Estimated time to complete this section: 75 minutes
American Memory Collection (Library of Congress) With the American Memory Collection, the Library of Congress has created access to over 100 primary source collections, with more than 7 million digital items available online. These collections contain a wealth of information: from photographs and drawings, to oral histories, maps, and sound recordings. There are several ways to locate content within these collections.
To begin, you should identify how the collections are structured. In recent years, Library of Congress has migrated the American Memory Collection into their Digital Collections portal. Currently the extensive digitized collections are accessible in both spaces, but you may find that it is easier to identify content using American Memory. Use the recommended strategies below for further exploration.
- Utilize a Search guide
- Many repositories will prepare a guide for researchers which highlights strategies for effective searching. The American Memory Collection includes information on how resources are organized so you can search more effectively, as well as suggestions for choosing search words within this material, as well as a recommended list of synonyms to utilize.
- Search across all digitized material at Digital Collections
- A broad search in this window will locate items across collections. Further refine these results by selecting one collection from the list. Or, on the left side of the page, select filter results by format, date, location, subject.
- Search across all American Memory Collections
- Refine a search across the American Memory Collection by selecting particular collections, or by selecting from drop-down options that modify your search terms. Use this guide to make the most of these searches. Note these pages are no longer being updated and you may encounter links that no longer work. Once you have identified a collection, you may still access items through the Digital Collections portal.
- Search across one collection
- To search within a collection use the search bar at the top of the page (checking that “This Collection” has been selected in the search bar.) Be sure to check the main page of the collection, as additional content may be included there, including finding aids, essays and articles, and other materials that may be helpful.
- Peruse the titles to locate specific collections
- Each Collection page should include varying amounts of information on how the items are organized, what is included, and how it was collected. In some cases they will include research tips to direct researchers to certain objects and other content. Be sure to read these pages first before searching within a collection for better results.
- Utilize a Research Guide
- Web guides on a number of sources are available online to direct you to material on a particular subject or region.
- State-level primary sources, curated for use by teachers, can also provide useful information on local and state history. Click on your state to view.
- Primary Source Sets are also available on broad subjects that may be of use to local historians.
- Use Education Material and Lesson Plans
- The Library of Congress has developed lesson plans and other material for educators. Lessons, like Exploring Community Through Local History, and Immigration and Oral History combine primary source collections with contextual material and learning activities. Primary Source Sets are arranged by subject or time period and combined with guides for analysis and other tools. Both of these resources may be useful for use with library visitors or when planning local programming at your library.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) houses the nation’s archival material, including immigration, military, and census records, maps, films, photographs and more. Only a small portion of these records are available online, but the website may help you to locate material to view in person at one of seventeen Research Facilities.
To begin, use the Research Our Records page as a starting point. The staff at NARA have prepared a number of resources to get researchers started, including; Resources for Genealogists, Resources for Research in Military Records, and Resources for Research on a particular subject or topic.
- Utilize Catalog Search Tips for the National Archives Catalog
- as previously suggested, be thoughtful about the search terms you utilize, implement several searches to identify several collections for closer examination.
- Sort your results by selecting tabs on your search results page.
- Selecting the “online” tab displays all relevant search results available online. Select the other tabs to view documents, photos, videos or websites. Use this resource for more information on searching the catalog online.
- You may also run an Advanced Search on the National Archives Catalog.
- Refine your search by selecting a data source (archival descriptions, authority records, etc), level of description (group, collection, series, file, item) type of material (textual records, moving images, etc), location, date (year range).
- Locate an Online Exhibit
- Use the keyword search on the right side of the page to locate an exhibit, or select a subject from the dropdown menu. Be sure to read through supporting documentation in each exhibit for additional suggestions for locating material.
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Combining the resources of libraries, archives, museums and other cultural heritage institutions, DPLA is a great resource for digitized documents, images, maps, and other material. Unlike the Library of Congress American Memory Collection or the National Archives and Records Administration, DPLA does not house extensive primary or secondary source collections. Instead, DPLA makes it possible to search across the digitized resources of a growing list of repositories across the United States.
Get started on DPLA homepage. There are several ways to locate resources through the DPLA.
- Search across the collection.
