Historiography and Historical Methods
Library Exercise
navigating this assignment:
Exercise A 1 Exercise A 2 Exercise A 3 Exercise A 4 Exercise A 5
Exercise B 1 Exercise B 2 Exercise B 3 Exercise B 4 Exercise B 5 Exercise B 6
Introduction to the assignment
This assignment is divided into two sections, with a total of 11 different exercises.
Each exercise may take you as much as an hour.
We will do it in several stages (see the syllabus for the weekly schedule of assignments).
Before you turn in each section of the assignment:
If you do this entire assignment carefully, it will sharpen your basic library research skills.
It should also get you in the habit of writing down essential bibliographic information for all of your sources (primary and secondary). That habit is of critical importance and can save you a lot of time and headaches (ask any historian!).
___
Be sure to think about the difference between "secondary sources" and "primary sources."
"Primary source" refers to a document from the past, such as a report found in an archive, a memoir, an autobiography, a diary, etc. Primary sources are the bits of evidence that people in the past have left behind. They are the evidence historians use to reconstruct and interpret the past.
"Secondary source" refers to something that a researcher has written about the past, based on his/her research.
________________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION A: FINDING AND
DOCUMENTING SECONDARY SOURCES
Below are a series of tasks that involve searching for secondary sources. They also should get you into the habit of writing down necessary documentation.
Exercise A 1) FINDING SCHOLARLY SECONDARY SOURCES USING LIBRARY DATABASES
In this assignment, you will use our library's databases to search for books that are secondary sources. Before you begin, be sure that you read the entire exercise (A 1).
Books that are in our library can be found using "Pilot" (the State System's library search engine). You can also use Pilot to see if a book is in the library of any other State System university. Most research projects will require secondary sources beyond those that are in our library.
Our library has access to several other powerful databases that can help you search for books. The most powerful library search engine is WorldCat, which searches hundreds of libraries.
When you are searching for books and you do not know the author or title of a specific book, you will need to search using "Subject Heading" searches.
For "subject searches," most databases use Library of Congress Subject Headings. When you find a library record for a book that seems useful, make a note of the Subject Heading. (Results from searches on Pilot list these after the word "Subject(s)." If you click on one of the subject terms, it will bring you to other, related results. Results from WorldCat searches list these as "related items" or "related subjects." Again, if you click on one of the subject terms, it will bring you to more "hits."
It is very important that you learn which Subject Headings/Subject Terms/Library of Congress Subject Headings are most relevant to your topic. Once you know the best terms, you can use them for "subject searches" to find other books on the topic.
TIP!!! Very often, the Library of Congress Subject Headings for a book are printed on the inside cover page of the book, with the other library cataloging information. Often this information comes under a line that says "Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data" (after the ISBN information). The subject terms are numbered. Again, when you find a book that is useful, always look fr and write down the Subject Headings. They will guide you to other books.
*How to do a Subject Heading Search using Pilot:
*How to do a Subject Heading Search using WorldCat:
*How to search for free full text digital books with Google Books:
a. FIND THREE BOOKS, FOLLOWING THESE DIRECTIONS.
1. Use Pilot to do a subject heading search for 1 book that is either: on YOUR topic (if you have a topic in mind) or on the history of marriage in France in the Medieval period.
CONDITIONS: The books you are searching for must be
? How do you know if a book is a secondary source?
Remember our discussion about primary and secondary sources and look at what Rampolla says in chapter 2.
Also,
? How do you know if a book is a scholarly monograph?
Not every book written on a historical topic is a scholarly monograph.
Most (but not all) scholarly monographs are published by university presses. So if you see that the book is published by Stanford University Press, it probably fits the definition of a scholarly book. University presses do not publish books until they have been peer-reviewed.
Some books published by trade presses (e.g., Norton, Simon and Schuster, etc), are also scholarly monographs. Scholarly monographs have detailed source citations (endnotes or footnotes, and often bibliographies).
2. Using an advanced subject search on WorldCat, do a subject heading search for 1 book that is either: on YOUR topic (if you have a topic in mind) or on the history of marriage in France in the Medieval period.
CONDITIONS: The books you are searching for must be
? How do you know if a book that you find on WorldCat is in the BU library?
