Knowing Where to Look

1. Archival Research Basics with the National Archives Lesson # 2 Knowing Where to Look The difference between an archives and a library and why having this information can help you for the rest of your academic life. The National Archives and Records Administration Pacific Alaska Region Seattle, Washington & Anchorage, Alaska 9/1/2009

2. When doing research on any topic, it is important to know what you are looking for and where that item or items might be. In order to figure that out, it is often important to know the difference between the TYPES of materials you might be looking for.

3. Published Materials Created by one or several people and reproduced in some quantity. Books being chosen for Wheelwright Library, Wheelright, Kentucky 1946ARC Identifier 541514 (www.archives.gov/research/arc/ )

4. Published Materials Often contain indexes and tables of contents. Charlestown, Indiana Library 1941, ARC Identifier 518271 (www.archives.gov/research/arc/ )

5. Published Materials Map Library Kent State University Usually catalogued by topic.

6. Published Materials Newspaper section of periodicals library Newman Library Virginia Tech University Sometimes catalogued by date

7. Published Materials May have multiple indexes and catalogs to help you find items and subjects within. Some may be digitized and/or online. Children’s Periodicals from the Graduate School of Library and Information ScienceUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

8. Unpublished materials Loose materials, often organized into files and sometimes placed in boxes of different types. Proclamation Signing, Cuba Quarantine. President Kennedy. White House, Oval Office., 10/23/1962 ARC Identifier 194243 (www.archives.gov/research/arc/ )

9. Unpublished materials Often never reproduced in any way. The original is often all there is. Photograph of two Metal Fragments Removed from the Head of President John F. Kennedy at the Time of His AutopsyARC Identifier 305167 (www.archives.gov/research/arc/ )

10. May only be organized by material type or by date Archivist R.D.W. Connor (right) receives a master print of the epic film “Gone With The Wind” from Carter Barron, Loew’s Eastern Division Manager of Theaters on January 30, 1941. Looking on is Senator Walter Franklin George of Georgia. http://www.archives.gov/75th/photos/1940s/01.html

11. Often organized by the agency or person who created them rather than by topic US Army Immigration & Naturalization Service US Forest Service Fish and Wildlife Service US Federal District Courts Bureau of Indian Affairs US Navy Bureau of Land Management

12. Sometimes (but not always) there are lists telling us what files are inside the boxes Bureau of Prohibition ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: BUREAU OF PROHIBITION SEATTLE, WA 1927-33 The Bureau of Prohibition was responsible for tracking bootleggers and organized crime leaders. They focused primarily on interstate and international cases and those cases where local law enforcement official would not or could not act. The Seattle office of the Bureau of Prohibition apparently operated in Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington and Wyoming. Predecessor Agency: Prohibition Unit, Department of the Treasury Successor Agency: Alcohol Tax Unit, Department of the Treasury Date Compiled: 2/23/94 SERIES DESCRIPTION:INVESTIGATORY CASE FILES 1924-3314 linear feet Arranged by case file number These case file contain raw investigatory data as well as news clippings relating to the investigation; correspondence between law enforcement officials and correspondence with informants; and draft and final reports. Some files have transcripts of telephone taps. The files contain information on local prohibition activities as well as interstate activities (OR/WA and WA/CA) and international smuggling activities (US/Canada). Many of the files relate to local law enforcement and electedofficial involved in bootlegging. Some materials may be restricted due to Grand Jury information TYPE OF MATERIALS: correspondence, news clippings, transcripts, reports, photos SUBJECT REFERENCE: prohibition, law enforcement GEOGRAPHIC NAME REFERENCE: WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, CA, British Columbia, Columbia River BEGIN AND END BOX NUMBERS: 1-32FOLDER LIST:FILE NO. CASE TITLE Box 1: Docket #101 Great Falls, Montana (Western Sales Co., et.al.)Docket #106 Absarokee, Montana (complaint of Rev. W.L. Spencer)Docket #108 Plentywood, MontanaDocket #158 Miles City, Montana (closed)Docket #158 1/2 Billings, Montana (closed)3.01-237 Seattle Conspiracy3.01-246 Russell Wood, Harold Anderson, et.al. (A.W. Wash. case) [Tacoma, WA]7-A Parsons, Frank [Vancouver, B.C]45-A Conspiracy to transport alcohol between California & Oregon65-B Gus Hodel, et.al. [Great Falls, MT] [photo in paper of officers by still]119-B Hemrich Brewing Co. Seattle, WA 3.02-186119-B Hemrich Brewing Co. Continued …..

13. Sometimes (but not always) there are lists telling us what files are inside the boxes BEGIN AND END BOX NUMBERS: 1-32FOLDER LIST:FILE NO. CASE TITLE Box 1: Docket #101 Great Falls, Montana (Western Sales Co., et.al.)Docket #106 Absarokee, Montana (complaint of Rev. W.L. Spencer)Docket #108 Plentywood, MontanaDocket #158 Miles City, Montana (closed)Docket #158 1/2 Billings, Montana (closed)3.01-237 Seattle Conspiracy3.01-246 Russell Wood, Harold Anderson, et.al. (A.W. Wash. case) [Tacoma, WA]7-A Parsons, Frank [Vancouver, B.C]45-A Conspiracy to transport alcohol between California & Oregon65-B Gus Hodel, et.al. [Great Falls, MT] [photo in paper of officers by still]119-B Hemrich Brewing Co. Seattle, WA 3.02-186119-B Hemrich Brewing Co. Continued …..

