tal Thoreau: Digital Thoreau provides tools to illuminate Thoreau’s creative process and facilitate thoughtful conversation about his words and ideas.Documenting the American South: A digital publishing initiative from the University Library at UNC Chapel Hill "that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs."


culture. Currently DocSouth includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs."Early Caribbean Digital Archive: "[A]n open access collection of pre-twentieth-century Caribbean texts, maps, and images. Texts include travel narratives, novels, poetry, natural histories, and diaries that have not been brought together before as a single collection focused on the Caribbean. Plantation slavery and settler colonialism are defining aspects of the early Caribbean—both sit at the origin of the modern capitalist world. The texts and images collected here tell the story of European imperial domination, and of the enslaved African and Indigenous American people whose lives, labor, and land shaped the culture and development of the Atlantic world. The materials in the archive are primarily authored and published by Europeans, but the ECDA aims to use digital tools to "remix" the archive and foreground the centrality and creativity of enslaved and free African, Afro-creole, and Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean world."

Digital Libraries / Regional Portals / Digitized Collections


x" the archive and foreground the centrality and creativity of enslaved and free African, Afro-creole, and Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean world."Emma Goldman Papers: "Since 1980, the Emma Goldman Papers Project at UCB has collected, organized, and edited tens of thousands of documents from around the world by and about Emma Goldman (1869-1940), a leading figure in American anarchism, feminism, and radicalism."

Freedom Summer Project: A stellar research site offering over 40,000 pages from the Wisconsin Historical Society's manuscript collections documenting the Civil Rights movement and the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964.

Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive: This site currently includes over 10 million scanned images of documents from the National Police Historical Archive. This digital archive mirrors and extends the physical archive that remains preserved in Guatemala as an important historical patrimony of the Guatemalan people.


al archive mirrors and extends the physical archive that remains preserved in Guatemala as an important historical patrimony of the Guatemalan people.Manar al-Athar: The Manar al-Athar, an open-access photo-archive based at the University of Oxford, aims to provide high resolution, searchable images, freely-downloadable for teaching, research, heritage projects, and publication. It covers buildings and art in the areas of the former Roman empire which later came under Islamic rule (e.g. Syro-Palestine/the Levant, Arabia, Egypt, and North Africa), from ca. 300 BC to the present, but especially Roman, late antique, and early Islamic art, architecture, and sacred sites.

Media History Digital Library: "[A] free online resource featuring millions of pages of books and magazines from the histories of film, broadcasting, and recorded sound ... We scan works that are no longer protected by copyright or that have been licensed to us to share with you."

Museum of Modern Art - Exhibition History: "Exhibitions from [MOMA's] founding in 1929 to the present are available online. These pages are updated continually. "


dern Art - Exhibition History: "Exhibitions from [MOMA's] founding in 1929 to the present are available online. These pages are updated continually. "New Amsterdam Stories: "A Digital Dig to Link 17th-Century Records Between Amsterdam and New York City."

New York Public Radio Archives: "Established in the year 2000, the ... [NYPRA]  provides a central repository for more than 70,000 audio recordings on nearly every format (except cylinder and wire), photographs, memorabilia, reports, news items, program guides, institutional records, and promotional materials."

98 Acres in Albany: "Drawing on government documents, oral histories, and local reporting, this blog tells the stories of the 98 acres seized by the State, before demolition and during redevelopment. It is the rough draft for a book and part of a larger project, exploring how urban renewal changed one American city."

Old Bailey Proceedings (London), 1674-1913: "A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court."


est body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court."Project Stand: Student Activism Now Documented: Project Stand brings together information about student activism archives from colleges and universities.

Rosa Parks Papers: The collection contains approximately 7,500 items in the Library of Congress's Manuscript Division and 2,500 photographs in the Prints and Photographs Division and documents Parks's "private life and public activism on behalf of civil rights for African Americans. "

Shakespeare Documented: "An online exhibition documenting Shakespeare in his own time."


c activism on behalf of civil rights for African Americans. "

Shakespeare Documented: "An online exhibition documenting Shakespeare in his own time."SNCC DIgital Gateway: A documentary website that tells the story of how young activists in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) “united with local people in the Deep South to build a grassroots movement for change that empowered the Black community and transformed the nation.”  It links to documents, photographs, oral history interviews, and audiovisual material hosted in digital collections at repositories across the country; includes organizational records of SNCC and profiles of individuals involved with SNCC; describes key events; and much more.

Staten Island Museum: Collections contain natural science specimens, archival records, and works of art and design, which represent Staten Island’s natural and cultural history across time.  The Internet Archive hosts full documents, publications, journals and maps from the SIM's archival collections.


ral and cultural history across time.  The Internet Archive hosts full documents, publications, journals and maps from the SIM's archival collections.Trials - Famous Trials: "The Web's most visited and most comprehensive collection of essays, images, maps, primary documents, links, and other materials pertaining to sixty-six of the most famous trials of all time, from Socrates to Simpson."

UN Archives Geneva: The UN Archives Geneva platform gives access to the fonds and collections managed by the United Nations Library and Archives in Geneva, including the archives of the United Nations in Geneva, the League of Nations (1919-1946), international peace movements (from 1870), and private papers.

Urban Archive: A web app that merges location data with the digital collections of museums and libraries, to make it easy to explore the history of urban environments.  Browse by city (New York City; Albany, NY; Newburgh, NY; Ogden, UT; and Cali, Columbia) or search across the platform to find to find photos, blog posts, and stories, and link back to the source collections.


Ogden, UT; and Cali, Columbia) or search across the platform to find to find photos, blog posts, and stories, and link back to the source collections.The Harry Watkins Diary Digital Edition: "Hardworking actor, playwright, and stage manager Harry Watkins (1825–94) was a prolific diarist. For fifteen years (1845–60), Watkins regularly recorded the plays he saw, the roles he performed, the books he read, and his impressions of current events.  ... His is the only known diary of substantial length and scope written by a U.S. actor before the Civil War—making Watkins, essentially, the antebellum equivalent of Samuel Pepys."

What America Ate: "Preserving America's Culinary History from the Great Depression."  Digital archive of the 1930's America Eats project that chronicled eating habits by region.  Also includes digitized community cookbooks, advertisements, pamphlets, and packing from the food industry.

Other Sources: Consult the websites of libraries and archival repositories to discover digital editions of library holdings.


dustry.

Other Sources: Consult the websites of libraries and archival repositories to discover digital editions of library holdings.Grant funding has made possible much of the digitizing that has been undertaken in libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies. Repositories frequently collaborate on projects and then share their digitized holdings together in regional portals. Following are a few examples of some of the excellent resources that are available.  Look for repositories where your subject is based to find digitized collections.  And check the International Resources section for regional portals from across the globe. Note that while extremely helpful, regional portals, consortiums, and collaborative sites are not comprehensive and likely do not include all possibly related repositories.  Be certain to search for archives, libraries, archival materials, and other primary sources independently of these handy sites.


related repositories.  Be certain to search for archives, libraries, archival materials, and other primary sources independently of these handy sites.State Digital Resources - Library of Congress Guides: Among the excellent research guides compiled by the Library of Congress are their U.S. state and territory guides.  See both the General Resources and Local History & Genealogy guides to find digital collections at the LC, and links to digitized exhibitions, historic newspapers, vital records, courthouse records, maps, directories, bibliographies and guides, and other resources.  Particularly useful are the listings of external websites and databases for finding libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies in each state with notable digital and analog collections.

Archives West (ID, MT, OR, UT, WA, WY): Archives West provides access to descriptions of primary sources in the western United States, including correspondence, diaries or photographs. Digital reproductions of the materials are available in some cases.


es in the western United States, including correspondence, diaries or photographs. Digital reproductions of the materials are available in some cases.Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York: DCMNY provides online access to digital collections of photographs, maps, letters, postcards, manuscripts, scrapbooks, programs from events, catalogues, and memorabilia and ephemera from libraries, archives, museums and historical societies located in and around New York City.

Empire Archival Discovery Cooperative: Search the finding aids for archival collections held in libraries, archives, and cultural heritage organizations across New York state.  Browse a list of repositories that contribute finding aids to the database.

New York Heritage Digital Collections: "Includes a broad range of historical, scholarly, and cultural materials held in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, books, and more."


in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, books, and more."Online Archive of California: "[P]rovides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 ... libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California." Includes 20,000 online collection guides and more than 220,000 digitized images and documents.