When you click on a listing for a book in WorldCat, there is a "box" that says "Find a copy in the library"; this will tell you if the book is in the BU library, and it will tell you what other libraries have the book.
3. Using Google Books, find 1 book that is either: on YOUR topic (if you have a topic in mind) or on the history of marriage in France in the Medieval period.
CONDITIONS: The books you are searching for must be
b. WRITE
As A 1 part a: Type out the following bibliographic information for all three books. USE CORRECT BIBLIOGRAPHY FORM, BASED ON THE GUIDE IN RAMPOLLA (6th edition, pp. 105-115, especially p. 107)!
In addition, type this information:
c. LOCATE IN THE STACKS
For the book that you found using Pilot, that is in the BU library:
Find the book in the stacks.
While you are standing in the stack with the book, write down the name of the author, title, the Subject Headings, and library call number of the book next to your on the shelf, to the right or to the left.
TYPE THAT INFORMATION AS PART OF THIS EXERCISE (A 1 part c)
Be sure to put the books back exactly where you found them!
? What if you can not find the Subject Headings or any of the other required information?
If, when you look at the book's "front matter," you do not find necessary "cataloging" information, then you should look the book up on Pilot. The full record listing will provide you with the Subject heading (and any other missing information).
d. INTERLIBRARY LOAN
For the book you found on WorldCat that that is not in our library:
Completely fill out an inter-library loan request form (on line) for this book.
? How do you find the ILL request form?
PRINT THE ILIAD / ILL REQUEST FORM AND TURN IT IN TO ME (as A 1 part d); DO NOT SUBMIT IT TO THE LIBRARY UNLESS YOU WANT TO ORDER THE BOOK!
YOU CANNOT ORDER A BOOK BY ILL IF BLOOMSBURG'S LIBRARY HAS ITS OWN COPY OF THE BOOK--SO ALWAYS FIRST SEARCH PILOT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE BOOK!
e. for the digital book at Google Books
Print the title page of the actual book, and turn it in with your assignment (as A 1 part e).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise A 2) FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES USING BU DATABASES
In this assignment, you will use our library's on-line databases to find journal articles. Before you begin, be sure to read the entire exercise.
Databases at the BU Library that are most likely to contain references to secondary sources in History:
How to use these databases:
a. FIND THREE ARTICLES THAT MEET THESE CRITERIA
1. Use "Historical Abstracts" to find 1 article on Jews in Smolensk, Russia during 1917 Revolution; the article must be in our library collection in an actual "paper" journal (on a shelf).
2. Use "JSTOR" to find 1 article on the politics of draft resistance in the South in the USA during World War One (in 1917-1918); the article must be available free in digital full text through our library's databases.
3. Use any of the History article databases to find 1 article on the topic you are considering for your historiography paper. The article must NOT be available in out library or full text on-line. (NOTE--if you can't find any article on your topic that meets these criteria, then look for 1 article on radicalism among Jewish youth in Smolensk, Russia. Again, the article must NOT be in ur library or available full text.)
CONDITIONS--ALL articles must be:
? What is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal?
A scholarly journal is a periodical that publishes research-based essays. These essays will include source citations that allow you to know the source of the author's information. They are generally aimed at specialists and not at general readers. For example, The Journal of Urban History is a scholarly journal. Civil War Illustrated is not. Serious scholarly journals are always peer-reviewed.
Peer-reviewed publications will not print an article unless it has been "approved" by a team of experts in that topic. Let's say that author "x" sends an article about "Jews in Smolensk, Russia in 1917" to the journal The Journal of Social History, hoping that they will publish the article. The editors will send the manuscript to several experts on the topic and ask them what they think of the article. If these experts say that the article is well researched, that the argument makes sense, and that they think it will add to our knowledge on the topic, then the editor of the journal will probably decide to publish the article. In most cases, authors are asked to make revisions (sometimes several rounds of revisions) before the article is approved for publication. The best journals accept only a small percentage (10-20 percent) of the articles that are submitted to them.
Why is it important that you know how to find articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals? Because it means that you know that the article has been read by experts who have determined that the sources, the method, and the argument of the article are all at a high enough level of professionalism to merit publication.