14. Often unpublished materials take hours of careful research to find and use

15. So why would you bother to take the time to search through original documents that are not indexed or organized by topic?

16. Perhaps you want a copy of the original treasury warrant for the purchase of Alaska for a report or exhibit. Treasury Warrant in the Amount of $7.2 Million for the Purchase of Alaska, 08/01/1868, ARC Identifier 301667 ( www.archives.gov/research/arc/ )

17. Perhaps you want to examine areas of Alaska that were of concern to the Environmental Protection agency in the 1970’s Documerica Project - Valdez Narrows 1974, ARC Identifier 555709 (www.archives.gov/research/arc/ )

18. Or find an original civil war discharge certificate for an ancestor or person important to the outcome of the war. Josiah Webster Civil War Discharge Certificate February, 1863, 02/1863, ARC Identifier 192986 ( www.archives.gov/research/arc/ )

19. Perhaps you want to find out what REALLY happened to individual or groups of African Americans before the Civil War Warrant for Habeas Corpus, September 21, 1839 United States v. Cinque and the Africans, Case Files, ARC Identifier 2641484 (www.archives.gov/research/arc/ ) See the entire NARA Documented Rights exhibit

20. Or simply make history come alive? Civil war photographs from www.archives.gov/research/arc/ (ARC Identifiers 524705, 524564, 524642)

21. So … let’s pretend you are now convinced to take the time to dig through some original records. How would you figure out what facility would have the record you want and where it is located?

22. At this point it will be important for you to learn the difference between INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS and GOVERNMENT REPOSITORIES

23. Collections • People are always collecting things like: • Stamps • Coins • Antiques • Books

24. Collections Libraries and museums may collect (among other things)

25. Works kept in special collections (as opposed to the library's general collection) are typically stored there because they are unusually valuable, rare (possibly unique), or fragile, or because they should not, for some particular reason, be allowed to commingle with the library's other works (Wikipedia) Unpublished materials are often kept in special collections

26. In any collection • Always check to see what they have collected • Be aware that they probably do not have EVERYTHING possible (you will probably need to look in other places for more items)

27. Government Repositories Items or documents in a government repository are usually not “collected.” [DISCLAIMER: Even government repositories (like archives) may actually hold a few collections that have been donated or otherwise obtained.] However, for the most part, NO conscious decision is made to “collect” particular items or types of items. The law tells them what to save.

28. Government repositories [archives] are where government agencies send their historic or “permanent” records when they no longer need them. SO… You can COUNT on particular documents like the ones on the right [if they were saved] being held in a government archives.

29. Government repositories [archives] are where government agencies send their historic or “permanent” records when they no longer need them. SO… You can COUNT on particular documents like the ones on the right [if they were saved] being held in a government archives.

30. So … where would you go if … • You were looking for a birth certificate? • You needed a copy of “Catcher in the Rye”? • You wanted a record of what happened at the Little Bighorn? • You were looking for a fire map of the Colville Indian agency? • You needed your grandfather’s citizenship application?

31. So … where would you go if … • You were looking for a birth certificate? • The state archives for the state of birth • You needed a copy of “Catcher in the Rye”? • Any library that has it in their collection • You wanted a record of what happened at the Little Bighorn? • Military records held at the National Archives • You were looking for a fire map of the Colville Indian agency? • National Archives original records (Bureau of Indian Affairs and/or the Bureau of Land Management) • You needed your grandfather’s citizenship application? • Either in the 1) National Archives’ or 2) a state, county, or local archives (depending upon the court that the records were filed in.)

32. Wow … how did I know that? • The first thing I did was • Figure out whether it was a published or unpublished record • If published, look at library databases to find who has a copy of the item in their collection. • If it is not published, • check to see if it was a government document, • notice WHAT government created the document, • look in that government archives. • If it is not published and non-government, • do an internet search to see if the document exists in a special collection in a library or museum.

33. Can’t figure it out?Always remember that the people who can help direct you in your search are: • Archivists • Librarians • Museum staff • Historians • Other researchers They know their records … They know where else to look They are your best resource!

34. ASSIGNMENT 2 • Review the analysis sheet you filled out for Lesson 1 • Look at the types of documents you listed • Using the Lesson 2 worksheet, list specific documents you might want to look for in order to write about the ethnic composition of your community. • What type of document are you looking for? (map, photo, journal, diary, article, encyclopedia entry, drawing,…) • Given the document type, is it most likely published, unpublished, or both? • Would the document have been produced by a government or non-government entity? • Is it most likely in a collection (or collections or in a government repository? • Which one and where? • Please send a copy of the completed worksheet to carol.buswell@nara.gov or Carol Buswell, 6125 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115 for review. If you are taking this course for credit, this is aREQUIRED and GRADEDassignment.

35. Need to know where something isRIGHT NOW? ASK US! We are here to help you. The National Archives at Anchorage 654 West Third Avenue Anchorage, AK 99501-2145 907-261-7800 alaska.archives@nara.gov Serves Alaska The National Archives at Seattle 6125 Sand Point Way, NE Seattle, WA 98115-7999 206-336-5115 seattle.archives@nara.gov Serves Washington, Oregon and Idaho