- Use names, locations, or subjects to locate items across collections. As previously suggested, be thoughtful about the search terms you utilize and implement several searches to identify several collections for closer examination. Utilize the Search Tips developed by DPLA to structure your queries for the best results.
- Further refine your search results.
- Refine your results by selecting item types, subjects, defining a time span, location, language, or restrict results to a particular institution or partner. These options are visible on the left side of the results page. You may also change the results view using the dropdowns at the top of the page. Change the display number to view more items per page. Sort the results alphabetically, by relevance, or date.
- Browse by topic
- Staff members of DPLA have organized topic collections that showcase material from across their partner repositories. These are a growing list of curated primary source collections from a number of locations that offer insight on subjects like, Aviation and Women in Science.
- Utilize Primary Source Sets
- Organized around particular subjects and designed for use by teachers, these primary source collections link material with secondary resources to contextualize primary sources. Sets include discussion questions and classroom activities that may also be helpful for use with library visitors or when planning local programming at your library.
- Search curated Exhibitions
- Exhibitions combine primary sources with contextual narrative description developed by librarians and historians. Exhibitions include broader contextual information that may be useful for interpreting primary sources. These may also be shared with library visitors interested in available subjects.
- Explore Workshops
- DPLA workshops cover a number of subjects that may be useful for library staff or patrons. These workshops, conducted by DPLA staff and DPLA partners, may provide useful training on technical skills, community outreach, and intellectual property. For instance, they have held workshops on Genealogy and Family History, and Using the DPLA for Teaching and Learning. Upcoming workshops will be announced online.
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is a digital library that preserves digital copies of analog sources as well as born-digital sources like websites, software programs, audio recordings, videos, images and more. These collections include digitized archival material contributed by libraries and archives around the world.
There are several ways to locate content within the millions of items held in the Internet Archive.
To begin, view this helpful video by the staff at Central Connecticut State University Elihu Burritt Library which includes an overview of how to navigate the Internet Archive. Also utilize the blog for discussion on how to use particular search features, like Faceted Filtering and Full-Text Search.
- To search for a particular media type
- If you are looking for a specific media type, select from the colorful item type icons on the homepage above the search bar. For instance, to search for a song, click on the blue “Audio” icon. In the page that opens, select a particular archive, from the list or titles on the right. Or enter search terms in the search bar on the left to locate specific content. Results can be further refined by selecting media type, date range, topic or subject, collection, creator, or language.
- To search for a particular item
- If you know the name or title of a book, image, object, or video, enter it in the search bar on the homepage. Filter results by selecting media type, date range, topic or subject, collection, creator, or language.
- To run an Advanced Search
- In order to run an advanced search enter your search terms in the appropriate fields. Further refine your search results by including information in these fields (specify a collection, for instance). You do not need to fill in every field. Utilize the helpful hints at the bottom of the Advanced Search Page to improve your search query and filter your results.
- To search within an item (not all items have searchable text)
- If you are looking for a particular portion of a text click the item from your search results page. On the item page click the magnifying glass button in the viewer to search within the text. Additionally, you can click on the Full Text link under Download options to view the raw text.
Umbra Search African American History. This search tool brings together material related to African American history from more than 1000 US libraries, archives, and museums. It aims to make this material more accessible and to make it easier to draw connections between sources. The sources included in Umbra Search are not always readily identifiable as related to African American history in the collections from which they come. The metadata that describes them often does not identify race and lacks references to historical topics. Staff at Umbra Search have modified and enhanced metadata and added keywords so that materials are included in broad searches for common topics, including the Black Arts Movement, Civil Rights, Diaspora, Politics and Government, Music and Theater, and more.
To begin there are five example searches; each is annotated with explanation of the search terms.
- To search enter a keyword in the search box; an auto suggest feature provides keywords from the materials
- To refine your search results, select one or more of the facets that appear on the left of search results: keyword; creator; type of source; contributing institution; collection; and location.
- To examine an item, click on it to see more detailed metadata and related content – or click on the view button to see the source in its original collection.
Activity 2.1.1: Scavenger Hunt
Apply the lessons learned in this section with this scavenger hunt for digital sources. Searching the repositories you have explored in this section:
- Find a recipe for ice cream from 1915.
- Find a map of your hometown (or vicinity) from the 19th century.