? How can you tell if a journal is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal?
Most of the databases available at our library have advanced searches that allow you to designate "peer-reviewed" journals. Remember that essays in scholarly journals have source citations (endnotes, footnotes, etc.). The title of the journal is often a good clue; The Journal of Women's History, or the American Historical Review, for instance, are both scholarly journals. American Heritage Magazine is not.
b. WRITE
As A 2 part b: For each article, type out the following bibliographic information using the correct bibliographic form (see examples in Rampolla, 6th edition, pp. 115-120, especially p. 116):
c. LOCATE IN THE STACKS
For the article on Jews in Smolensk in 1917--which is available in a journal in our library in paper copy (not in digital form):
Locate the journal in the library's "stacks." Locate the volume and issue in which the article appears. Then photocopy the first page of the article; Write down all of the above requested bibliographic information on your photocopy, and turn this in as A 2 part c.
Be sure to return to put the journal back; other people in your class may be looking for this journal. So be considerate, and return the journal to it exact proper location!) Failing to do this will cost you participation points!
d. LOCATE IN DIGITAL FORMAT
For the article on Southern Draft Resistance that you find in full text digital format with a library (e.g., through JSTOR or America: History and Life, or using Project Muse):
Print out the first page of the article. Write down and turn in (as A 2 part d) all of the above requested bibliographic information on your print-out. T
e. INTERLIBRARY LOAN
For the article that is not available either in our library's collection or in full-text digital format:
Completely fill out an inter-library loan request form (on line) to order the article.
Print the form and TURN IT IN TO ME; DO NOT SUBMIT THE FORM TO THE LIBRARY UNLESS YOU WANT TO ORDER THE ARTICLE! Turn this in as A 2 part e.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise A 3) FINDING SCHOLARLY BOOKS USING THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SEARCH ENGINE
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the United States (and one of the largest in the world). It does not have every book printed, but if you are looking for a book on a topic, there is an excellent chance that you will find it in the LC. For this reason, the LC catalog is a useful tool for research, especially for identifying secondary sources.
a. FIND
Use a web browser to the Library of Congress website at http://lcweb.loc.gov/ .
Find a book on the topic on which you intend to write your historiography paper.
CONDITIONS: The book must be
b. WRITE
Using correct bibliographic form, type out and turn in as A 3 part b the following bibliographic information for your books:
Also, type:
NOTE: The "Brief Record" for any book you call up in the LC catalog will give you most of this information, but not the Subject Headings.
For the Subject Headings, you must click on either "Subject/Contents" or "Full Record."
Please note that there are other major library catalogs on line that are also very useful. The New York Public Library research catalog, which lists more than 5 million books, can be searched at http://www.nypl.org/research/.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise A4) FINDING BOOKS AND ARTICLES USING LOW TECH METHODS
In the days before digital databases, people had to use other means of locating books that are still very useful. Here is one of them....
STEP a) Use Pilot to find any book in our library on the shelves ("in the stacks") that is on your historiography project topic.
CONDITION: It must be a scholarly secondary source.
STEP b) Look at the actual book, and turn to the back to see if it has a bibliography.
STEP c) If the book does have a bibliography, then write down the author's name(s), the book's title, the publication information (place, publisher, year), and the Library of Congress Subject Headings. You need to type this out and turn it in as A 4 part c. If the book's inside cover page does not list the Subject Headings, you must look them up by looking the book up on Pilot!
If the book you picked up does not have a bibliography, then pick up another book until you find one that does have a bibliography. Then write down the requested information. You need to type this out and turn it in as A 4 part c. If the book's inside cover page does not list the Subject Headings, you must look them up using Pilot!
STEP d) Turn to the bibliography in the book you took off the shelf (the one that has a bibliography).
The author has listed other books and articles that he or she found useful for research. This can lead you to other books and articles on the topic.
Sometimes authors divide their bibliographies up into a section on Primary Sources and a section on Secondary Sources (they don't always use those terms, though). Some bibliographies just mix all the "Primary Sources" and "Secondary Sources" together.
Look for the titles of the secondary sources listed in the book's bibliography. (If the bibliography lumps all sources together, you need to think about whether a particular entry "looks like" a primary or secondary source.