Why Digitize This But Not That?:


Why Digitize This But Not That?:Why Digitize This But Not That?:There are many reasons why some materials might be digitized while others might not: Some items, like documents in national archives, may be considered to have high research value for a wide audience. Or collections might be in high demand locally and the originals could be at risk of damage from over-use. Collections that belonged to a well-known person or organization might be deemed important because of their provenance . Or they might be visually compelling . Photographs and other images are more dazzling than handwritten documents. Another common reason for digitizing is preservation .  When documents are too fragile to use, they might be microfilmed and/or digitized to preserve access to the information. Sometimes materials are given to a library along with funds to process and digitize them.  And sometimes repositories acquire grant funding on their own or in collaboration with other institutions to digitize collections they want to make more widely available.


tories acquire grant funding on their own or in collaboration with other institutions to digitize collections they want to make more widely available.tories acquire grant funding on their own or in collaboration with other institutions to digitize collections they want to make more widely available.tories acquire grant funding on their own or in collaboration with other institutions to digitize collections they want to make more widely available.There can be a commercial motive too. In analog times, collections were microfilmed for preservation and/or to extend access. Today, vendors digitize previously microfilmed archival collections and historical periodicals, add bells and whistles, and sell them to libraries in subscription databases. Read more about the topic on the Peel Art Gallery Museum & Archive's blog: Why Don't Archivists Digitize Everything?


Digitized Collections - A Few Highlights:
The collections and digital projects included here are meant to illustrate the remarkable depth and variety of resources available. These are just a sampling to highlight the research possibilities that exist in freely available resources on a nearly infinite range of topics.

American Prison Writing Archive: "The American Prison Writing Archive evolved from a book project completed in 2014 with the publication of Fourth City: Essays from the Prison in America , the largest collection to date of non-fiction writing by currently incarcerated Americans writing about their experience inside."

BAM Archives - Brooklyn Academy of Music: "The BAM Hamm Archives tell the story of the 150+ year history of BAM, and of the communities—civic and artistic—that built the institution."


f Music: "The BAM Hamm Archives tell the story of the 150+ year history of BAM, and of the communities—civic and artistic—that built the institution."Criminal Trial Transcripts of NY County Collection (1883-1927): "Selected transcripts from the Lloyd Sealy Library's Trial Transcripts of the County of New York (1883-1927) collection. ... Consists of the verbatim typewritten proceedings of 3,326 court cases, held in various courts of New York County, which included Manhattan and the Bronx until 1914. Not all trial transcripts have been digitized."

CUNY Digital History Archive: "[a]n open, digital public archive and portal that gives the CUNY community and the broader public online access to a range of materials related to the history of the City University of New York (CUNY). "

The Danish West-Indies: Sources of History: "This is where you can search in about 5 million image files of records from the Danish West Indies across the databases of the Danish National Archives. The 5 million image files of digitally scanned records are made up of 15,000 series of images and contain 130,000 transcribed entries. "


nal Archives. The 5 million image files of digitally scanned records are made up of 15,000 series of images and contain 130,000 transcribed entries. "Digital Dante: Digital Dante, a venue for research and ideas on Dante from Columbia University, includes sections on the Divine Comedy; Intertextual Dante, a digital tool for visualizing references; image and sound galleries; a History and chronology of Dante, and original textual research.

Digital Paxton: A Digital Archive and Critical Edition of the Paxton Pamphlet War: "[I]nclude[s] primary source materials [on the 1763 massacre in colonial Pennsylvania] from ... 18 different archives, research libraries, and cultural institutions; a dozen contextual essays from leading historians and literary scholars; and educational materials from secondary and post-secondary educators."

Digital Thoreau: Digital Thoreau provides tools to illuminate Thoreau’s creative process and facilitate thoughtful conversation about his words and ideas.


tal Thoreau: Digital Thoreau provides tools to illuminate Thoreau’s creative process and facilitate thoughtful conversation about his words and ideas.Documenting the American South: A digital publishing initiative from the University Library at UNC Chapel Hill "that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs."


culture. Currently DocSouth includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs."Early Caribbean Digital Archive: "[A]n open access collection of pre-twentieth-century Caribbean texts, maps, and images. Texts include travel narratives, novels, poetry, natural histories, and diaries that have not been brought together before as a single collection focused on the Caribbean. Plantation slavery and settler colonialism are defining aspects of the early Caribbean—both sit at the origin of the modern capitalist world. The texts and images collected here tell the story of European imperial domination, and of the enslaved African and Indigenous American people whose lives, labor, and land shaped the culture and development of the Atlantic world. The materials in the archive are primarily authored and published by Europeans, but the ECDA aims to use digital tools to "remix" the archive and foreground the centrality and creativity of enslaved and free African, Afro-creole, and Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean world."


x" the archive and foreground the centrality and creativity of enslaved and free African, Afro-creole, and Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean world."Freedom Summer Project: A stellar research site offering over 40,000 pages from the Wisconsin Historical Society's manuscript collections documenting the Civil Rights movement and the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964.

Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive: This site currently includes over 10 million scanned images of documents from the National Police Historical Archive. This digital archive mirrors and extends the physical archive that remains preserved in Guatemala as an important historical patrimony of the Guatemalan people.


al archive mirrors and extends the physical archive that remains preserved in Guatemala as an important historical patrimony of the Guatemalan people.Manar al-Athar: The Manar al-Athar, an open-access photo-archive based at the University of Oxford, aims to provide high resolution, searchable images, freely-downloadable for teaching, research, heritage projects, and publication. It covers buildings and art in the areas of the former Roman empire which later came under Islamic rule (e.g. Syro-Palestine/the Levant, Arabia, Egypt, and North Africa), from ca. 300 BC to the present, but especially Roman, late antique, and early Islamic art, architecture, and sacred sites.

Media History Digital Library: "[A] free online resource featuring millions of pages of books and magazines from the histories of film, broadcasting, and recorded sound ... We scan works that are no longer protected by copyright or that have been licensed to us to share with you."

Museum of Modern Art - Exhibition History: "Exhibitions from [MOMA's] founding in 1929 to the present are available online. These pages are updated continually. "


dern Art - Exhibition History: "Exhibitions from [MOMA's] founding in 1929 to the present are available online. These pages are updated continually. "New Amsterdam Stories: "A Digital Dig to Link 17th-Century Records Between Amsterdam and New York City."

New York Public Radio Archives: "Established in the year 2000, the ... [NYPRA]  provides a central repository for more than 70,000 audio recordings on nearly every format (except cylinder and wire), photographs, memorabilia, reports, news items, program guides, institutional records, and promotional materials."

Old Bailey Proceedings (London), 1674-1913: "A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court."

Project Stand: Student Activism Now Documented: Project Stand brings together information about student activism archives from colleges and universities.


ject Stand: Student Activism Now Documented: Project Stand brings together information about student activism archives from colleges and universities.Rosa Parks Papers: The collection contains approximately 7,500 items in the Library of Congress's Manuscript Division and 2,500 photographs in the Prints and Photographs Division and documents Parks's "private life and public activism on behalf of civil rights for African Americans. "

Shakespeare Documented: "An online exhibition documenting Shakespeare in his own time."

Trials - Famous Trials: "The Web's most visited and most comprehensive collection of essays, images, maps, primary documents, links, and other materials pertaining to sixty-six of the most famous trials of all time, from Socrates to Simpson."


images, maps, primary documents, links, and other materials pertaining to sixty-six of the most famous trials of all time, from Socrates to Simpson."The Harry Watkins Diary Digital Edition: "Hardworking actor, playwright, and stage manager Harry Watkins (1825–94) was a prolific diarist. For fifteen years (1845–60), Watkins regularly recorded the plays he saw, the roles he performed, the books he read, and his impressions of current events.  ... His is the only known diary of substantial length and scope written by a U.S. actor before the Civil War—making Watkins, essentially, the antebellum equivalent of Samuel Pepys."

What America Ate: "Preserving America's Culinary History from the Great Depression."  Digital archive of the 1930's America Eats project that chronicled eating habits by region.  Also includes digitized community cookbooks, advertisements, pamphlets, and packing from the food industry.

Other Sources: Consult the websites of libraries and archival repositories to discover digital editions of library holdings.


Research Libraries & Archives with Digitized Collections:
The following research libraries have notable digital collections. This list is just a sampling of the remarkable resources you can find online. Be aware that in most every case, the digitized items available represent only a small fraction of a library's holdings. To find digitized primary sources for your own research project, visit the websites of libraries that collect materials in your subject area.  And be sure search across collections when possible and then limit results to digitized materials, if the option is available.

American Museum of Natural History - Anthropology: "Over 250,000 ethnographic and archaeological objects representing the peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Pacific Islands have been digitally imaged and are accessible online."


objects representing the peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Pacific Islands have been digitally imaged and are accessible online."American Museum of Natural History - Virtual Library: Includes Digital Special Collections, Digitized Scientific Manuscripts, Field Notes, scientific publications from the museum's 150 year history, including The Anthropological Papers , Novitates , and The Bulletin

Archives of American Art: "The Archives of American Art is the world’s preeminent and most widely used research center dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary sources that document the history of the visual arts in America."

