ES 201: Inventing Ethnic America

Archives Location & Hours

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

Academic Year Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00am - 5:00pm

Please visit the OSU Archives Location & Hours Site for more information.

OSU Archives: Why Are We Here?

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

The University Archives is the repository for official and unofficial records that document OSU's history. Our collections include historical records of enduring value generated by faculty, academic departments, administrative offices, students, and campus organizations.

What are Primary Sources?

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

Primary sources are materials produced by participants or observers at the time of an event or during a particular span of years. They are "original" in that the recording of the event or experience originates with the participants or direct observers. Some examples of primary sources are:

Diaries, journals, memoirs, letters, autobiographies
Official documents or records from government or private organizations (minutes, reports, etc.)
Books, magazines, and newspapers produced at the time of the event
Court decisions, transcripts, and other legal papers
Research data (reports, market surveys, public opinion polls, statistics)
Films, photographs, paintings, video recordings
Novels, poetry, and plays

Suggest a source

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

Find a great source that others' might like? Suggest it here!

How to Cite Archival Materials

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

Archival materials such as manuscripts, photographs, departmental papers, oral histories, and diaries are unique items that often require complex citations. When citing archival resources, keep these points in mind:

Unlike the books and journals in a library, most archival materials are one of a kind. Thus, citations should not only identify the source, but also the repository where the source is located.
Collection title and any collection call numbers should always be included in the citation.
Archival collections can consist of hundreds of boxes worth of materials, so make sure that you always include specific information about the portion of the collection you are referring to, including information about the the page, date, or filing unit (box/folder) in which the item is found.
Individual archival repositories often have different methods of organizing their records; therefore, having a consistent rule for all archival citations is not necessarily possible. If you are unsure about the structure of your citation, remember that its purpose is to guide the reader to your source: providing more information is always better than not enough. Never hesitate to ask the Archivist, a librarian, or your professor for assistance.

For more information and specific examples, please visit our How to Cite Materials from OSU Archives page.

Archives@OSU: What Will You Find Here?

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

OSU Archives

What Will I Find There? Diaries and Journals, Letters/Correspondence, Institutional and Business Records, Photographs and other Visual Images, Maps, Blueprints, and Plans, Transcripts and Recordings of Oral History Interviews or Oral Traditions, Sound and Video Recordings, Physical Artifacts

Oregon Multicultural Archives

The OSU Libraries' Oregon Multicultural Archives acquires, preserves, and makes available collections that document the lives and activities of African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American communities of Oregon.

Unique at OSU: OSU Libraries Digital Collections

Collections of digitized documents, photographs, maps and data that have been described and organized by OSU Libraries to make them more widely accessible for researchers, students, and the general public.

ScholarsArchive

This digital service of the OSU Libraries provides a permanent means for faculty members to store their research and teaching output, for students to do the same with their research, to make the information widely available and for the institution to maintain its historical record.

Northwest Digital Archives

The NWDA provides enhanced access to archival and manuscript collections in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington through a union database of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) finding aids.

Archives Outside OSU

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

ArchivesGrid

This is a service provided by RLG, a non-profit organization of libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions. It is a centralized index to archival collections located throughout the world and is a valuable resource for locating records in other archives.

OCLC WorldCat

WorldCat is a global network of libraries that unite their collections in one master catalog. It is a union catalog of over 49 million records representing books, journals, dissertations, audio-visual materials, and manuscripts in repositories worldwide.

There are lots of primary source materials in libraries around the country; this catalog holds a growing number of more than 6,000 links to online finding aids. Included in their genealogy search are books, ship passenger lists, historical society records, archival photos, articles on research techniques, family histories, and digital image collections.

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)

The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections is a print and online catalog of manuscript collections held in US repositories. The Library of Congress provides a Web interface for searching archival and manuscript cataloging in OCLC WorldCat.

This service is provided free-of-charge.

National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (NIDS)

By bringing together thousands of finding aids from libraries and archives across the United States and reproducing them on microfiche with a unified index, NIDS gives users unparalleled access to federal, state, academic and other documentary sources. In allowing researchers to examine actual finding aids, NIDS goes further than either NUCMC or RLIN which offer collection-level descriptions, but do not contain detailed listings of the contents of collections.

This service is fee-based.

ArchivesUSA

This is a current directory of over 5,500 repositories and more than 161,000 collections of primary source material across the United States. NUCMUC & NIDS were folded into this database.

Using ArchivesUSA, researchers are able to read descriptions of a repository's holdings to determine whether a collection contains material useful to their work as well as find the information they need to contact the repository directly. Repository records provide detailed information including phone and fax numbers, hours of service, materials solicited, email and home page URLs when available. Each collection record links to its corresponding repository record, simplifying the research process.

This service is fee-based.

Repositories of Primary Sources

This is a listing of over 5000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar. Includes international archives.

UNESCO Archives Portal

The UNESCO Archives Portal gives access to websites of archival institutions around the world. It is also a gateway to resources related to records and archives management and to international co-operation in this area.

Government Publications

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

Use the LexisNexis Congressional Index to identify congressional publications (hearings, serial set, house/senate reports and documents, etc) from 1789-present. Once identified, then find the full text in print, microfiche, or online depending on availability.

