Cathy Michael
The Importance of Research
Good period productions require research. Below is a sample search on a Civil War topic. It is not comprehensive but an example of places to go to research. You may need to visit an historical site or library archive. See my Documentary Workshop guide that contains tips on searching libraries, archives, and open access databases containing an array of media.
Sample Search: Civil War
Search the library's Catalog for books:
Civil War AND Death (subject fields)
Civil War AND United States AND photo*
Search America History and Life, a history index, for articles
civil war us 1861-1865 AND everyday life
Search historical news such as: Proquest Historical Newspapers: US Major Dailies
Abraham Lincoln . -- Date: prior to 1865
& Library of Congress, Chronicling America soldier and death between 1860-1865
Search military records in Ancestry, Library Edition
Search Military, James Montgomery, Virginia USA, 1837
Search for images in ArtStor
Search online archives such as the Library of Congress Digital Collections
Background Research
Background
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CQ Researcher
This database contains reports and analysis with opposing viewpoints on current issues.
Contents: Reports including background information and chronology, assessments, pro/con statements, and bibliographies.
General Articles
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Library Search: Advanced SearchChange the "Any Field" drop-down to Title to search by title. Under "Tweak my results" in the right menu, limit to "Library Catalog" to find books and videos available in the library.
Current News ("Ripped from the Headlines")
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Nexis Uni (LexisNexis)
Contents: Full-text local, national, and international newspaper articles and legal resources.
Need search tips? See our guides for tips on Legal Searching and News Searching.
Note: The terms of use of this database place limits on the length of time that users may keep copies of material accessed from this service. Please review the terms before downloading any content.
Historical News
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U.S. Major Dailies: Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)
Newspaper titles covered includes The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Wall Street Journal.
Contents: Full-text, digitized newspaper articles including full-page views, front-page headlines, classified ads, marriage and death announcements, comic strips, reviews, display advertising, editorials, birth notices, and photographs.
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Readers' Guide Retrospective (EBSCO)
Subjects covered include general news, business, fashion, politics, education, food, sports, history, science and film reviews.
Contents: Citations and abstracts for articles from general-interest journals and magazines. 1891-1982.
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Chronicling America: Historic American NewspapersSearch America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963.
Images
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NYPL Digital CollectionsThis site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
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Library of Congress Photos on FlickrHistorical photographs from the Library of Congress available on the Flickr platform.
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Artstor
Contains images from approximately 300 collections from all over the world to support study across disciplines, including anthropology, fine art, archaeology, history, and theatre.
Contents: Images.
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AP Archive (YouTube)AP Archive is the film and video archive of The Associated Press -- the world's largest and oldest news agency.
Business
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Business Source Premier (EBSCO)
Covers all areas of business.
Contents: Full-text articles, books, news industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses, working papers, and more.
Country Profiles
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BBC News: Country ProfilesClick on a region to find country profiles. The Media page will list press, television and radio and who owns them (private, public) as well as the language it is in.
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Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): The World FactbookProvides basic history of all countries - includes maps, population, history, politics, economics, education, communications, transportation and military data.
Period Piece Visuals
- Keyword search what picture you want (ex. canals, country houses, cars, carpets, casinos or cathedrals) and then browse these materials for pictures.
- Target illustrated resources by going to the Advanced search option of the IC Library catalog and in the first slot entering--ill. illus.--with the "any of these" menu option. Then enter your search term(s) in the slot below. Library records with any illustrations carry either the abbreviation "ill." or "illus."
- Also in Advanced Search try entering "Pictorial works" "as a phrase." Then in the slot below enter the thing you want illustrated. If this works, it will retrieve resources that are primarily composed of illustrations--assigned "pictorial works" as a subheading. But be aware that this subheading is often omitted even from heavily illustrated works.
Browsing library stacks There are sections of the library collection where it might be most efficient simply to browse for illustrations. Below are some likely call number ranges:
GT 500-2370: Costume, Dress, Fashion
GV: Dancing [dance works tend to be lavishly illustrated]
NA: Architecture, including public buildings and domestic architecture
ND: Painting
NK: Decorative Arts
1700-2195: Interior Decoration
2200-2750: Furniture
4700-4890: Costume
TR: Photography
624-835 Applied Photography [books of photographs]
TT: Arts and Crafts, including furniture making, upholstering, dressmaking, hairdressing, and high fashion
Costumes
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Artstor
Contains images from approximately 300 collections from all over the world to support study across disciplines, including anthropology, fine art, archaeology, history, and theatre.
Contents: Images.
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The Costume Institute DatabaseA searchable database of images of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute collection, consisting of more than 31,000 costumes and accessories spanning five continents and as many centuries.
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Theatre & PerformanceThe Theatre & Performance collections are an incredible resource that document current practice and the history of all areas of performing arts in the UK, including drama, dance, opera, circus, puppetry, comedy, musical theatre, costume, set design, pantomime, popular music and much more. An online exhibit from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London that highlights stage costume designers, costume makers, and the costumes themselves. A "Guided Tour of Stage Costuming" has examples from the museum's collection. "Designing Stage Costumes" and "Making Stage Costumes" are links which also contain explanatory text and original designer sketches. The "Links" section provides half a dozen websites of costume collections from around the world. -VaM
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Texas Fashion CollectionThe UNT Texas Fashion Collection is dedicated to the preservation and documentation of historically significant fashion, and serves as an educational and inspirational resource for students, researchers, and the general public.
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Europeana CollectionsEuropeana Collections provides access to over 50 million digitized items – books, music, artworks and more.
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The Museum at FIT (MFIT)Search or browse this collection from the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.