Bodleian Library - Digital Bodleian: Over a million images of rare books, manuscripts, and other treasures from the Bodleian Libraries and Oxford college libraries.


ry - Digital Bodleian: Over a million images of rare books, manuscripts, and other treasures from the Bodleian Libraries and Oxford college libraries.Centro - Center for Puerto Rican Studies - Hunter College: "Centro is a research institute that is dedicated to the study and interpretation of the Puerto Rican experience in the United States and that produces and disseminates relevant interdisciplinary research. Centro also collects, preserves, and provides access to library resources documenting Puerto Rican history and culture. We seek to link scholarship to social action and policy debates and to contribute to the betterment of our community and enrichment of Puerto Rican studies."

CUNY Digital History Archive: "[A]n open, digital public archive and portal that gives the CUNY community and the broader public online access to a range of materials related to the history of the City University of New York (CUNY). "

Harvard Digital Collections: "[F]ree free, public access to over 6 million objects digitized from our collections - from ancient art to modern manuscripts and audio visual materials."


ree free, public access to over 6 million objects digitized from our collections - from ancient art to modern manuscripts and audio visual materials."John Carter Brown Library: High resolution images from the library's archive of early American images, maps, and political cartoons are available through the JCB's Luna database and scans of over 15,000 full books are available via the Internet Archive.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice - Digital Collections: "The Digital Collections provide access to hundreds of images and documents digitized from the unique items in the Lloyd Sealy Library Special Collections. These materials are freely available to the public for learning, teaching, and research. The materials in our Digital Collections are especially well-suited for historical research of criminal justice, 20th- and 21st-century New York, the New York Police Department, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice itself."

The Library Company of Philadelphia: Digitized manuscripts, photographs, art, music, and other sources relating to U.S. history.


nal Justice itself."

The Library Company of Philadelphia: Digitized manuscripts, photographs, art, music, and other sources relating to U.S. history.Library of Congress Digital Collections: "The collection of more than 168 million items includes more than 39 million cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages; more than 72 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings."  Among these holdings are 395 digitized collections.

Library of Congress Collections with Manuscripts: Digitized manuscript collections covering a broad range of subjects.

Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey: The collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the U.S. and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes.


ering, and landscape design in the U.S. and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes.Metropolitan Museum of Art - Watson Library Digital: Rare materials digitized from the collections, including treatises on art and architecture, early travel books, archaeological studies, rare collection catalogs, early trade catalogs, artists’ manuals and handbooks, complete runs of seminal journals, fencing books, scrapbooks, fine bindings, and examples of fine printing.

National Library of Medicine Digital Collections: "[A] free online repository of biomedical resources including books, manuscripts, still images, videos, and maps. The content in Digital Collections is freely available worldwide and, unless otherwise indicated, in the public domain. Digital Collections provides unique access to NLM's rich historical resources, as well as select modern resources."


e indicated, in the public domain. Digital Collections provides unique access to NLM's rich historical resources, as well as select modern resources."National Museum of Natural History - Anthropology Dept.: "Research in the Department of Anthropology spans from the emergence of our earliest ancestors to the ways communities sustain their cultures in today’s globalized societies.  The collections ... are a vast and unparalleled resource for inquiry into the cultures, arts, and technologies of the world's peoples, from deep in prehistory to the present day."

New-York Historical Society Digital Collections: "The New-York Historical Society’s growing digital library now includes thousands of photographs of New York City, Revolutionary Era maps, manuscripts, and broadsides, Civil War materials, manuscripts relating to slavery and African American history, and numerous other historical resources from the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library as well as highlights from several Museum collections."


can history, and numerous other historical resources from the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library as well as highlights from several Museum collections."New York Public Library Archives & Manuscript Division: The Division holds over 31,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archives in over 5,700 collections. More than 560,000 items have been digitized.

New York Public Library Digital Collections: Currently contains more than 900,000 images.  "This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more."

Ransom Center Digital Collections: Digital "collections represent just a sample of the Ransom Center's diverse holdings in literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts."

Schomburg Center, NYPL - Digital Schomburg: Amazing resource containing "exhibitions, books, articles, photographs, prints, audio and video streams, and selected external links for research in the history and cultures of the peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora."


nts, audio and video streams, and selected external links for research in the history and cultures of the peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora."Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives: Access over 26 million descriptions of personal papers, manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, films, works of art and organizational records.

Smithsonian Libraries - Digital Library: Includes books, drawings, photos, indexes to vertical files of artists, trade catalogs, and ephemera, as well as fascinating digital exhibitions covering a wide range of topics; and an index of all the physical exhibitions that the Smithsonian Libraries has produced over the years.

Tulane University Digital Library: "[R]are and unique collections in areas such as Latin American studies, jazz, New Orleans and Louisiana history and architecture..."


Digital Library: "[R]are and unique collections in areas such as Latin American studies, jazz, New Orleans and Louisiana history and architecture..."UCLA Libary Digital Collections: "The UCLA Digital Library Program (DLP) serves as the catalyst for the creation, management, and delivery of digital content in support of the UCLA Library mission and goals. The Program provides for the storage and dissemination of digital objects, including text, images, audio, and video in their various digital manifestations and combinations."

University of Michigan - Clement's Library: Archival collections, images, and public domain books.

University of Washington Digital Collections: Includes photographs, maps, newspapers, posters and other media from the University of Washington Libraries. Subjects covered include Alaska and the Yukon, Architecture, Klondike and Nome Gold Rushes, Politics and Labor, Science and Engineering, and more.

Wisconsin Historical Society: "The Society's world-class collections contain an extraordinary range of artifacts and information about American history, from the remote archaeological past to current events."


ollections contain an extraordinary range of artifacts and information about American history, from the remote archaeological past to current events."Yale University Digital Collections: The Beinecke Library has digitized more than a million images of collection material, but these represent only a fraction of total collections material on-site.


Regional Collaborations & Portals - U.S.:
Grant funding has made possible much of the digitizing that has been undertaken in libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies. Repositories frequently collaborate on grant applications and then present their digitized holdings together in regional portals. Following are a few examples of some of the excellent resources that are available.  Look for repositories where your subject is based to find digitized collections.

State Digital Resources: Helpful listing from the Library of Congress of  memory projects, online encyclopedias, and historical and cultural materials collections arranged by state.

Archives West (ID, MT, OR, UT, WA, WY): Archives West provides access to descriptions of primary sources in the western United States, including correspondence, diaries or photographs. Digital reproductions of the materials are available in some cases.


es in the western United States, including correspondence, diaries or photographs. Digital reproductions of the materials are available in some cases.Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York: DCMNY provides online access to digital collections of photographs, maps, letters, postcards, manuscripts, scrapbooks, programs from events, catalogues, and memorabilia and ephemera from libraries, archives, museums and historical societies located in and around New York City.

Empire Archival Discovery Cooperative: EmpireADC is a database of finding aids for collections of archival materials in libraries, archives and cultural heritage organizations across New York state.  Search across collection descriptions to discover materials or browse the holdings of participating repositories.

New York Heritage Digital Collections: "Includes a broad range of historical, scholarly, and cultural materials held in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, books, and more."


in libraries, museums, and archives throughout the state. Collection items include photographs, letters, diaries, directories, maps, books, and more."Online Archive of California: "[P]rovides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 ... libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California." Includes 20,000 online collection guides and more than 220,000 digitized images and documents.


Introduction:
A sampling of some diaries, government documents, online newspapers and other archival collections.


Diaries & Documents:
Chronology of US Historical Documents: Full-text of U.S. historical documents. From the University of Oklahoma's School of Law.

Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries: Over 102,000 pages of personal writings by American women of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries drawn from the holdings of the American Antiquarian Society. The manuscripts date from 1750 to 1950 and include letters and diary entries of ordinary women that document their daily lives, and those of more well-known women such as Annie Sullivan, the teacher of Helen Keller; Ellen Tucker Emerson, daughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who describes life in Concord during the Civil War; and Abby Kelley Foster, an abolitionist and advocate for women’s rights.


Historical US Newspapers:
Accessible Archives: Full-text access to 18th and 19th century American newspapers, magazines, books, and other publications. Collections include African American newspapers, Civil War publications, anti-slavery periodicals, early women’s magazines, a collection of women’s suffrage periodicals, and publications by Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and more. Over 170 books and more than 70 journals are included.


tions by Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and more. Over 170 books and more than 70 journals are included.African American Historical Newspapers from ProQuest (NYPL database): This NYPL database is available to users onsite or remotely with a library card.  Includes African American historical newspapers from around the United States, such as the Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988), Chicago Defender (1910-1975), Cleveland Call and Post (1934-1991), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), Norfolk Journal and Guide (1921-2003), Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001), and Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002).


05), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), Norfolk Journal and Guide (1921-2003), Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001), and Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002).African American Newspapers, Series 1, 1827-1998, via NYPL: Please log in using your New York Public Library credentials! Online access to 280 U.S. newspapers from 35 states chronicling 150 years of African American history. Coverage includes life in the Antebellum South, the Jim Crow Era, the Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights movement, and more. This resource was created from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society, and the Library of Congress, with selections guided by James Danky, editor of African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: A National Bibliography .  Danky's Bibliography is also available in the Internet Archive .


ky, editor of African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: A National Bibliography .  Danky's Bibliography is also available in the Internet Archive .American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collections: A collection of over 7500 digitized American periodicals published from the 17th century through the late 19th century.  The Graduate Center subscribes to the five series which cover all aspects of American society, including science, medicine, literature, politics, the history of slavery, the Civil War, Westward expansion, industry and professions, agriculture, religion, fashion, family life, culture and the arts, and more.

American Periodicals (1740-1940) via NYPL: Please log in using your New York Public Library credentials! This database contains over 1,800 magazines, journals, and newspapers published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and many other historically significant titles.


interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and many other historically significant titles.America's Historical Newspapers: Searchable digital facsimiles of thousands of U.S. newspapers published in all 50 states from 1690 to the recent past.  Separately searchable series include Early American Newspapers, 1690-1922; African American Newspapers, 1827-1998; Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980; Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection, 1799-1971; and Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876. Also see the World Newspaper Archive


1808-1980; Ethnic American Newspapers from the Balch Collection, 1799-1971; and Caribbean Newspapers, 1718-1876. Also see the World Newspaper ArchiveBlack Thought and Culture: African Americans from Colonial Times to the Present: Over 100,000 pages of monographs, essays, speeches, letters, political leaflets, periodicals, trial transcripts, and interviews by major American Black teachers, artists, politicians, religious leaders, athletes, war veterans, entertainers, and other leaders, covering over 250 years of history. Writers include James Baldwin, Amiri Baraka, Ralph Bunche, Angela Davis, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Marcus Garvey, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, Huey Newton, Jackie Robinson, Paul Robeson, Bobby Seale, Booker T. Washington, Cornel West, Richard Wright, and many others. Search across the collection or browse by person, subject, title, historical event, content type, place, or publisher.


ichard Wright, and many others. Search across the collection or browse by person, subject, title, historical event, content type, place, or publisher.Brooklyn Newspapers: Developed by the Brooklyn Public Library, this free resources provides access to the full-text of more than 40 newspapers published in Brooklyn from 1809 to 1999.  Papers include the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1841-1963), The Caravan (1953-1961), The Chat (1903-1929), and The Williamsburg News (1952-1965), among others.  Browse by title or date, or search across the archive.

Center for Research Libraries (CRL) Online Catalog: The Center for Research Libraries provides a shared collection of five million books, journals, documents and newspapers to supplement member libraries’ holdings in the humanities, science, and social sciences. With a strategic emphasis on expanding electronic access to international primary source collections, CRL participates in a number of cooperative digitization efforts, yielding millions of pages of digitized content to date. CRL resources include:


ons, CRL participates in a number of cooperative digitization efforts, yielding millions of pages of digitized content to date. CRL resources include:The largest circulating collection of newspapers in North America – more than 16,000 newspaper titles from all world regions and from every U.S. state – mainstream dailies, underground and alternative press titles, rare publications from international conflict zones, U.S. ethnic titles, early African-American newspapers, and radio broadcast reports and transcripts Foreign journals rarely held in U.S. libraries, with a focus on science and technology Access to rich holdings in science, technology, and engineering print serials through a partnership with the Linda Hall Library More than 800,000 non U.S. dissertations Area Studies: major collections of news, government documents, and archives from Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Southeast and South Asia Millions of pages of primary source documents, including major sets from the National Archives of the U.S. and the U.K., and many special collections from around the world U.S.


ry source documents, including major sets from the National Archives of the U.S. and the U.K., and many special collections from around the world U.S.ry source documents, including major sets from the National Archives of the U.S. and the U.K., and many special collections from around the world U.S.ry source documents, including major sets from the National Archives of the U.S. and the U.K., and many special collections from around the world U.S.and international legal and government resources


he National Archives of the U.S. and the U.K., and many special collections from around the world U.S.and international legal and government resourcesChronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: This site from the Library of Congress includes a searchable directory containing information on more than 150,000 newspapers published in the U.S. since 1690.  It also includes searchable digitized images of 3,600 selected local and regional newspapers published from 1777 to 1963, including more than 20 New York papers.

Fulton Search: Historical Newspapers (U.S. & Canada): A searchable database of newspapers published in the U.S. and Canada.  Create an account to log in and search and see the Help & FAQs section for tips on using the site.  Fulton Search is an alternative search option for FultonHistory.com.  Users may also browse the list of newspapers .

HathiTrust Digital Library: Millions of books digitized by a variety of major research institutions. See this post for more information about public domain items available to all via HathiTrust .


digitized by a variety of major research institutions. See this post for more information about public domain items available to all via HathiTrust .Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980: Includes over 350 fully searchable and browsable Spanish-language newspapers published by Hispanics in the U.S. from New Orleans to Brooklyn during the 19th and 20th centuries. The papers cover nearly every major theme of American life and feature a range of voices from intellectuals and literary figures to politicians, union organizers, and grassroots activists.

Internet Archive: The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form with a mission to provide universal access to all knowledge. The archive contains tens of millions of books and texts, audio recordings, videos, images, and software programs, and 625 billion web pages.


owledge. The archive contains tens of millions of books and texts, audio recordings, videos, images, and software programs, and 625 billion web pages.Mexico - Periodicals in the US-Mexico Border Region: "Periodicals in the US-Mexico Border Region includes over 200+ Spanish, English, and bilingual publications. Archival materials come from print, microfilm and digital collections housed at the University of Houston’s Recovery Program."

New York City Record, 1873-1947: The City Record is has been published daily in NYC since 1873 and includes "official listings of more than 100 city agencies and departments about public hearings, meetings, property auctions, agency rules, personnel changes and contracts to be awarded" as noted in a profile article in the New York TImes .   Browse or search across PDFs of every issue published between 1873-1947.


tracts to be awarded" as noted in a profile article in the New York TImes .   Browse or search across PDFs of every issue published between 1873-1947.Newspapers.com via NYPL: Please log in using your New York Public Library credentials! Newspapers.com is an online newspaper archive consisting of millions of pages of historical newspapers from around the United States and beyond, with a special focus on full runs and portions of runs of well-known, regional, and state titles in addition to small local newspapers. The collection includes a broad range of dates, mostly covering the 19th and 20th centuries. Access to this resource has been temporarily expanded to NYPL cardholders working from home, courtesy of ProQuest and its partner Newspapers.com.

New York City Newspapers: See the "Newspapers" article in the 1995 edition of the Encyclopedia of New York City for a history of newspapers in New York and lists of 18th Century newspapers, daily newspapers, and foreign-language newspapers published in NYC, organized by date of first publication.


York and lists of 18th Century newspapers, daily newspapers, and foreign-language newspapers published in NYC, organized by date of first publication.New York City Newspapers at the NYPL: Provides an overview of the NYPL's collection of New York City newspapers and facilitates access to the most frequently requested titles.

New York State Historic Newspapers: Over 11 million pages from newspapers published in New York State between 1725 and 2020. The newspapers on the website are either in the public domain (any papers published before January 1, 1924) or have been cleared for use by the original copyright holders for members of the public for noncommercial, educational, and research purposes.

New York Times Archive, 1851-2018: Actual page images from 1851 through 2018.  Following years are added annually. When the results of a search are displayed, you have three retrieval options:  1. bibliographic citation and abstract; 2. article image (retrieved with Adobe Acrobat Reader); 3. page map, displaying the entire page on which the article appears. For current access, see New York Times Academic Pass .


Archival collections:
There are scores of archival collections within 2 hours of NYC, a few of the major sources are listed below. Detailed guides to archival holdings (finding aids) are frequently being made available online. While most archival collections require a visit to the holding library, some collections do fill photocopy requests.

Archive Grid: Searchable database containing over 7 million records describing archival collections in 1,400 libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies around the world.  Also useful for identifying archival repositories by location. Read more in our GC Library blog post about ArchiveGrid .


societies around the world.  Also useful for identifying archival repositories by location. Read more in our GC Library blog post about ArchiveGrid .Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library: The collections span more than 4,000 years and comprise rare printed works, cylinder seals, cuneiform tablets, papyri, and Coptic ostraca; medieval and renaissance manuscripts; as well as art and realia.  Some 500,000 printed books and 14 miles of manuscripts, personal papers, and records form the core of the holdings.

European Library Catalog: Combined searching of the resources of European national libraries.