Step e) On the same paper on which you have written the name of the author, title, etc., for the book you are holding (the book with the bibliography), write down the following information about any 1 secondary source book that is in the bibliography: the author's name, book title, and publication information. Be sure to list these in exactly the same order as in the bibliography. You need to type this out and turn it in as A 4 part e.
CONDITIO: Remember, the books on which you write information must be secondary sources!
Notice--not all publishers use the full Chicago Manual of Style format in bibliographies. So, there will be times when you need to look up additional material about a book if you want at full, correct bibliography entry (for our class).
NOTE!!! Every time you read a book or article (secondary source) on your research topic, you should make note of what that author has read. Look at his or her footnotes and bibliography! Use their footnotes and bibliography as guides in searching for more books and articles on your topic. Take note of the Subject Heading of the book, too. This is a great, low-tech way of building up a very large bibliography in a very short time!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise A 5) BOOK REVIEWS
You may find that book reviews are a very useful tool in guiding your secondary source research. In a scholarly review, an expert on the topic generally summarizes the book's thesis, discusses the evidence, and presents a criticism of the book's strengths and weaknesses. This can help you determine which books historians consider important, which books historians consider flawed, and how historians judge the value of each others' work.
a. FIND
Use the advanced search function of the "America: History and Life" (for US History), JSTOR, or Project Muse library databases to search for two book reviews about any 1 book (the same book) on your historiography topic
Note that "Historical Abstracts" does not allow for searches of book reviews.
When you use "America: History and Life," set the box for "document type" to "Book Review."
You also can look for book reviews (for any topic) using an advanced search with Project Muse or JSTOR.
There also are good quality History book reviews for recent books--published in the last few years---at H-Net. To look for these, do an internet search for "H-Net Reviews," then search H=Net Reviews for book reviews on books that interest you.
CONDITIONS:
The reviews must be from scholarly journals. (No reviews from newspapers or popular magazines; no reviews from Amazon.com or online book stores!)
You must find a total of two different book reviews of the same book.
The reviews can be from paper copies of journals in our library, or from digital copies, or from H-Russia (as long as you have a total of 2 on the same book).
b. WRITE
Type out as A 5 part b the following bibliographic information for both book reviews, in correct from based on Rampolla (6th edition, pp. 116, 119-120):
c. LOCATE THE ACTUAL BOOK REVIEWS
Find the full text of both book reviews. Print or photocopy the first page of each review, which you will turn in a A 5 part c; on the copy, WRITE down all required bibliographic information (see above).
If you are using a paper copy of a journal, be sure to return to put it back; other people in your class may be looking for this same review. So be considerate, and return the journal to it exact proper location!)
____________________________________________________
SECTION B: PRIMARY SOURCES
Below are a series of tasks that introduce you to searching for primary sources and that should get you into habit of writing down necessary documentation.
Primary sources are the heart of any original research project, and finding sources is a crucial skill for historians.
Exercise B 1) FINDING PRIMARY SOURCES IN BOOK FORM
Many useful primary source information on a topic can be found in published book form (such as memoirs and document collections).
a. FIND
Using Pilot, WorldCat, the Library of Congress, and Google Books, find books that are primary sources in book form that meet either of the following criteria:
A) A memoir, diary, autobiography, or document collection about the Civil War in the USA;
B) a memoir, diary, autobiography, or some other primary source related to the topic on which you intend to write your research paper.
CONDITIONS:
b. WRITE
For each of your three (3) books, type out and turn in as B 1 part b the following bibliographic information in correct bibliography form:
Also, type
c. LOCATE IN THE STACKS
For the book or books in our library's collection:
Locate the book (s) in the stacks.
Pick up the book(s) next to your book(s) on the shelves, on the right or on the left.
Type out and turn in as B 1 part c the name of the author, the title, publication information (place, publisher, year), the call number, and the Library of Congress Subject Headings of the book(s) next to your book(s) . Remember, if a book does not have printed LC Subject headings, you will need to look it up in the Pilot catalog.
