies and resources for locating primary sources.
Using the Congressional Record - Guide to accessing & using the Congressional Record.
Primary Sources - Digital Collections
American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series 1 1760-1900 American Broadsides is a searchable full text database of 30,000 posters, proclamations, menus, advertisements, invitations, fliers, stock certificates, clipper ship sailing cards, early trade cards, bill heads, and theater and music programs that document political and cultural events, both private and civic from 1760-1900. This database was created from the collection of the American Antiquarian Society.
The American Colonist's Library "Primary source documents pertaining to early American history."
American State Papers Documents, legislative and executive, of the Congress of the United States. Available full-text and fully searchable on the American Memory (Library of Congress) website. A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation "Offers a documentary record of the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the first 20 Congresses of the U.S. (1774-1829). Additional records will be added to span the 42nd U.S. Congress." Produced by the Library of Congress Law Library.
Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy "The Avalon Project (Yale Law School) contains digital documents (pre-eighteenth century to the modern period) relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government, linking to supporting documents expressly referred to in the body of the text. Inclusion of controversial documents does not indicate endorsement of their contents nor sympathy with the ideology, doctrines, or means employed by their authors. They are included for balance and because in some cases they are by our definition a supporting document."
Documenting the American South University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "Documenting the American South is a collection of sources on Southern history, literature and culture from the colonial period through the first decades of the 20th century."
Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 1690-1876 Offers 350,000 fully searchable issues from over 700 historical American newspapers from 23 states and the District of Columbia, focusing largely on the 18th and early 19th centuries. Foreign Relations of the United States (State Department) 1863-1958 Contains the official correspondence between the State Department and its embassies and other governments. We also have the set in paper from 1933-1976, call number JX233.A3
A Hypertext on American History "The main body of this hypertext comes from: An Outline of American History, An Outline of the American Economy, An Outline of American Government, and An Outline of American Literature.
AMERICAN MEMORY: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library" (Library of Congress)
Making of America includes "a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. It is comprised of two sites, one developed at the University of Michigan, the other at Cornell university.
The Making of America at U Michigan includes "approximately 1,600 books and journals with imprints primarily between 1850 - 1877" which represent "a significant body of primary sources related to development of the U.S. infrastructure." The Making of America The Cornell MOA site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints, primarily between 1840 - 1900." .
National Archives and Records Administration "Includes documents of our government -- the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, and other important documents."
Nineteenth Century Documents Project "A text-based, content-rich collection of transcribed primary texts focusing on the causes, events, and debates preceding the US Civil War."
Northwest Digital Archives "NWDA provides access to descriptions of primary sources in the Northwestern United States, including correspondence, diaries, or photographs. Digital reproductions of primary sources are available in some cases."
Old Magazine Articles
Public papers of the presidents of the United States. (1929 - ) "Contains the public messages, speeches, and statements of Presidents." Rutgers History - American and British: Full-text Documents by Period
Full Text On-Line Magazines, Books, Documents pre 1920s
Indexes to Primary Sources at Western
Article Databases
Access World News: United States
America: History and Life (1964 - ) is a bibliographic database indexing scholarly literature on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present. The scope includes citations and abstracts of journal articles, dissertations, as well as book and media reviews.
Contemporary Women's Issues (1992-) provides full text access to global, interdisciplinary information on women, found within journals, newsletters, and research reports from non-profit, governmental, and international agencies.
CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals Index) (1988-) Contains full-text or abstracts from more than 400 Canadian and international publications, and the full-text of selected sections of The Globe and Mail newspaper. Also available in print, Ref. AI3 .C243.
EBSCO - Academic Search Complete
Global NewsBank (1996 - ) News articles covering politics, economics, culture, business, science, technology and the environment from Africa, Asia, Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Pacific Rim, Central and South America, and the Middle East. All articles are in English and are from over 1000 translated broadcasts, news agency transmissions, wire services, newspapers, magazines and government documents."
GPO Monthly Catalog (1976-) indexes congressional committee reports and hearings, debates, documents from executive departments, and more. Retrospective coverage by the print edition of the Monthly Catalog of Government Publications from 1900 to date is available in Government Information, Haggard 2.
JSTOR has digitized complete backfiles of core scholarly journals across the disciplines.
PAIS International-Public Affairs Information Service (1972-) contains over 400,000 references to and in any cases abstracts of articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories. Includes: PAIS Bulletin (1976-90), PAIS Foreign Language Index (1972-90), PAIS International In Print 1991-), and Directory of Periodicals/Publishers (1990). Ref. HB1.A1 P823.
Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890 - 1982) contains comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States and reflects the history of 20th century America.
Primary Sources in American History (archives, manuscripts, etc.)
Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives. Ref. E185.N49 1984
The Confederacy: A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America. CD3047.B4 1986 Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the United States. Ref. CD3020.D49 1988
Encyclopedia of American Parties, Campaigns, and Elections. Ref. JK9.B56 1999
Guide to Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War. CD3047.M8
Guide to the Manuscript Materials for the History of the United States to 1783, in the British Museum, in Minor London Archives, and in the Libraries of Oxford and Cambridge. CD1048.U5 A55 1965
A Guide to Manuscripts in the Presidential Libraries. CD3029.82 .B87 1985
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. Ref. Z1033.M3 N3
New York Public Library African American Desk Reference. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Ref. E185.N49 1999
Oral History Index: An International Directory of Oral History Interviews. Ref. D16.O74 1990
Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 Microfilm E 3 U54p reels 1-204
Select Documents Illustrative of the History of the United States, 1776-1861. E173.M13
Women's History Sources: A Guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States. Ref. HQ1410.W65
How to get articles from newspapers we do not have (via Interlibrary Loan - -ILL)
Interlibrary Loan can retrieve newspapers on microfilm for users. Often researchers need a broader overview of an ongoing story or event - -requiring one to request a broader date range. When that is the case, specific information (author, specific date, article title) is not required for ILL.
What is required is the title of the paper, publication location (if possible) and the range of dates needed. Submit using the ILLiad Microform request form, & enter information - example: Chicago Daily News (May 1 – June 17, 1963). Any further information the user wishes to supply should be put in the Notes field.
A few things to remember about newspapers on microfilm:
Give yourself lots of lead time. Most libraries limit the number of film reels they will supply at one time to 6 or less. Requesting long date ranges often requires repeated requesting – submitting a new request for the remaining dates when the loaned reels are returned. There can be anywhere from a couple of weeks to years on a reel depending on the size of the paper and where it was microfilmed, it is always advisable to provide the complete date range in the request – you never know.
Good resources which help locate newspaper holdings in other libraries are:
WorldCat
1991 Washington State Library Publication Washington State Union List of Newspapers on Microfilm Ref. PN4897.W3 W36 1991, which includes many papers from outside our state held at WA libraries.
Newspapers On Microfilm Ref. PN4731 .U53
Newspapers In Microform: Foreign Countries, 1948-1972 Ref. PN4731 .U53 While very out of date, these can help identify papers – especially older ones - that have been filmed and give some idea of which years might be available and which libraries owns them.
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updated July 25, 2008updated & maintained by R. Adcox(c) All rights reserved.