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Unstable Sources: New Approaches to Historical Methodology

Discover the importance of utilizing online resources for historical research, including access to primary and secondary sources, national databases in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, and tips for finding archival materials effectively.

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Unstable Sources: New Approaches to Historical Methodology

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  1. Unstable Sources: New Approaches to Historical Methodology Just Say "No" to Google: Finding Archives and Manuscript Collections on the WebSusan Hamburger, Ph.D. Connecting Historians with Online Resources Daniel C. Mack, MLS, MA Penn State University Libraries January 5, 2007

  2. Importance of knowing online resources • Access: always something new • Digitization of primary sources increasing exponentially • Increasingly multi-platform • Ubiquity: widely available from any location • Familiarity to students • Increasingly familiar with online sources • Technology used in their daily life

  3. Online collections by subject, area, or period • Primary sources and archival materials • Secondary sources • Links to other collections and associations • There is no “one-stop shopping” for online historical sources • Google doesn’t have access to and can’t search many of these resources

  4. National Databases - U.S. • WorldCat (OCLC--Online Computer Library Center) This site-licensed database offers advanced searching that can limit to Type (archival materials) to retrieve catalog records for manuscript and archival collections. Single item manuscripts are generally coded in the Books format.

  5. National Databases - U.S. • NUCMC/RLIN AMC File Search Form offers free access to the RLG Union Catalog Archival and Mixed Collections files <http://lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/>

  6. National Databases - U.S. • ArchivesUSA This site-licensed database provides keyword and subject searching, limitable by time period and specific resource, of 160,792collection records, over 6,000 links to online finding aids, and more than 106,748 NUCMC records: • National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC, 1959-present) • 1988 Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the United States (DAMRUS) of 5,596 U.S. manuscript repositories • National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (NIDS, an index to more than 62,009 manuscript finding aids available in microfiche) • Federal records, Part 1 • Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress, Part 2 • State libraries, state archives, and state historical societies , Part 3 • Academic and research libraries and other repositories, Part 4

  7. National Directory – U.K. • ARCHON Directory includes contact details for record repositories in the United Kingdom and also for institutions elsewhere in the world which have substantial collections of manuscripts noted under the indexes to the National Register of Archives.

  8. National Databases - U.S. • National Archives and Records Administration <http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/basic_ search.jsp> The online catalog of NARA's holdings in the Washington, D.C. area, regional archives, and presidential libraries; offers searching by keyword, limit by digital copy availability, dates, locations of materials, and type.

  9. National Databases - Canada • CAIN: Canadian Archival Information Network<http://www.cain-rcia.ca/> Allows viewers to search archival holdings in more than eight hundred publicly-accessible Canadian repositories. The site offers links to provincial archival networks (organizations) and online archival exhibits.

  10. National Databases – U.K. • National Register of Archives (U.K.) <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/> The NRA contains information on the nature and location of manuscripts and historical records that relate to British history. The National Archives, which covers England, Wales and the United Kingdom, was formed in April 2003 by bringing together the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission. • Access to Archives (A2A) database contains catalogues describing archives held locally in England and Wales and dating from the eighth century to the present day.

  11. National Databases – U.K. • Archives HUB <http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/index.html> National gateway to descriptions of archives in UK universities and colleges, provided by the University Manchester.

  12. National Databases - Australia • Register of Australian Archives and Manuscripts (RAAM) <http://www.nla.gov.au/raam/> This database contains records describing non-government archives held in Australian archival repositories and libraries.

  13. National Databases - New Zealand • New Zealand National Register of Archives and Manuscripts /Te Raarangi Puuranga, Tuhinga Ake o te Motu (NRAM) <http://www.nram.org.nz/> A cooperative effort of several New Zealand library and archival groups, NRAM includes archival collections held in museums, local government bodies, libraries, historical societies, community repositories, and in-house business, educational, religious and sporting archives throughout New Zealand.

  14. Manuscript Repositories • Repositories of Primary Resources (University of Idaho) <http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html> This site provides links to over 5,000 Web sites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary resources for the research scholar; it is the most comprehensive in existence. The site is arranged by geographical area, and includes links to archives and libraries throughout the United States and the world. In addition, there are links to other indices of special collections and archival sites.

  15. Manuscript Repositories • Ready, 'Net, Go! Resources for Archives (Tulane University) <http://www.tulane.edu/~lmiller/ArchivesResources.html> This service is an archival "meta index," or index of archival indexes. That is, from here they refer you to the major indexes, lists, and databases of archival resources. From them you can link to every archives and archival resource in the metaverse.

  16. Finding Aids Online • RLG's ArchiveGrid (formerly Archival Resources) This site-licensed database offers centralized access for searching and retrieving archival finding aids plus access to Research Libraries Group's Archival and Mixed Collections file of catalog records.

  17. Finding Aids Online SOME STATE CONSORTIA • Online Archive of California <http://www.oac.cdlib.org> Contains historical materials from a variety of California institutions, including museums, historical societies, and archives. Over 120,000 images; 50,000 pages of documents, letters, and oral histories; and 8,000 guides to collections are available. • Virginia Heritage--Guides to Manuscript and Archival Collections in Virginia<http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/cgi-bin/eadform.pl> A union database of a small percentage of finding aids from twenty-one repositories.

  18. Digital Projects • Valley of the Shadow; Two Communities in the American Civil War <http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu> A Web project documenting the communities of Augusta County, Va. and Franklin County, Pa. on the eve of the Civil War through Reconstruction, Fall 1859 through Fall 1870.

  19. Digital Projects • Library of Congress American Memory Project <http://lcweb2.loc.gov> This site contains historical collections for the National Digital Library.

  20. Panoramic photograph of a flood in Pittsburgh

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