Be sure to put the books back exactly where you found them; other people in your class may be looking for the same books! So be considerate!
d. INTERLIBRARY LOAN
For the book or books that must be ordered by interlibrary loan:
Completely fill out an inter-library loan request form for each book. Print these out and turn them in as B 1 part d (Don't submit the book order unless you really want the book!)
Remember--you CAN NOT order a book (or article) from ILL if BU owns a copy!
e. GOOGLE BOOKS
IF you find a book that is free in full text digital form at Google Books, Print the title page of the actual book and turn it in as B 1 part e..
Remember--Not all book "hits" on Google Books are free full text digital !!! To read most new books, you have to buy the book! Free full text digital means that you can read the entire book online for free.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
B 2) NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES
Newspapers and magazines are invaluable sources for historians.
a. MAGAZINES
1) Go to the Library reference section on the first floor and find The Readers Guide to Periodical Literature! It is in the Reference Section (A 13 R48). We have more than 100 volumes of the RGPL, going back to 1900.
You will need to figure out how to use the RGPL.
You search each volume by subject terms.
Each entry tells you:
the title and author (if there is one) of a magazine article
the name of the magazine that the article appeared in (in abbreviated form--the key to abbreviations is at the front of the volume)
the date(s) that the article was published and the page numbers.
It is not hard to figure out how to use the RGPL, but it takes some getting used to! If you need extra help, the library has a book called How to Use the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (it is on the shelf near the guide volumes: A13 R482).
2) Use the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature to search for: Any article on the 1932 Lindberg Baby Kidnapping in any popular magazine.
3) Write down, then TYPE OUT and turn in as a section of B 2 part a the full entry information for that article in the RGPL. Also, type the RGPL volume, issue and page number for that entry!
Make sure that you put the RGPL volumes back on the shelf where they belongs! Other people in class have to do this assignment too!
4). Check if that magazine is in our PERIODICALS collection, using the Library's computers (look at the Periodicals Title List at the library web site).
IF IT IS IN OUR LIBRARY:
Locate that magazine (hard copy or microfilm) and PRINT or PHOTOCOPY the first page of "your" article. Write a full bibliographic entry on your copy, and turn it in as a section of B 2 part a !
Make sure that you put the magazine or microfilm back on the shelf where it belongs! Other people in class have to do this assignment too!
IF IT IS NOT IN OUR LIBRARY:
Try using the library's digital databases to locate a copy of the article. If you find it, PRINT the first page of "your" article. Write a full bibliographic entry on your copy, and turn it in as a section of B 2 part a !
"America: History and Life" is a good database for this purpose. Also, at the library web page, in the "Fine Articles & More" menu, try the "General" tab, and follow that to "Magazine/Journal Databases." Remember, you know the title of the magazine you are loking for, and you know the date (etc) of the article you are looking for.
IF IT IS NOT IN OUR LIBRARY, AND YOU CANNOT FIND IT FULL-TEXT IN A DATABASE
Complete an interlibrary loan order for the article. Print the form and turn it in as a section of B 2 part a ! (do not submit the form unless you want the article).
b. NEWSPAPERS
1) Using the Library's Newspaper Holdings Database (which is at the library web site), find: A Wilkes-Barre newspaper that published in the 1930s-1940s.
- At the library web page, click on the tab for the drop-down menu for "Library Collections."
- On the drop down menu, click on "newspapers."
- Type "Wilkes Barre" in the search box
- The Newspaper Holdings Database will tell you if we have a certain newspaper for certain years, and it will tell you if our copy of the newspaper is in "paper" or microform.
- HINT--all our newspapers from the 1930s and 1940s are in microform.
2) Locate the microfilm/microform of that newspaper in the BU library. (Hint--they are all on the first floor, in cabinets behind the reference shelves.)
3) Using the microform, find a copy of a Wilkes-Barre newspaper article on the 7 December 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor.
4. MAKE A PHOTOCOPY (or make a digital copy that you will then print) of the article's first page (using one of the microfilm copiers): You will turn this is as B 2 part b.
Make sure that you put the magazine or microfilm back on the shelf where it belongs! Other people in class have to do this assignment too!
5. WRITE the following on the photocopy or printout (B 2 part b):
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise B 3) MICROFORM COLLECTIONS
The BU Library has many useful microform collections of historical primary sources. This exercise introduces you to a tiny sample.
a. FIND
At the BU Library web page, find the drop-down menu tab for "Library Collection," and click on that tab.
