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What Are Archives and How Do They Differ from Libraries?
There is a great deal of overlap between what is held in archives and found in libraries. An archives may have library as part of its name, or an archives may be a department within a library. Archival and historical materials can be found in state governments, private corporations, museums, or historical societies. Also remember that historical materials can also be found on-site in a physical format, on the shelves of a local library, or online as a digital record. While finding archival collections can be tricky, here are ideas to get you started.
The Society of American Archivists published "Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research" to help you understand how to use archives, but also how to donate to them.
Finding published primary sources and compilations of source documents in the library's catalog, 1Search, is easy! Try your keyword and add one or more of these terms:
The Special Collections and Archives Research Center, located on the 5th floor of The Valley Library, is home to the university’s unique collections of manuscripts, archives, photographs, and books.
We collect in six main areas: the History of OSU, the History of Science, Natural Resources, Multiculturalism in Oregon, Hops and Brewing History and Rare Books. We also administer the university's Records Management Program and are home to a robust Oral History Program.
For more on what we do, please see our Mission Statement and for help getting started with your research, please see our Reference page.
This collection was developed with the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) as part of an effort to preserve serials related to African American religious life and culture. It documents the history of African American life and religious organizations from materials published between 1829 and 1922. More than 170 unique titles, approximately 60,000 pages of searchable primary source content, and reports and annuals from African American religious organizations and social service agencies and African American periodicals are included.
Full-text access to historical materials documenting the Hispanic culture of the United States in its written form. Includes approximately 60,000 historical articles and texts of over 1,100 historical books on Hispanic literature and culture. Content is 80% Spanish and 20% English but searchable in both languages. Colonial times until 1960.
British Periodicals Collections I - IV provide access to the searchable full text of hundreds of periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth, comprising millions of high-resolution facsimile page images. Topics covered include literature, philosophy, history, science, the social sciences, music, art, drama, archaeology and architecture.
Early European Books provides scholars with new ways of accessing and exploring all works printed in Europe before 1701, drawing together a diverse array of printed sources, regardless of language, as well as works published further afield. Developed and produced in close collaboration with scholars, rare book librarians, bibliographers, and other experts from the library world, this resource offers full-color, high-resolution facsimile images of some of the world's most significant collections of early printed books in Europe. Access provided to Collections 7, 9, and 14.
Early Modern Books covers material from the British Isles and Europe for the period 1450-1700. An integrated search across both Early English Books Online and Early European Books allows scholars to view materials from over 225 source libraries worldwide. EEBO's content draws on authoritative short-title catalogues of the period and features many text transcriptions specially created for the product. Content from Europe covers the curated Early European Books Collections from 4 national libraries and London's Wellcome Library.
The Fortunoff Archive currently holds more than 4,400 testimonies, which are comprised of over 12,000 recorded hours of videotape. Testimonies were produced in cooperation with thirty-six affiliated projects across North America, South America, Europe, and Israel. The Fortunoff Archive and its affiliates recorded the testimonies of willing individuals with first-hand experience of the Nazi persecutions, including those who were in hiding, survivors, bystanders, resistants, and liberators. Testimonies were recorded in whatever language the witness preferred, and range in length from 30 minutes to over 40 hours (recorded over several sessions).
Instructions and More Information: If you're new, click here to learn more.
HathiTrust is a partnership of academic and research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world.
LGBTQ+ Source contains abstracts and full text for hundreds of the important and historically significant LGBT journals, magazines and regional newspapers including The Advocate, Gay Parent Magazine, Girlfriends, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian & Gay Studies, James White Review, ISNA News, Ladder, Lesbian Tide, New York Blade, ONE, Tangents, and many more. You can also find many full-text monographs and books. Additionally, all relevant bibliographic data from NISC's Sexual Diversity Studies is included and this database provides an LGBT thesaurus containing thousands of terms.
The HeinOnline collection contains legal materials on slavery in the United States and western countries. Scholars will find judicial cases, statutes, essays, scholarly articles that date back to the 19th century through the modern history of slavery. Also included are ebooks and pamphlets. This is a collection critical to any scholar looking to find historical material on legal, economic and social aspects on the subject.
ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid includes over four million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.
Archives West
Archives West provides access to descriptions of primary sources in the Northwestern United States, including correspondence, diaries, or photographs. Digital reproductions of primary sources are available in some cases.
Online Archive of California
The OAC provides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 contributing institutions including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California and collections. Maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses.
121 The Valley Library
Corvallis OR 97331–4501
Phone: 541-737-3331