Founders Online: Correspondence and other writings by Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, and Washington

New York State Historical Liberature (Cornell University): A collection of selected monographs, pamphlets and other materials with expired copyrights chosen from from the Cornell Library's extensive collection of New York State Literature.


raphs, pamphlets and other materials with expired copyrights chosen from from the Cornell Library's extensive collection of New York State Literature.Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Primary sources dealing with East-West diplomacy; British politics and society; British theater, music, and literature; European literature; photography; science, technology, and medicine; and the status of women.

NYPL Archives & Manuscripts: The Division holds nearly 29,000 linear feet of archival material in over 3,000 collections, dating from the third millennium BCE to the current decade. Greatest strengths: the papers and records of individuals, families, and organizations, primarily from the New York region, which date from the 18th through the 20th centuries, support research in the political, economic, social, and cultural history of New York State and the United States.


he 18th through the 20th centuries, support research in the political, economic, social, and cultural history of New York State and the United States.NYU Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives: An important repository for labor history. Materials include books, pamphlets, and serials focusing on the history of labor, politics, political thought, civil rights, women's history, the Spanish Civil War, literature, the history of New York City, and the arts. Broadly speaking, the collections cover labor and the Left.

Perseus Digital Library: The flagship collection covers the history, literature and culture of the Greco-Roman world. Many full-text materials are available online in ancient Greek and Roman.


lection covers the history, literature and culture of the Greco-Roman world. Many full-text materials are available online in ancient Greek and Roman.Roper iPoll (formerly Roper Center Archives): The world’s largest collection of poll data from 1935 to present.  Contains hundreds of thousands of questions and tens of thousands of individual-level datasets, with hundreds more added yearly. Includes broad topical coverage of opinions and behavior on social issues, politics, the environment, science and technology, health, economics, and more.  It also includes global data from over 120 countries, and historical archives that feature questions on topics such as World War II, the civil rights movement, and women’s history, along with a general social survey with cumulative data from 1972-2016 featuring a standard core of demographic and attitudinal variables. Access through the Graduate Center Library enables you to view poll questions, save up to 50 questions, search abstracts and download documentation.


. Access through the Graduate Center Library enables you to view poll questions, save up to 50 questions, search abstracts and download documentation.. Access through the Graduate Center Library enables you to view poll questions, save up to 50 questions, search abstracts and download documentation.. Access through the Graduate Center Library enables you to view poll questions, save up to 50 questions, search abstracts and download documentation.Create a free personal account to download datasets, save up to 500 questions at once, and use the RoperExplorer analytical tool with crosstabs functionality. Users who have accounts on the old "classic" Roper iPoll website will need to register again on the new site. Learn more about how to use Roper iPoll online: Roper Tutorials .


n the old "classic" Roper iPoll website will need to register again on the new site. Learn more about how to use Roper iPoll online: Roper Tutorials .Rutgers University Archives and Manuscripts: Manuscripts are findable in the library catalog. The finding aids for the archival collections are online and found at this web site.

Slavery and Anti-Slavery: Books, pamphlets, periodicals, manuscripts, Supreme Court records, and other nineteenth-century materials related to slavery and abolition.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: Information on almost 35,000 American slaving voyages between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.


History Video:
American History in Video: Over 1,600 hours of historical video from commercial and governmental newsreels, archival footage, public affairs footage, and important documentaries.

World History in Video: More than 900 documentaries exploring human history from the earliest civilizations to the late twentieth century.


Beyond Manuscripts & Archives:


Beyond Manuscripts & Archives:Beyond Manuscripts & Archives:Primary sources can be published or unpublished items in any format, including handwritten letters, objects, audio recordings, images, the built environment, etc.  Materials are considered to be primary sources when they contain direct evidence, first-hand testimony, or an eyewitness account of a topic or event under investigation. Secondary sources, on the other hand, are works that analyze and interpret other sources. This section of the guide contains tips for finding primary sources in formats beyond manuscripts and archives in subscription databases and in open access sites.  Use the tabs on the left to find sources of: Audio / Visual Materials - Moving images (film, video, TV), music (recordings and sheet music), radio (broadcasts, transcripts, radio plays, etc.), spoken word (speeches, poetry, podcasts). Government Documents - Find links to state, national, and international government archives. Historical Periodicals - Newspapers, magazines, etc.


ts). Government Documents - Find links to state, national, and international government archives. Historical Periodicals - Newspapers, magazines, etc.ts). Government Documents - Find links to state, national, and international government archives. Historical Periodicals - Newspapers, magazines, etc.ts). Government Documents - Find links to state, national, and international government archives. Historical Periodicals - Newspapers, magazines, etc.Images - Open access and library subscription resources for finding collections of images in libraries and archives, digital portals, and more. Maps & Atlases - Collections of print and digitized maps of places around the globe and subject-specific online databases that map language, social justice, historical boundaries, and other subjects. Oral Histories - Recordings, transcripts, and collections. Published Primary Sources - In print, online, and on microfilm.


Primary Sources:
Images from left to right: NYRF Newsletter ; Gov’t Report on East Mojave Desert Region ; Oral History Recording on Cassette ; Button: No Nuclear Plants, No Nuclear Bombs ; Button: March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom ; Dorothea Lange Photograph, NM ; Manuscript Cookbook ; May Day Anti-War Rally Flyer ; Mark Twain Letter ; View of Greenfield, Mass ; Poster: InternationalANSWER.org


Before Visiting an Archive:
Visiting an archive is usually quite a different experience than visiting a circulating library.  Collections are one-of-a-kind, so procedures are in place to balance the needs of researchers who wish to use the materials with the needs of the repository to keep the materials in good condition for posterity.  You may have to register to use the collections, show identification, stow coats, bags, pens, and paper, and follow other procedures. Read about the Typical Usage Guidelines in Archival Repositories from the Society of American Archivists to get an idea of what you might expect when you visit a special collection.  And see the tips below to ensure that your visit goes as smoothly as possible:


an idea of what you might expect when you visit a special collection.  And see the tips below to ensure that your visit goes as smoothly as possible:Closely review the repository's website. In addition to the basics such as the hours of operation and street address, repository websites often contain a wealth of information that will help you make the most of your visit.  You may learn about reading room protocols, advance registration requirements, reproduction policies, and whether laptops and personal cameras are permitted, among other details. Explore secondary sources and published primary sources. A good understanding of your subject will help enormously as you look through archival folders and boxes. Without knowing what to look for, you may miss important documents or waste time trying to decipher unrelated materials. Read finding aids in their entirety. Every section of a finding aid, from the administrative information to the container list, will inform you of essential details.


ds in their entirety. Every section of a finding aid, from the administrative information to the container list, will inform you of essential details.ds in their entirety. Every section of a finding aid, from the administrative information to the container list, will inform you of essential details.ds in their entirety. Every section of a finding aid, from the administrative information to the container list, will inform you of essential details.The biographical and historical notes will be particularly useful for putting the materials in context, and the scope and content note will let you know whether or not the collection contains material relevant for you. But the entire finding aid should be essential reading. Contact the staff by email or phone. This step is essential. Always contact the library staff to let them know which collections you would like to use and when you plan to visit. The collections you need might be stored offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. In some repositories, appointments are required. Permission might be necessary before you can use certain materials. The reference staff at the library can also help you discover other materials that are related to your topic and provide answers to logistical questions that are not answered on the website.


Handling Materials:
Closely follow the instructions you are given at the repository, which may include some or all of the following guidelines: Do not eat or drink near special collections materials. Handle documents carefully. Turn pages gently. Inform library staff when you encounter volumes with uncut pages. Keep folders of documents flat on the table. Do not hold documents up in the air to read them. Do not lean on volumes or manuscripts. Do not disturb the order of the documents. Use pencils only when taking notes. Do not use not pens or highlighters. Wash your hands before handling documents. Be sure to alert archives staff if you encounter damaged or extremely fragile material that may need special attention before it can be safely handled. Do not take photographs without asking permission. Follow all the instructions of the archives staff.


Evaluating Sources:
An essential part of the research process is evaluating sources.  Think about the following questions as you use archival materials. The questions are relevant at the collection level as well as the item level. Who created the source / collection? What was its original purpose? Who was the intended audience? What may have been left out? Why was this item / collection saved? How does this source fit in with the rest of the collection? / How does the collection fit in with the rest of the holdings in the repository? Does the source / collection raise other questions? Source: The Information Literate Historian


Taking Notes:
Archival collections consist of unpublished pages, either handwritten or typewritten, that are arranged in folders inside archival boxes. It is important to take careful notes that clearly indicate exactly where you find specific items so you can find items again yourself if you need to, and so others will be able to go back to the original source when following your footnote or bibliography entry. Be certain to write down the collection name, the collection number, the box number, the folder number or title, and a description of the item itself. Is it a letter?  If so, record the name of the author, the recipient, and the date on the letter if there is one, even if it is a partial date. Format your citations as instructed in the finding aid for the collection. Ask at the repository if you need assistance.