On that drop-down menu, click on "Microforms."
Use the search box to find the library record for any one (1) of the following microform research collections in our library:
The Southern Tenant Farmers' Union Papers
The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries
Any microfilm collection of primary sources related to the topic on which you intend to do research (you can do a Keyword search using subject terms that have worked for finding books on the topic. Keep in mind that we might not have any microform collections on your topic!)
Be sure to write down the call number so that you can find the microfilm!
b. LOCATE
Locate the microfilm for the collection that you selected in the library microforms collection.
Look at the beginning of first roll of film (if it is microfilm) or the first card (if it is microfiche)
Type out and turn in a B 3 part b:
c. BROWSE FOR A DOCUMENT
If the first roll/card of the microform has an index, use this to "browse" the collection. If it doesn't, then browse on your own by looking at different rolls of the film.
Select any single document that interests you.
Locate that specific document in the collection (find the correct roll/fiche, then look for the document).
d) Copy. Use a reader-printer to photocopy or make a digital copy (that you will print), as B 3 part d of the first page of that document
Make sure that you put the magazine or microfilm back on the shelf where it belongs! Other people in class have to do this assignment too!
On the photocopy, write down add turn in as B 3 part c:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise B 4) USING ON-LINE DOCUMENT ARCHIVES
There are now tens of thousands of historical documents available on-line.
? How do you know if a web site is "trustworthy"?
A lot of the "historical information" you find on the internet is of dubious quality. Any nut can set up his or her own website and claim that it has "real" historical documents! So you have to show critical judgment in evaluating web-based materials (just as you do for print materials or other media). The most popular search engine, Google, will turn up a lot of garbage as well as a few really useful sites.
If a site is located at a university (.edu), it might be useful. But you have to look around the site and see who put the page on line and why. Is it a site set up by "that goofy professor who thinks that aliens are doing experiments on humans" or by "that guy in the dorm who thinks that Hitler was a really good man"? Or is it a site set up by a research institute (like the Cold War International History Project) or a history department? Use your critical judgment!
If you are not sure about a site, it is a good idea to look up its author (the person who posted the site). You might "Google" them, or look to see if they have published any scholarly articles or books on the topic. Another idea is to see if historians at various universities have links to this website (you can do Google search for the website's URL or its title, and see who has links to it). Several historians and librarians have set up good quality indexes of on-line document archives. (See, for instance, the resource pages on my own website.)
a. FIND
Use Google or another online search engine to find a website that is entirely devoted to primary source documents on either: The Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War; or the topic about which you intend to conduct research.
CONDITIONS:
b. LOCATE
Go to the first page of that website (the website on which the actual documents can be found).
TYPE OUT and turn in as B 4 part b the website's full title and its URL.
c. SELECT A DOCUMENT
Browse through the actual historical documents located on that website and select a specific document.
Print and turn in as B 4 part c the first page of whatever document you chose. Write down on B 4 part c the full title of that document, and the title and URL of the website, and the date that you accessed it.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise B 5) USING ON-LINE PA STATE ARCHIVE FINDING AIDS
Many states (and even some towns and cities) have on-line catalogs to their archives. (Some even have searchable on-line document archives.) This can be very useful if you are planning to do research at an archive; being well prepared and knowing exactly what you are looking for can save you hours during a trip to the archives.
a. FIND
Go to the website of the PA State Archive/PA Historical and Museum Commission, at http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/.
b. LOCATE
Search the website for the link to Digital Archives (ARIAS). These are records stored in the PA State Archive that have been digitized and put on-line.
1) Figure out where in the digital records (ARIAS) someone would find records of payments made to soldiers in the Revolutionary War.
2) Type out and turn in as B 5 part b the name of the collection that includes these records.
3) locate the card file for Michael Hickey of the 1st Penna Regiment
4) print out and turn in as a section of B 5 part B a copy of that specific card file, then on that printout write down all necessary information on the location of the document you have printed out (that it is in the PA state archives ARIAS digital archives, in Collection "X" etc.
c) LOCATE
How would you find out what sort of "paper" archival records the PA State Archives has in its physical collection? For instance, how would you find out if the PA State Archives had any documents from the Provincial Convention of 1776?
