Libraries
 

J300: AMERICAN CULTURE-1950S & 1960S

See also “history” subject page: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=5420&subjectId=41

 

IUCAT

Catalog of Indiana University. Search for books, videos, and for this course for documents from or about the 1950s and 1960s. Since almost all U.S. Federal Documents are housed in the Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF) it is imperative that you use IUCAT to retrieve these. While many documents have been digitized and are available in the HathiTrust http://www.hathitrust.org, not all have been and HathiTrust searching is NOT as adequate as IUCAT or WorldCat http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=38599 (WorldCat is a consortium catalog covering over 2500 libraries but has the better search capability.)

 

CONTEMPORARY NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER “NEWS SOURCES”

To find what electronic access we have to various old "news" sources, look at Jeff Graf's Old News website: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=6018 It lists them all but here are a couple of examples:   Washington Post Historical - about - The full text of the Washington Post, with images of pages and articles; users can search and limit by date and article type. Coverage: 1877-1990 ISSN: 0148-2076 Collection: Ingenta Online Journals To link to this resource use: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=1013726

Readers Guide Retrospective 1890-1982 - about - Provides access to citations from 512 of the leading United States journals from 1890-1982. Coverage: 1890-1982 To link to this resource use: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=38601

Local News is not readily available electronic between 1923 - 2000 so ask about microfilm.

 

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION (FEDERAL BUT ALSO INTERNATIONAL)

Government Information, Maps and Microform Services provides collections, services, and specialized assistance for accessing IUB's holdings of government information, microforms and current periodicals (formerly housed on the Ground Floor with Media Services). Specialized equipment is available for reading, printing or scanning microformat materials, for public access for internet access to government information, and for copying/scanning periodicals and fragile materials with a cradle copier. Staff can assist researchers by providing research guides, instructional presentations and specialized reference service (available M-F 10a.m. to 4p.m. or by appointment).

IUCAT includes government publications.

 

MONTHLY CATALOG - The most comprehensive index for publications from any U.S. federal agency is: Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1895-2004;2004 to the present is entitled Catalog of Federal Documents and available at FDSYS: Federal Digital System. Print version shelves SuDocs Reference Shelves GP 3.8/2. IUB subscribes to two electronic editions: Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications 1895-1976 and Public Documents Masterfile.

 

Presidential statements and documents available at IUB, consult our research guide at http://www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=2797. Most important is the series: Public Papers of the Presidents, Hoover to present. Located on SuDocs Reference under AE and GS. Includes speeches, press conferences, and other “public” papers. Available on the internet at: http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/research/. For pre-Hoover, ask about Richardson’s compilation: Messages and Papers of Presidents (Y 4.P 93/1:3) or for the microfilm of Presidential Papers. See also materials available through the Presidential Libraries: http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/visit/ or search their websitess at: http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/search.html OR use the American Presidency Project at UCSB.

 

Congressional publications: Historically Congress has published the most. Understand the congressional process by reviewing documents at the Library of Congress's website through Thomas (now www.congress.gov). 

For 1789-present use Proquest Congressional which includes: U.S. Statutes at Large (fulltext); Current bills and resolutions (fulltext since 1985); Committee hearings (fulltext to 1970), prints, reports and documents(fulltext 1789-present with exceptions); Issue briefs and reports from Congressional Research Service (1914 to date); Congressional Record (also available Hein Online or in print in ET2)

For the 1950s and 1960s think about hearings of the Un-American Activities Committee; hearings and reports Korean War, the cold war, statehood for Alaska and Hawaii; changes in laws related to civil rights, military and foreign assistance, Vietnam, Jane Fonda, civil unrest, civil rights, among others.

 

For Defense Department (and War Department) publications, use the IUCAT or browse the shelves in the SuDocs Stacks D. although many items have been transferred to ALF. The Center for Military History publishes extensive publications concerning military actions.

State Department documents are shelved under S with the primary series being Foreign Relations of the U.S.. Located in the SuDocs Stacks S1.1: Year. (Digitally available at the University of Wisconsin http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/FRUS.) IUB also has considerable holdings of State Department records on microfilm (most listed in IUCAT). Explore these in the National Archives Microfilm Catalog. What we do not own can be requested on ILL so make sure to ask

 

Statistical sources

Historical Statistics of the United States - about - Provides historical statistics for the states and the nation. Coverage: Earliest time to 2005 To link to this resource use: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=2219458

American Factfinder - about - American FactFinder lets you search, browse, retrieve, view, map, print, and download Census data. Coverage: 1990 and 2000 Dicennial Census plus current surveys Alternate Title: Census American Factfinder To link to this resource use: http://www.census.gov For 1950 and 1960 census volumes, http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/hiscendata.html

Ancestry Library Edition - A major genealogiy database. Includes manuscript census records from 1790-1940, Stars and Stripes, and other military records.

Historic Documents Series - about - Reproductions of important documents since 1972. Includes how to cite but not how to find the primary document. Coverage: 1972 to date To link to this resource use: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=1954622 Examples: Brown vs. Board of Education; MacArthur’s “old soldiers never die speech”;

 

Classified Information

Declassified Documents Reference System (DDRS) - about - The Declassified Documents Reference System provides online access to over 500,000 pages of previously classified government documents. Coverage: 1940's to present To link to this resource use: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=500455

See also Digital National Security Archives: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=71 

Also remember "executive sessions" of Congress and State Department papers are usually released 20-30 years after the fact. 

 

International

Access UN - Indexes all dcoumentation of the UN. Use in conjunction with IUCAT. All documents are in microfiche but some may already be digitized at the UN website www.un.org BUT probably not.

UN Yearbook - Great source because it summarizes activities of the UN for a specific year, giving you dates, major countries involved, major officials involved, and UN actions with document numbers.

 

Contacts: Lou Malcomb (malcomb@indiana.edu)  812-855-6924