Restrictions:
Be aware that restrictions may limit your ability to access, handle, copy, or quote from unpublished archival materials. Collections may be stored offsite and advance notice might be required for access. Permission might be required before certain collections may be used. The materials may have been microfilmed or copied for preservation purposes and researchers may be required to use the surrogate formats rather than the original documents. See the Restrictions section of the finding aid and/or speak with archival staff to find about any limits that might restrict your use of a collection.


Quoting from Manuscript Collections:
If you wish to publish quotes from unpublished materials in a special library collection, you must request permission from the repository as well as from the appropriate copyright holder(s). The administrative information section of a finding aid may explain the procedures for requesting permission to quote in publication.  If not, or if you need additional information, contact the repository staff.


Citing Manuscripts & Archives:
Established rules for citing unpublished primary sources can't cover every possible variation, so it can be difficult to know exactly how to cite materials in notes and bibliographies.  The key is to follow your chosen citation style as best you can and to be consistent within your document. Electronic finding aids often include a preferred citation.  Use that information as you craft your bibliography entries.  Also look for links to automatically generate citations for the digitized items you discover in online portals and library websites. Following are tips for citing unpublished sources from the APA, Chicago Manual of Style, and the National Archives, as well as a succinct guide from the Archives at CUNY's Hunter College that includes sample citations.


ago Manual of Style, and the National Archives, as well as a succinct guide from the Archives at CUNY's Hunter College that includes sample citations.APA Style - Archival Documents & Collections: Guidance for citing archival documents and collections using APA style.  This information is not included in the 7th edition in the Publication Manual and the Concise Guide . It is available only on the APA Style website.

Citing Archival Sources - Hunter College Archives: Elements to include in citations and examples to follow when crafting your own.

Citing Records in the National Archives  (pdf): Geared towards NARA holdings, but useful for citing manuscript and archival materials from other repositories.

Chicago Manual of Style - Overview of Notes & Bibliography - Manuscripts: Information on citing manuscripts in bibliographies and notes.  GC login required.

Chicago Manual of Style - Author-Date References: Manuscript collections in author-date format.  GC login required.


Copyright:
Copyright & Unpublished Material An introduction for users of archives and manuscript collections from the Society of American Archivists. WATCH File Information about copyright holders and how to locate them can be found in the Watch File, a joint project of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at UT, Austin and the University of Reading in the UK. RightsStatements.org Provides 12 standard rights statements for online cultural heritage. Learn about the various copyright statements you may encounter as you use digital collections in your research.


Research Journals:
A research journal can help you stay organized as you delve into sources for your project.  Keep a running list of the relevant people, organizations, events, places, dates, and themes you discover in your reading.  And keep track of the repository, website, and database searches you do to streamline your efforts as your project moves forward. A record of your research will help keep you focused.


If you are taking digital photographs of an archival collection for reference purposes (also see below), be sure to have an organized work flow and follow it every day.  It is easy to become overwhelmed with large numbers of images if you don't have a strategy in place for organizing them. One way to organize research photographs is to use the free photo management tool called Tropy .  You can use Tropy to file, annotate, tag, search, and export images.


ize research photographs is to use the free photo management tool called Tropy .  You can use Tropy to file, annotate, tag, search, and export images.ize research photographs is to use the free photo management tool called Tropy .  You can use Tropy to file, annotate, tag, search, and export images.ize research photographs is to use the free photo management tool called Tropy .  You can use Tropy to file, annotate, tag, search, and export images.Here's another way to do it: Write the date and the name of the library you are using on a piece of paper and take a photo of that before you do anything else.  This marker will enable you to easily find the start of a day's photos when you return to browse through them.  Then, as you work, take photos of the cart, the outside of the each box, the box label, and the folder label before photographing what's inside the folder to maintain accurate records of the materials you consult.  Organize your photos at the end of each day.  And back up everything, multiple times, on flash drives, to be sure your work is not lost.


Reproductions: Copies & Digital Photos:
Check a repository’s website to find out about reproduction policies before you go. Some archives allow self-service, non-flash photography, some will photocopy a certain number of pages for researchers per day, and others may provide scans. There may be fees for these services and it may take some time to receive copies. Copies are usually provided for reference purposes only. If you wish to request copies for publication, inquire about the repository’s policies and fees. You will likely need to provide the an exact citation for the item you would like to have copied (collection name and number, box number, folder number, description of the item) and indicate where the item will be published (dissertation, book, journal article, artwork, exhibit, etc.).


Working with Unprocessed Collections:


Working with Unprocessed Collections:Working with Unprocessed Collections:Not all collections in libraries (or private collections) are fully processed and described in finding aids.  Sometimes collections will have only a very broad description and/or a brief container list.  In some repositories these minimally processed collections are closed to researchers, but in others, researchers are allowed to use them. When you are given access to an un- or under-processed collection, keep the following tips in mind: If possible, do a quick inventory of the materials, noting boxes, volumes, file cabinets, etc. Note any existing groupings of materials and order (chronological, format, subject).  Archivists may maintain these groupings when/if the collection is processed. Take detailed notes, including dates, recipients of correspondents, and titles of documents.


tain these groupings when/if the collection is processed. Take detailed notes, including dates, recipients of correspondents, and titles of documents.tain these groupings when/if the collection is processed. Take detailed notes, including dates, recipients of correspondents, and titles of documents.tain these groupings when/if the collection is processed. Take detailed notes, including dates, recipients of correspondents, and titles of documents.Speak with the staff at the repository or the administrator of the collection if it is privately held to be certain you understand and can agree to any restrictions that may be imposed on researchers wishing to quote from the collection in publication.


Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research from the SAA:
This handy guide from the Society of American Archivists explains how archives function and details how to find and use archival materials in your research.


Terra Cognita: Graduate Students in the Archive:


Terra Cognita: Graduate Students in the Archive:Terra Cognita: Graduate Students in the Archive:Read about the landscape of archival research and the experiences of graduate students in archives and libraries around the world in this report from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). Between 2003 and 2015 more than 200 CLIR Mellon research fellows made 991 visits to 750+ libraries, archives, museums, archaeological sites, and private collections in 64 countries, and wrote 177 reports about their experiences.  Read the full text online. A few quotes from the report: “Discovery is a key part of the research process, but tools for discovery are often incomplete or difficult to use, if they exist at all.” (p. 21). "Regular communication between researchers and librarians or archivists can make a crucial difference in the success of a researcher’s project, especially when not all information about a collection is contained within finding aids" (p. 21). "Serendipitous discovery was an important part of many fellows’ research projects” (p. 21).


ut a collection is contained within finding aids" (p. 21). "Serendipitous discovery was an important part of many fellows’ research projects” (p. 21).ut a collection is contained within finding aids" (p. 21). "Serendipitous discovery was an important part of many fellows’ research projects” (p. 21).ut a collection is contained within finding aids" (p. 21). "Serendipitous discovery was an important part of many fellows’ research projects” (p. 21).Researchers should be "aware and wary but at the same time open to what they find, knowing that it is incomplete and that it tells a story that is as much about the collection and its practices as about the subject they are researching ” (p. 27).


Reading Room Protocols:
Visiting a manuscript or archival repository is a different experience than visiting a regular circulating library. Because the collections are one-of-a-kind, rules are in place to balance the needs of researchers who wish to use the materials with the needs of the repository to keep the materials in good condition for posterity.  Rules are usually more relaxed at community archives than at research libraries. Read about the Typical Usage Guidelines in Archival Repositories from the Society of American Archivists to get an idea of what you might expect when you visit a special collection.


Special libraries and archival repositories come in every shape and size.  They can be divided into the following broad categories: Research Libraries These include large public libraries like the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library, special collections in colleges and university libraries, and historical societies and museums. Government Archives There are government archives at the national, state, county, and municipal level.  Individual government agencies may also maintain archives of their own records.  These entities may have their own search engines and discovery tools that do not overlap with databases such as ArchiveGrid or WorldCat. Community Archives Often organized and run by volunteers.  Community archives usually have the most open access policies and welcome researchers to explore and use holdings with relatively few restrictions.  Examples include the Interference Archive and the Lesbian Herstory Archives .


searchers to explore and use holdings with relatively few restrictions.  Examples include the Interference Archive and the Lesbian Herstory Archives .searchers to explore and use holdings with relatively few restrictions.  Examples include the Interference Archive and the Lesbian Herstory Archives .searchers to explore and use holdings with relatively few restrictions.  Examples include the Interference Archive and the Lesbian Herstory Archives .Local Museums, Historical Societies, Libraries, & Archives Small-scale local repositories often have wonderfully rich collections and highly knowledgeable staff.  Look for repositories in the geographical vicinity of your subject to find sources in a range of formats. Institutional Archives The records held by companies and organizations documenting their own operations and histories.  These may or may not be open to outside researchers.  Permission is usually required for access. Private Collections Personal papers held by individuals and families.  These may be processed or unprocessed materials and access may be strictly controlled.  Contact the administrators directly to inquire about using the collections.  Be sure you understand and can agree to any restrictions before undertaking research.


