Using Special Collections and Archives
- Planning on Conducting Research at Special CollectionsHandout with tips on researching at Special Collections.
- Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research
by Laura Schmidt (2011). From the Society of American Archivists. Also available online
- A Glossary of Archival and Records TerminologyFrom the Society of American Archivists
- Comparison Chart of Archives, Libraries, and MuseumsCredit: The American Association for State and Local History (The Basics of Archives)
- What Are Archives and How Do They Differ from Libraries?From Society of American Archivists
- Top ways archives are different from librariesFrom ArchivesNext
Tools & Tips for Finding Archives, Rare Books, Special Collections
World Guide to LibrariesCall Number: Z721 .I63 4o (Olin Level 1 Reference)ISBN: 9783110277968Publication Date: Latest ed.: 2014
Articles Describing Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States by Call Number: CD3022 A2 D478 1997 (Olin level 1 Reference)Publication Date: 1997
British Archives: A guide to archive resources in the United Kingdom by Call Number: CD1040 .F67 2002 (Olin Level 1 Reference)Publication Date: 2002
Archives in Germany : an introductory guide to institutions and sources by Call Number: CD1220 .A78 2001Publication Date: 2001Also available online
American Author Houses, Museums, Memorials and Libraries by Call Number: PS141 .B54 2000ISBN: 0786407778Publication Date: 2000
Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies by Call Number: Z2011 .H34 2008 (Olin level 1 reference; West Campus)ISBN: 9780873528085Publication Date: 2008-01-01Not just about English--Includes foreign language literatures. Also includes sources for rare books, special collections, and archives
A Guide to the OCLC Database and the Special Collections Therein by Call Number: Z688 A2 G95 1984Publication Date: 1984- Guide to Hebrew Manuscript Collections / by Benjamin Richler.Call Number: Z6605.H4 R473 2014ISBN: 965208185XPublication Date: 2014
Subject Collections: A Guide to Special Book Collections and Subject Emphases As Reported by University, College, Public, and Special Libraries and Museums in the United by Call Number: Z731 A78 1961ISBN: 9780835231411Publication Date: 1993-01-01
Additional directories and sources in WU Catalog
Browse by [term] -- [country] -- Directories
Search topic as a subject with keywords: archives, catalogs, sources, or manuscripts.
- Consult with faculty advisors, subject librarians, and curators/archivists who often will have personal contacts or sources
- Look at bibliography/references in monographs on your subject.Often archival sources will be listed separately.
- Look at scholarly organizations (e.g. American Historical Association) or literary socieities (e.g. Int'l Brecht Society)
- Search in subject databases (e.g. MLA Int'l Bibliography)
- Archives and Special Collections are often indexed in Google.
- May need to search using foreign terms (e.g. Nachlass [German equivalent "unpublished papers"], archivo [Spanish term for "archives"])
- Dictionary of archival terminology (terms in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian, & Spanish). Call number: CD945 D53 1988 (Olin level 3)
- Multilingual Archival Terminology (online)
WU Special Collections
Special Collections includes a variety of collecting areas. Click on the links below to access webpages for each area.
Manuscripts material highlighted in Research Studio
- Book of Hours # 2 (Meissner Collection)Christian devotional book popular in the Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Each is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and psalms, often with appropriate decorations, for Christian devotion. Usually written in Latin or in vernacular European languages.
- Texts for Nothing - notebook and typescript drafts (Samuel Beckett Papers)13 untitled short prose pieces written in 1950-1952 but not published until 1967, representing Beckett's (the literature's) move from modernism to post-modernism.
Rare Books material highlighted in Research Studio
- Golden Legend (Kelmscott / Triple Crown Collection)Published in 1892 during the Arts & Crafts movement, by William Morris' Kelmscott Press. Reaction against industrial revolution and mass-produced books. We have manuscripts, proofs, other archival materials from this press and Doves and Ashendene, the three of which make up the Triple Crown Collection. The original Golden Legend was a collection of hagiographies first compiled around 1260, and it became a medieval and incunable bestseller. Accompanied by a September 23, 1892 letter from William Morris and a proof sheet on vellum.
- Mr. William Shakespear's comedies, histories, and tragediesThis is the “Fourth Folio,” or the fourth edition of the complete works of Shakespeare’s, published in 1685 (the first appeared in 1623). The Second and Third Folios added additional plays and poems, which are included here along with additional edits and corrections. The Fourth Folio served as the basis for all subsequent publications of Shakespeare’s works until the 19th century.
University Archives material highlighted in Research Studio
- WU Yearbooks (list of years published)Yearbooks from 1903-2011.
- William Greenleaf Eliot Personal PapersThe papers of William G. Eliot (co-founder of Washington University) include diaries, letters, published works, published and unpublished sermons and talks, newspaper clippings of articles written by or about Eliot, photographs; and biographical and other material about Eliot.
- U.S. Presidential Debate Collection, 2016: The collection includes publications, media kits, souvenirs, and other material documenting the U.S. Presidential Debate held at Washington University on October 9, 2016.
Local History material highlighted in Research Studio
- St. Louis Car Company RecordsThis collection includes materials that document the history and products of the St. Louis Car Company, including publicity materials, product specifications, job books, general office files, photographs, and drawings of cars produced by the St. Louis Car Company.
Popular American Arts material highlighted in Research Studio
- Black Film Promotional Material CollectionThis significant collection of non-film promotional material documents how blacks were portrayed in films from 1915 to 1980. The collection contains ca. 2,700 promotional items including photographic stills, programs, trade advertisements, advertising materials, advertising supplements, lobby cards, pressbooks, and posters, representing approximately 400 films, ranging in date from 1915 to the 1980s.
Film & Media Archive material highlighted in Research Studio
- Online resources
- Search Mavis-Web FMA
- Search for films, photographs, interviews, background research
- Example of photos from "Eyes on the Prize" documentary: http://mavisweb.wulib.wustl.edu:81/mavisDetail/TitleWork/key/5485
- Hydra etc. online: WU’s Digital Gateway http://repository.wustl.edu/
- Search Mavis-Web FMA
- Physical items in the classroom
- Photographs form "Eyes on the Prize" documentary. These photos show people and events from the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 - 1965, including but not limited to these people / events: Emmett Till, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers, Bayard Rustin, John Lewis, Rosa Parks; Montgomery Bus Boycott, Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, Little Rock school integration crisis of 1957, University of Mississippi Freedom Summer, Voting Rights Act, 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Modern Graphic History Library in Research Studio
- Robert Weaver CollectionThis collection includes original artwork in various formats and published material by Robert Weaver mainly dating between the 1950s and the 1970s.