Subject Librarian
Images, Audio and Videos
Options for finding a wide variety of multimedia primary sources in U.S. history.
- American Archive of Public Broadcasting This link opens in a new windowProject of the Library of Congress and WGBH in Boston to preserve the most significant public television and radio programs of the past 60 years.
- American History (1493-1945) from the Gilder Lehrman Institute This link opens in a new windowContains a wide variety of source types, not all of which are visual, but includes photographs, maps, and artwork.
- American History in Video This link opens in a new windowVideos on American history that include commercial and governmental newsreels, archival footage, public affairs footage, and documentaries.
- Artstor This link opens in a new windowTry searching for a person or an event. Use the left column to limit to classifications such as photography or paintings. Can also limit date range at the very bottom.
- Black Studies in Video This link opens in a new windowIncludes speeches by and interviews with civil rights leaders, and other films related to racial justice and diversity.
- Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) Digital CollectionsIncludes Fox Movietone News newsreels, local SC television news films, and civil rights films that can be watched online.
Historical Newspapers
Search for news articles from both mainstream and African American newspapers from around the country.
Search Tips:
- Limit the date range to the time period you're researching
- Think about words that would have been used at the time, rather than modern terminology
- Ex. PTSD (now) v. "shell shock" for WWI veterans
Databases:
- ProQuest News & Newspapers This link opens in a new windowSearches a number of newspapers at the same time, including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Chicago Defender and Atlanta Daily World.
- State Newspaper (1891-present) This link opens in a new windowKeyword-searchable, online access to the entire historical archive of Columbia's newspaper from 1891 up to today's issue.
- Historical Newspapers of South Carolina This link opens in a new windowFree online access to historical local and regional newspapers originating throughout South Carolina in the 19th and 20th centuries. Includes content from the African-American newspapers Lighthouse and Informer and The Palmetto Leader not found in Chronicling America.
- All historical newspapers from University LibrariesChoose specific newspapers from the full list of titles available online.
Topical Collections
These curated collections focus on the history of different groups and social movements.
- Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new windowIncludes full-text of non-fiction published works of leading African Americans and access to interviews, journal articles, and other material of 20th century topics, including politics, religion, history and sports.
- LGBT Thought and Culture This link opens in a new windowDocuments the LGBT political and social movements throughout the 20th century and into the present day.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States (1600-2000) This link opens in a new windowBrings together books, images, documents, scholarly essays, commentaries, and bibliographies, documenting the multiplicity of women’s activism in public life.
Periodicals and Other Primary Sources
Find a variety of primary source types including magazines, public opinion poll data, and other documents.
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 1-5 This link opens in a new windowSearch a comprehensive collection of historical magazines published between 1684 and 1912.
- American Periodicals Series Online (1741-1940) This link opens in a new windowContains publications that first began publishing between 1740 and 1900, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children’s and women’s magazines, and many other historically-significant titles.
- iPOLL (Roper Center) This link opens in a new windowThe largest source for opinion polling data. Data covers 1935 to the present on a broad range of topics.
- NAACP Papers This link opens in a new windowKeyword-searchable access to the association's archives, both national and branch offices, including memos, legal briefings, and direct action summaries. Find primary source materials related to all aspects of the civil rights movement from 1909 to 1972.
Local and State History Resources
Browse or search these primary source collections related to the history of Columbia and South Carolina.
- Richland Library Local History Digital CollectionsThe collections found here include photographs, pamphlets, books, maps, and other historical materials from the Civil War to the present day.
- South Carolina Digital Library (SCDL)Combines collections from libraries, archives, museums, and cultural heritage institutions across the state to promote South Carolina’s cultural and historical resources.
- University of South Carolina Digital CollectionsIncludes digitized materials from the collections at South Caroliniana, SC Political Collections, and Government Info