Finding Archival Repositories & Special Collections Libraries:
To identify repositories that may hold material on your subject, see the list below.  For repositories beyond the U.S., see the International Resources section of this guide.

Archive Grid: Searchable database containing over 7 million records describing archival collections in 1,400 libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies around the world.  Also useful for identifying archival repositories by location. Read more in our GC Library blog post about ArchiveGrid .


societies around the world.  Also useful for identifying archival repositories by location. Read more in our GC Library blog post about ArchiveGrid .Community Webs: "Community Webs, a program of Archive-It and the Internet Archive, was launched in 2017. Its mission is to advance the capacity for public libraries and other cultural heritage organizations to build archives of web-published primary sources documenting local history and underrepresented voices. The program achieves this mission by providing resources for professional training, technology services, networking, and in support of scholarly research use."

Gale Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers: International coverage.  Requires New York Public Library barcode and PIN to access.

SAA Directory of Corporate Archives in the United States and Canada: Compiled by the Society of American Archivists, this directory includes companies that maintain their historical records themselves, as well as companies that contract with historical consulting firms to maintain their archives collections for them, and libraries that contain business records.


companies that contract with historical consulting firms to maintain their archives collections for them, and libraries that contain business records.Regional Archives Directories: Find archives and archival repositories by country, state, or region with a Google search.  For instance, try searching (without the quotes) "archives directory Canada," "archives directory Great Britain," or "archives directory New Orleans."

Special Collections in College and University Libraries: A dated but still useful title. E-book available to borrow from the Internet Archive.

Directory of Collections in the U.S. & Canada with Pre-1600 Manuscript Holdings: Conway, Melissa, and Lisa Fagin Davis. “Directory of Collections in the United States and Canada with Pre-1600 Manuscript Holdings.” The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 109, no. 3 (2015): 273–420. https://doi.org/10.1086/682342.

State Archives: Contact information and links to state archives and historical societies in the U.S.

Additional Subject Resources


rg/10.1086/682342.

State Archives: Contact information and links to state archives and historical societies in the U.S.

Additional Subject ResourcesDirectory of Anthropological Archives by Institution: A listing from the Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records.

Guide to Anthropological Fieldnotes and Manuscripts in Archival Repositories: A listing arranged alphabetically by archaeologist with links to repositories.

Frick Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America: A tool "created to help researchers locate primary source material about American art collectors, dealers, agents and advisors, and the repositories that hold these records."


Selected NYC Archives & Special Collections:
Following are links to the websites of selected research libraries in and around New York City where you can find manuscripts, archives, and other primary sources.  Rules and regulations vary by institution, so always review the website and contact the staff before visiting. Look for "using the collections" or "visiting the library" pages for important details.

Archives List from the Gotham Center for New York City: A list of archives from the Gotham Center.

Berg Collection, NYPL: Holdings include "35,000 printed volumes, pamphlets, and broadsides, and 2,000 linear feet of literary archives and manuscripts, representing the work of more than 400 authors."

Bronx County Historical Society: "The Society is dedicated to the collection, preservation, documentation and interpretation of the history and heritage of The Bronx and its people." from	its	earliest	historical	references in	the	17th	century	to	the	present.	"


interpretation of the history and heritage of The Bronx and its people." from	its	earliest	historical	references in	the	17th	century	to	the	present.	"LGBT Community Center National History Archive: A community-based archive that collects, preserves, and makes available to the public the documentation of LGBTQ lives and organizations centered in and around New York.

Milstein Division of U.S., Local History, and Genealogy - NYPL: The Division "collects publications documenting American history on the national, state, and local levels, including extensive holdings on New York City history. The Division has a renowned collection of family histories and other genealogical collections, with a particular focus on the New York region."

New-York Historical Society Library: "One of only 20 in the United States qualified to be a member of the Independent Research Libraries Association—the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library contains more than three million books, pamphlets, maps, atlases, newspapers, broadsides, music sheets, manuscripts, prints, photographs and architectural drawings."


han three million books, pamphlets, maps, atlases, newspapers, broadsides, music sheets, manuscripts, prints, photographs and architectural drawings."New York Public Library Manuscripts & Archives Division: "The NYPL holds nearly 10,000 archival and manuscript collections comprising over 50,000 linear feet of material in nearly every format imaginable."

Staten Island Museum: Collections contain natural science specimens, archival records, and works of art and design, which represent Staten Island’s natural and cultural history across time.  The Internet Archive hosts full documents, publications, journals and maps from the SIM's archival collections.


DEI Resources / Collectives / Initiatives:
There is strong and growing interest among librarians and archivists to diversify the historical record and make library spaces, collecting initiatives, cataloging, archival description, digitizing, resources, programming, and staffing more equitable and inclusive.  Organizations such as the American Library Association , the Society of American Archivists , NY METRO Library Council , and many others are addressing issues of DEI directly with training, programs, grant funding, and other resources. Following is a small sampling of some library-related DEI resources and initiatives. There are links to articles, blog posts, reports, organizations, toolkits, and more.

Conscious Editing/Reparative Description Resources: A bibliography of resources from the Council of State Archives.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Archives


rganizations, toolkits, and more.

Conscious Editing/Reparative Description Resources: A bibliography of resources from the Council of State Archives.Diversifying the Digital Historical Record: A series of forums focusing on community archives integration in a National Digital Platform and the potential impact for representation of diverse communities in our digital cultural heritage. Read an overview of the initiative and watch the four panel discussions.

Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives - Society of American Archivists: The Society of American Archivists' statement on diversity and inclusion along with a roundup of links and resources detailing the organization's efforts towards DEI.


merican Archivists' statement on diversity and inclusion along with a roundup of links and resources detailing the organization's efforts towards DEI.A Guide to Conscious Editing at Wilson Special Collections Library, UNC: Guidelines for contextualizing collection descriptions to decenter whiteness and to center the voices of the silenced, marginalized, and unheard. The guide covers topics such as addressing racist language, rectifying misrepresentations of people of color, updating ableist language, centering the experiences of Indigenous peoples and differentiating the identity of a woman from that of her husband.  Compiled and edited by the UNC Libraries’ Conscious Editing Steering Committee (CESC). No modification of the collection materials is part of this work, only updates to the catalog records and finding aids that describe the materials for researchers to discover and access.


terials is part of this work, only updates to the catalog records and finding aids that describe the materials for researchers to discover and access.Reparative Archival Description Working Group, Yale University: The Reparative Archival Description Working Group (RAD) is charged by the Archives Advisory Group (AAG) with creating recommendations regarding principles and practices for reparative archival description work. Reparative archival description aims to remediate or contextualize potentially outdated or harmful language used in archival description and to create archival description that is accurate, inclusive, and community-centered. ...


outdated or harmful language used in archival description and to create archival description that is accurate, inclusive, and community-centered. ... outdated or harmful language used in archival description and to create archival description that is accurate, inclusive, and community-centered. ... outdated or harmful language used in archival description and to create archival description that is accurate, inclusive, and community-centered. ...RAD’s long term goals include developing guidelines for repositories about finding, remediating, and documenting instances of outdated or harmful language in archival description; improving access to Yale’s archival collections, by removing or contextualizing outdated or harmful language in archival description and access points; making archival description more transparent to researchers by documenting changes to description; developing public-facing documentation that details the scope and aim of the task force’s work; and exploring avenues for researchers to report archival description that contains outdated or harmful language.


ope and aim of the task force’s work; and exploring avenues for researchers to report archival description that contains outdated or harmful language.Resources Cited in the OCLC Research Library Partnership EDI Survey: In 2017, the OCLC Research Library Partnership (RLP) conducted a survey to explore if and how their 150 Partner institutions are modifying library and archival collections, practices, and services through the lens of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).  Their objective was to capture a snapshot of efforts to inform next steps, reveal possible directions to explore, and serve as a starting point for further discussions and action regarding EDI in the library field. See a list of resources mentioned in the survey.


and serve as a starting point for further discussions and action regarding EDI in the library field. See a list of resources mentioned in the survey.Additional Resources Bibliography of Scholarship on Women and Gender Studies Librarianship – ACRL Women and Gender Studies Section . Accessed June 29, 2023. https://acrl.ala.org/wgss/bibliography-of-scholarship-on-women-and-gender-studies-librarianship/. “ Change The Subject | Dartmouth Library.” Accessed June 29, 2023. https://www.library.dartmouth.edu/digital/digital-collections/change-the-subject. RBMS BSC Task Group on Addressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Bibliographic Standards and Bibliographic Description. "Final Report." 06/21/2022. Suárez, Armando. “Diversifying the Archives.” This Side of Metadata , March 22, 2021. https://blogs.princeton.edu/techsvs/2021/03/22/diversifying-the-archives/.


