Research Guides: HIS 500: Introduction to the Professional Study of History: Tools for Finding Physical Archives

Finding Archival Sources: Using Other Scholars' Bibliographies

If you have identified a research work (article, book, or dissertation) that addresses the topic or question you are interested in ---- please look in its bibliography. You will surely find a list of archival sources that you may also wish to consult.

For example, here are some of the archives consulted for Kevin Kruse's White flight : Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism

CC	Calvin Craig Papers, Special Collections, Robert W. Woodruff Library, Emory University, Atlanta
FCSC	Records, Fulton County Superior Court, Atlanta
GGDP	Georgia Government Documentation Program, Special Collections, William Russell Pullen Library, Georgia State University, Atlanta
NAACP	National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Papers, Microfilm Edition

And many more

Finding Archival Sources: Using Google Books

You can also "triangulate" to additional archives if you know one archive you are interested in.

For example, suppose you know that you are interested in the Jacob M. Rothschild Papers. But you are wondering, "what other archives have scholars used in conjunction with the Rothschild papers?"

Use Google Books. Enter "Jacob M. Rothschild Papers" (in quotation marks). The search results will include any book in the Google database that mentions the Rothschild papers.

Then you can go to the bibliographies in those books and see what other archives are being used.

For example, the results from the Rothschild papers search include Clive Webb's Fight Against Fear: Southern Jews and Black Civil Rights.

In Webb's bibliography, we find:

American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio: David Z. Ben-Ami, copies of letters and newspaper clippings supporting Rabbi Ben-Ami's civil rights activities in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Julian B. Feibelman Papers, 1904-80; Emmet A. Frank, newspaper clippings, letters, etc., on the desegregation issue; Abraham Jehiel Feldman Papers, 1906-1977; "Freedom Riders" in Mississippi 1961; Joseph H. Gumbiner, "Taking a Stand in Dixie," summer 1961; Solomon Wallace Hoffman, autobiography, 1956; Clairee Levy, "Happy Child in the Deep South from 1899 to 1914," oral history, n.d.; Joseph Lyons, diary, 1833-1839; Charles Mantinband Papers, 1923-1968; Levi A. Olan Papers, 1924-1983; Rabbi Ira E. Sanders, Biographical File.
Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, New Orleans: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith Records, 1946-82; Botnick-East Papers; Rivers Frederick Papers,1874-1954; Rosa Freeman Keller Collection; Kim Lacy Rogers-Glenda Stevens Collection; Save Our Schools, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana Records, 1957-1963.
Arkansas History Commission, Little Rock: Jim Johnson Collection; Women's Emergency Committee Papers, 1958-1963.

And many more.

Databases That Index Physical Archives

ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window
Index to finding aids and other descriptive information about the holdings of manuscript and archival collections in libraries and research institutions throughout the world.
American National Biography Online This link opens in a new window
Authoritative bios of more than 19,000 prominent people who lived in what is now the United States from the Colonial Period to the present. Everyone included is deceased. Includes bibliographic data on publications by and about these individuals. Search by name orvarious characteristics including gender, ethnicity, occupation, dates. 17th Century+
Archive Finder This link opens in a new window
Contains the entire holdings in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC). Current directory of thousands of repositories and over 220,000 collections of primary source materials across the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland. 1959+
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive online catalog of library holdings. Lists books, journals, maps, recordings, films, scores, and other materials located in public, academic, corporate, school and specialized libraries all over the world. Check Worldcat for holdings of material that are not available at Princeton. Available items may be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

Directory of Corporate Archives
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Current through 2018

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Illustrated collection of over 57,000 authoritative biographies of people who shaped the history of Great Britain, from the 4th century BC to those who have died in the previous few years.

Catalog Searches for Physical Archives

Not all archives are represented in the tools shown above. Some can be found using older printed "archival directories".

Use the library catalog, and search in keyword: [topic} archiv* director*

Here is the complete list of our holdings

National Archives and Records Administration

NARA has a website, but it is difficult to navigate.

Many researchers prefer to start with the Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States.

Online searchable edition
Printed version with index -- Trustee Reading Room, CD3026 1995.

Before you travel to NARA, however, please be sure to contact the archives and determine that the collection you want is declassified and open for research. It may take a couple weeks to get a response.