Like this:
1) Go back to the link for "State Archives" and click on the tab that says "Finding Aids for Collections."
2) Follow the link on that page that says "Record Groups"
3) Scroll down that index looking for record groups that would have records from the Provincial Convention of 1776. (HINT: How about "Pennsylvania's Revolutionary Governments"???)
4) Follow the link to the index of that record group.
5) On that index, find the link for the Provincial Convention of 1776
6) Follow that link
7) Print that page, and turn it in as B 5 part C; on that printout, write down all of the information you would need to find that file if you visited the archive (the name of the Archive, the name and number of the Record Group, the name and numbers of the files on the Provincial Convention, and a description of those documents).
d. LOCATE
How would you find a manuscript housed at the PA State Archives? For instance, how would you find out if they had any diaries by soldiers in the War of 1812?
Like this:
1) Go back to the Finding Aids page
2) Follow the link for "Manuscript Groups" (http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/mg/index.htm)
3) Look in the index of this page for a manuscript group that might have diaries from a soldier in the War of 1812. (How about "Diaries and Journals Collection"?)
4) On the index page of this collection of diaries, find a listing for the diary of Jacob Miller, a of a soldier in the War of 1812.
5) Print that page and turn it in as B 5 part d; on the printout, write down all of the information you would need to find Miller's diary if you visited the archive (the name of the Archive, the name and number of the Manuscript Group, the name, author, and record numbers of the diary, and a description of the diary content).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
B 6) USING THE US NATIONAL ARCHIVES ON-LINE FINDING AIDS
The US National Archives is a giant treasure house for historians, open to all qualified researchers (that means you).
a. FIND
Visit the website of the US National Archives (US National Archives).
Familiarize yourself with the various search aids at the archive's site.
Some of these will search on-line document collections, some search on-line photograph collections, etc.
What we are going to do is use the search tools that allow you to locate documents in various Federal Record Groups in the National Archives.
b. LOCATE
Find the Record Group (the collection of records in the archives) that contains:
CONDITIONS:
Remember, you are looking for the Record Group in the National Archives that contains WPA documents. (You are not looking for on-line copies of documents! You are NOT looking for digital copies of graphics. And you are not looking for individual documents.)
The National Archives changes its website design frequently, and it can be a mess to navigate. Right now the best way to get to the indexes of archival groups for federal records is to hit the "button" for the RESEARCH page (at the US National Archives Web Site's page)," then look for the heading "Online Research Tools" and click on "Guide to Federal Records."
NOTE: I have found that the search function for the Federal Records sometimes does not work. (Many of the search functions on the NARA website are frequently "down"). So, you may want to look at the "Alphabetical Index to the Guide" and scan it for "Works Projects Administration, Records of."
(If you pay attention just to the listings for "W" you will get a sense of just how useful searching this index can be!!! For instance, you will see the listings for War Diaries of German soldiers captured by the US in WWII and for other interesting documents.!)
In any case...
When you find"Works Projects Administration, Records of," you'll see that the words are followed by a number. This is the Record Group number. Type out all this information!
Ok, now, return to the "Guide to Federal Records" and type this Record Group number into the search box that says "Go Directly to Record Group #" then press "go."
Now you are in the guide to Records of the Works Projects Administration. You'll see that there are many sub-groupings (called "decimal files") of documents in this Record Group.
Your task is to choose one of these subgroups that you think might be interesting. Click on that subgroup to get a general description of its contents.
c. Type out and turn in as B 6 part c the following information:
Notice what this description tells you!
It tells you the dates covered by the documents, the sorts of records included (the records of which agencies, for instance), whether the material is on microfilm, etc. This can be a great aid in doing research.
Here is an example: Let's say that you want to do research on the history of the anti-forest fire program--you know, "Smokey Bear." You can use the Guide to Federal Records alphabetical index to search for "Smokey Bear." What you will find is that documents on "Smokey" are in RG 95, Records of the Forest Service 1870-1998. (For instance, 95.4.2 Records of the Division of Fire Control.)
OK--You're done!