Dead Links - Check Back on These:
Archives Against History Repeating Itself: An online resource with activities for archivists, students, and researchers to identify and dismantle oppressive power structures in archives. Includes a bibliography with recommended readings against white supremacy, colonialism, patriarchy, heteronormativity, ableism, capitalism, and more.

Inclusive Metadata & Conscious Editing Resources: Resources compiled by the Sunshine State Digital Network Metadata Working Group related to conscious editing and anti-oppressive metadata practices. They have included resources related to bias in library and archival description, inclusive metadata, re-description projects, and best practices and resources for describing materials by and about marginalized peoples. This is not a comprehensive list, but rather a starting place for metadata creators and catalogers to discover resources on this topic.


Conducting Remote Research:
Searches of ArchiveGrid , WorldCat , and other databases turn up archival collections in repositories around the world.  That can mean a library across town if you're lucky, or a library thousands of miles away. Ideally, you would be able to visit a library in person to use collections yourself.  When that is not possible, however, you can still do some research remotely.


Tips for Productive Remote Research:


Tips for Productive Remote Research:Tips for Productive Remote Research:Remote Research: When you can't visit a library in person, you may still be able to conduct a substantial amount of research from afar.  For instance, there may be published editions of primary sources available in print, on microfilm, or online (on the open web or in subscription databases).  And those print and microfilm editions may be available to borrow via interlibrary loan.  Or you might be able to request digital or paper copies of archival or other special collections materials from the repository.  And if none of those options is available, you may be able to hire a researcher to search through a library's collections for you. Following are a few tips and suggestions to help you conduct archival research from afar. Preliminary Website Search: Once you have discovered that a library holds materials relevant to your topic, take a close look at its website.


om afar. Preliminary Website Search: Once you have discovered that a library holds materials relevant to your topic, take a close look at its website.om afar. Preliminary Website Search: Once you have discovered that a library holds materials relevant to your topic, take a close look at its website.om afar. Preliminary Website Search: Once you have discovered that a library holds materials relevant to your topic, take a close look at its website.Read about the library's collections as a whole Consult research guides on your topic, if available Browse the list of archival collections if there is one Search across the library's finding aids or archival collections if the option is available Read finding aids closely to get the full details on collections that interest you and to learn about any use restrictions that may be in place Search and browse the library's catalog to find additional sources Look for digital editions of the library's holdings As you search, compile a list of materials you would like to consult at the library, dividing it by format (archival collections, microfilm, books, serials, etc.) and be sure to note collection names and numbers Remote Reference: Once you have a good understanding of the materials available and know what you would like to use, contact the library.  Check to see if there is an online reference form to fill out or if there is an email address to which you can send a reference


contact the library.  Check to see if there is an online reference form to fill out or if there is an email address to which you can send a reference contact the library.  Check to see if there is an online reference form to fill out or if there is an email address to which you can send a reference contact the library.  Check to see if there is an online reference form to fill out or if there is an email address to which you can send a reference contact the library.  Check to see if there is an online reference form to fill out or if there is an email address to which you can send a reference contact the library.  Check to see if there is an online reference form to fill out or if there is an email address to which you can send a reference contact the library.  Check to see if there is an online reference form to fill out or if there is an email address to which you can send a referencequestion.  If not, call the library.  The staff may ask you to follow up with an email.  Be sure to send your question to only one staff member, not to multiple email address on the library's website.  Be specific when you ask your question.  Include collection names and numbers and indicate the box and folder numbers containing the materials of interest to you.  Let the library know what what your research focus is, what resources you have already consulted, and ask if they can recommend additional sources.  Finally, bear in mind that many libraries are short staffed.  Whether you send a reference question by email or regular mail, know that it can take some time to receive a reply.


many libraries are short staffed.  Whether you send a reference question by email or regular mail, know that it can take some time to receive a reply.many libraries are short staffed.  Whether you send a reference question by email or regular mail, know that it can take some time to receive a reply.many libraries are short staffed.  Whether you send a reference question by email or regular mail, know that it can take some time to receive a reply.Digitized Primary Sources: Many libraries have digitized portions of their holdings making it possible for researchers to find copies of manuscripts and archival materials on their websites and in online portals.  Look for digital editions of a library collections as you browse  websites and search catalogs.  See the Finding Digitized Sources section of this guide for more information.


s of a library collections as you browse  websites and search catalogs.  See the Finding Digitized Sources section of this guide for more information.s of a library collections as you browse  websites and search catalogs.  See the Finding Digitized Sources section of this guide for more information.s of a library collections as you browse  websites and search catalogs.  See the Finding Digitized Sources section of this guide for more information.Reproduction Policies: It may be possible to obtain a limited number of digital or printed copies from a library's special collections.  Be specific when you inquire.  Ask about obtaining copies from particular folders in particular collections and provide the full collection names, collection numbers, and links to the finding aids or catalog records showing where you learned about the materials.  Most libraries post their reproduction policies online.  These stipulate whether copies may be made, the number of items that may be copied, the cost of copies, the length of time it takes to obtain copies, and any permissions or other restrictions that may exist on copying from particular collections.


copies, the length of time it takes to obtain copies, and any permissions or other restrictions that may exist on copying from particular collections.copies, the length of time it takes to obtain copies, and any permissions or other restrictions that may exist on copying from particular collections.copies, the length of time it takes to obtain copies, and any permissions or other restrictions that may exist on copying from particular collections.There is usually a per-page fee in addition to postage charges.  Researchers are usually required to sign a document stating that the copies being requested will be used for reference purposes only, not for publication.  If you need copies from a collection for publication, you will likely have to make a separate request.  Images for publication come with their own fees, time schedules, and requirements.


for publication, you will likely have to make a separate request.  Images for publication come with their own fees, time schedules, and requirements. for publication, you will likely have to make a separate request.  Images for publication come with their own fees, time schedules, and requirements. for publication, you will likely have to make a separate request.  Images for publication come with their own fees, time schedules, and requirements.Interlibrary Loan: Special collections rarely, if ever, allow their manuscripts or other archival materials to circulate, but many do allow their published primary sources, including books, serials, and microfilmed archival collections, to be sent out on interlibrary loan.  Multiple copies of these published primary sources usually exist and can be discovered on a library's website or with a local library catalog or WorldCat search.  See the Published Primary Sources section this guide for more information.  When you find a published source you would like to borrow via ILL, log into the Graduate Center's ILL system to submit your request there.  Microfilmed collections are usually accompanied by published guides containing scholarship that helps put the archival materials into context.


there.  Microfilmed collections are usually accompanied by published guides containing scholarship that helps put the archival materials into context.there.  Microfilmed collections are usually accompanied by published guides containing scholarship that helps put the archival materials into context.there.  Microfilmed collections are usually accompanied by published guides containing scholarship that helps put the archival materials into context.Researchers for Hire: When you can't identify a small number of specific items that you would like to have copied, or when neither copying nor ILL is possible, or when there is simply too much material to go through remotely, consider hiring a local researcher to visit the library for you.  Check the library's website for a list of local researchers for hire.  Or consult the National Archives' list of Independent Researchers for Hire for ideas.


Tropy:
Tropy is a free tool you can use to manage your research photos.  With Tropy you can file, annotate, tag, search, and export images.  Download the software from Tropy.org .


Zotero for Archival Research:
A handy guide from Harvard Libraries with tips for using Zotero to organize manuscript and archival sources: Zotero for Archival Research


Spanish Paleography Digital Teaching and Learning Tool:
The Spanish Paleography Digital Teaching and Learning Tool is an online interactive resource to assist users in learning how to decipher and read manuscripts written in Spanish during the early modern period, roughly from the late 15th to the 18th century.


Transkribus:
" Transkribus is the European Union READ project's comprehensive platform for the automated recognition, transcription and searching of historical documents.  The main objective of Transkribus is to support users who are engaged in the transcription of printed or handwritten documents, namely humanities scholars, archives, volunteers and computer scientists."  Download it for free from the Transkribus website . Read about Transkribus on the blog of the National Archives  of the UK .


TeachArchives.org:
" TeachArchives.org is an innovative resource for teachers, administrators, librarians, archivists, and museum educators. It offers sample exercises and informative articles based on a new approach to teaching in the archives."


FromThePage:
FromThePage is a crowdsourcing platform for archives and libraries where volunteers transcribe, index, and describe historic document.  Sign up to transcribe historical documents as a volunteer, create classroom transcribing projects, or upload documents from your archive for crowd-sourced transcription.


SAA's Guide to Effective Research:
A guide from the Society of American Archivists that describes how archives function and provides tips on identifying appropriate archives and accessing historical materials at an archive.