Home - EN 390: Research Seminar - Race, Nativism, & Cultural Identity (Flanzbaum) - Research Guides (LibGuides) at Butler University

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Find books, articles, media, and more at Butler and beyond.

Primary Sources in the Library's Catalog

When using a library catalog to search for primary sources, you may have to wade through many pages of secondary source material to find primary documents for your project. Here are some tips to help you locate these documents quickly.

Important Keywords
Manuscript collections or archives of organizational records often include some of the following keywords in their titles or content descriptions. By including these words as keywords in a search, you have a better chance of finding collections of historical documents:

personal narratives	diaries	speeches
correspondence	letters	archives
interviews	autobiography	pamphlets
memoirs	maps	sources

Ex. Type in your search like this: ex. National Council of American Indians AND correspondence

Note: Use truncation to pick up both the singular and plural form of these keywords.

Search By Author
When searching for primary documents on a person, try using the person's name as an Author search (LastName, FirstName). When correspondence is cataloged, the writer of the letter (your topic) is generally listed as the author of the collection. (Example: au:Frankfurter, Felix). This same strategy works for organizations, too (Example: au: National Council of American Indians)

Primary Sources covering American History (All Subjects)

American History Primary Sources (all time periods & subjects)

Library of Congress Digital Collections

History Reference Center This link opens in a new window
This database features full text for thousands of primary source documents and informational texts.
Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Gale Primary Sources is a cross-search platform for Gale primary source content.
U.S. History in Context This link opens in a new window
History Resource Center: U.S. provides integrated access to over 4,000 historical (primary) documents, articles from more than 30 reference titles, and over 110 full-text journal covering themes, events, individuals and periods in U.S. history from pre-Colonial times to the present.

Government Documents

Primary & Secondary Sources

Magazine Articles from the Time Period

Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 This link opens in a new window
Readers’ Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 provides indexing of over three million articles from more than 550 leading magazines, including full coverage of the original print volumes of Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature.
National Geographic Magazine Archive 1888-2015 This link opens in a new window
Content and images of National Geographic Magazine from 1888-2015
Time Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window
Complete digital version of Time Magazine from 1923 through 2000.
Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
The Times Digital Archive includes every page of The Times newspaper for more than 220 years.

Newspaper Articles from the Time Period

Chicago Tribune- Historical Edition This link opens in a new window
Full text access to the Chicago Tribune from 1849-1993
Indianapolis Star (1903-2004) This link opens in a new window
Historical backfile for the Indianapolis Star
New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window
The New York Times (1851-2013) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

Race, Ethnic, Gender Databases (include primary & secondary sources)

Race Relations in America This link opens in a new window
This resource sheds light on the fascinating work of the Race Relations Department through the digitization of extensive records from the Department’s archives, now held at the Amistad Research Center in New Orleans.
Women's Studies Archive This link opens in a new window
Primary source archive featuring history of the 19th and 20th centuries from the female perspective. Includes Part 1: Women's Issues and Identities and Part 2: Voice and Vision.
Hollywood, Censorship, and the Motion Picture Production Code, 1927-1968 This link opens in a new window
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) Production Code Administration Files collection documents forty years of self-regulation and censorship in the motion picture industry.

Article Databases:

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
This large multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 4,770 journals, including full text for over 4,000 peer-reviewed titles.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to full-text academic electronic journals in various disciplines including economics and finance, political science, history, literature, anthropology, mathematics, sociology, statistics, and education.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Covers literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, etc. Contains current full text scholarly journals which cover these fields and a significant collection of recent scholarly books.
SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
SocINDEX with Full Text is the world's most comprehensive and highest quality sociology research database.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
PsycINFO, from the American Psychological Association (APA), contains nearly 2.3 million citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
CQ Researcher includes reports that offers in-depth coverage of political and social issues, such as health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
A variety of reference materials, commentaries and viewpoints, periodical and news articles, primary sources, statistics and multimedia to help present different sides of controversial topics. Highly recommended for argumentative/persuasive research topics.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
This large multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 4,770 journals, including full text for over 4,000 peer-reviewed titles.
Literary Reference Center Plus This link opens in a new window
A full-text database providing information on authors and their works across literary disciplines and time frames.
Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window
Literature Criticism Online is designed to provide easy access - new users may simply enter an author or title and find a wealth of content, while experienced researchers may broaden or narrow their results via cross-searches on names of critics, journal titles, topics and more.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
This group of online indexes provides access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors, much of it full-text. The database is searchable by Author Name, Title, Genre, Literary Movement or Literary Themes, or a combination of criteria to create more powerful searches.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), this database provides a subject index for books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics.

Go to the Databases by Subject list for other subject databases.

American Newsreels in Video This link opens in a new window
American Newsreels in Video is comprised of news footage covering the years leading up to and during the Second World War.
Kanopy Streaming This link opens in a new window
A collection of more than 19,000 streaming documentaries and foreign/indie feature films.
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Films on Demand is a state-of-the-art streaming video platform for a variety of educational media content.
AVON - Academic Video Online (Alexander Street Press) This link opens in a new window
AVON: Academic Video Online is a comprehensive multidisciplinary streaming video resource.

YouTube

1920's History

Timeline of American Literature and Events 1920-1929

Librarian Contact for this LibGuide

Sally Neal

she/her

Contact:

Please note that I am out of the office on leave. If you need to schedule a research appointment contact librarian Teresa Williams at twilliam@butler.edu

I am the subject librarian for:

CCOM: Strategic Communication, Journalism, Sports Media, Esports, Exploratory Communication; LAS: English, Exploratory Studies.

109B Irwin Library
317-940-9949
sneal@butler.edu

Neal Library Instruction Evaluation

Subjects: Communication, English, Journalism, Sports Media