OSU Libraries' guide to Government Information, gives an overview of government publications and how to get them. See this guide for information about Congressional Publications at OSU. Includes links to Congressional Hearings.

Find Books

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:16:08 -0800

Use these catalogs to find books at OSU & elsewhere.

OSU Library Catalog: search for books located at Valley library and OSU's other libraries.

Summit Catalog: searches libraries in Oregon, Washington and throughout the world. Shows if OSU has the item. If we do not, request the item to be delivered to OSU in 3 business days if it is available via Summit. If Summit doesn't have it we'll find a library that does-just click the Request from Interlibrary Loan button.

Search tip: Summit lets you access "some* journal articles.

What are Secondary Sources?

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:12:24 -0800

Secondary sources are materials that interpret, analyze, describe, or explain primary sources. Textbooks, encyclopedias, biographies, and journal articles are examples of secondary sources. These sources are "secondary" in that usually they are one step removed from the event about which they comment or analyze. Use catalogs and databases to find secondary source books and articles. These sources will build your background knowledge about your topic. Use them to inform yourself about what scholar's say about your topic.

Plagiarism & Citation Style Links

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:10:28 -0800

OSU's Page

There are a number of tutorials on the web, some examples are:

Citation Style Resources:

OSU Archives Collection Highlights: Ethnic Studies

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:24:29 -0800

Braceros in Oregon Photographic Collection

Key Subjects for your class

Agriculture and Farm Labor
World War II

Due to armed forces manpower requirements and competition with higher paying jobs in the defense industries, the early 1940s saw a noticeable decrease in the number of farm workers in the United States. At the same time, farmers were asked to increase production as part of their efforts to support World War II.

In 1942, the United States government signed a labor agreement with Mexico that allowed its male citizens to work as farm laborers throughout the U.S. It was known as the Braceros Program. In Oregon more than 15,000 Mexican men worked on farms in all parts of the state from 1942 through 1947.

The 102 photographs in this collection document the activities of Oregon's Bracero workers, recording their cultivation and harvesting work in the fields and orchards, as well as the farm labor camps in which they lived.

For more information, check out the Extension Service Records (RG 111)

The county extension office annual reports for those counties in which Braceros worked during WWII often include a section on how many workers were utilized in the county and the types of work done. Some of the reports also include narrative on problems that the workers encountered. These reports are on microfilm only.

Oregon Multicultural Archives

Key Subjects for your class

Ethic communities in Oregon
State history
Oregon State University programs, departments, communities
Politics
Oral Histories

The Oregon Multicultural Archives Collection documents the lives and activities of the African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American communities in Oregon, reflecting how these communities have contributed to the identity of the state of Oregon.

For more general information about cultural and ethnic groups on campus, check out the OMA's Guides & Collections page.

To see a sampling of images drawn from the archival collections that form the Oregon Multicultural Archives, check out the Oregon Multicultural Archives Digital Collection.

Urban League of Portland Records

Key Subjects for your class

Race relations
National Urban League
African Americans
Neighborhood Revitalization

The Urban League of Portland was established in 1945 as an affiliate of the National Urban League. It is a non-profit, community-based organization whose mission has been to "enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity and power, and civil rights." The League has emphasized educational opportunity for African Americans and other youth, advocated for fair housing laws, and offered employment assistance.
2450 photographs and 140 videotapes

Gerald Williams Collection
Key Subjects for your class

Native Americans
Forest/environmental history

The Gerald W. Williams Collection consists of Williams' personal papers, historic photograph collection, and related materials pertaining to the history of the U.S. Forest Service as well as the forestry, environmental history, Native Americans, and geography especially of the Pacific Northwest. Williams assembled and created the materials during his career as sociologist and national historian with the U.S. Forest Service.
24,000 photographs

SEE ALSO:The OPB Oregon Experience pages

The Oregon Story series explores Oregon's ever-changing social, cultural and economic relationships with the land. Each story is supplemented by an online site that provides additional facts, educational tools and a starting point for further discovery.

Find Scholarly Journal Articles

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:13:01 -0700

Search these databases to see what scholars have written about your topic.

Using Microforms: a Tutorial

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:52:24 -0700

Using the microform machines can be a fun, challenging, and unique experience! And probably unlike anything else you will do in your research adventure.

We have 6 machines, all found on the 3rd floor of The Valley Library. 3 of the machines offer a scanning option, and one is coin operated.

Library staff will be happy to help you, but for who would rather go it alone, we have created a tutorial in Flickr.

Microform Tutorial

There are also instructions posted next to each machine and on the Archives' Microform Guidance page .

Finding Newspaper Articles

Tiah.Edmunson-morton@oregonstate.edu (Tiah Edmunson-Morton) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:07:54 -0700

Newspaper articles can be a great source for information about current social justice issues. Try these databases for newspaper (and magazine) articles. If the full-text is not listed, use the catalog to search for a paper or an electronic version.

Alternative Press Index: index to alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines.

Lexis Nexis: international and national newspapers. Be sure to change the date limit to All Available Dates.

Oregon Index: Citations to Oregon newspapers,1975-present.

PressDisplay: even more international and national newspapers, only last 60 days, best with Internet Explorer.

Photo by by Trois Têtes (TT). Flickr Creative Commons.