Researching the Fifties

This webpage provides resources to help you find more information on the themes and topics of the course.

Most of the databases on this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. These are marked with a lock . To connect to these databases from home you will need to first click on the Off-Campus Access link in the upper-right hand corner and login.
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Background Sources

Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. In addition many encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic.

To find additional encyclopedias search the UW Libraries Catalog for a topic combined with the phrase "and encyclopedias."

Dictionary of American History
Suzzallo Reference -- E174 .D52 2003
Encyclopedia of American cultural & intellectual history
Suzzallo Reference -- E169.1 .E624 2001
Encyclopedia of American social history
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- HN57 .E58 1993
Encyclopedia of the United States in the twentieth century
Suzzallo Reference -- E740.7 .E33 1996
Cold War America, 1946 to 1990
Suzzallo Reference -- E741 .G76 2003
Historical dictionary of the 1950s
Suzzallo Reference -- E169.12 .O44 2000
Encyclopedia of the McCarthy era
Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E743.5 .K57 1996
Encyclopedia of the Korean War: a political, social, and military history
Suzzallo Reference -- DS918 .E53 2000

Books

Use the following catalogs to locate books in the UW Libraries and in other libraries around the region, nation and world. Books unavailable at the UW can be requested through Summit (if available at one of the member libraries) or through Interlibrary Loan.

UW Libraries Catalog
A listing of the books, journal subscriptions and other material available at the University of Washington Libraries.
Summit
Joint catalog of more than 25 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Books can be requested and shipped to the UW for pick-up. Especially useful when the book you need is checked-out.
OhioLINK
Use OhioLink to access chapters of recent books, use the "Words" search option.
OCLC WorldCat
Joint catalog of thousands of major libraries in the U.S. and abroad.

Journal Articles

Use research databases to find articles on a topic. Since most databases cover a specific subject area, choose those that best fit your research topic. For a complete list of databases see Research Databases on the UW Libraries Homepage.

To find a copy of the article, use the Check for UW Holdings button available on most databases to locate a copy in the library. If there is no button, search the UW Libraries Catalog for the title of the journal to locate a copy. Be sure to have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year) of your article.

Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.

America History & Life
This is the best database to find articles dealing with all aspects of American and Canadian history. Also includes citations to selected books, dissertations and reviews.
Expanded Academic Index
This is a good general beginning database to find articles on all subjects. Includes some fulltext. For another similar database see Research Library.

Primary Sources

Using Secondary Sources to Find Primary Sources

Secondary sources, scholarly journal articles and books, are a great source for identifying potential primary sources. Find a few articles, books or dissertations related to your topic and then mine the footnotes and bibliography. You will have the best luck finding published primary sources such as books, government reports, newspapers and magazines within the UW Libraries. Use the UW Libraries Catalog to determine if we have the primary source.

Primary Sources -- Books

The UW Libraries has a strong collection of books that can be considered primary sources for history. These include books written during the period for your topic (i.e., during the 1890s), books written by participants, published collections of correspondence and other personal writings, memoirs and reprints of collections of primary source material. Use the UW Libraries Catalog to search for these materials.

Limit your search by publication date.
Search for books written by key participants and organizations.
Use special subject terms that designate primary sources:
sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence, interviews
Example:

korean war and (correspondence or diaries)
civil rights and united states and sources

Primary Sources -- Articles

The UW Libraries has a strong collection of magazines and journals for the 20th century. Many of them are in print (either in Suzzallo Periodicals or in a storage area), others are on microfilm.

The libraries also has a basic collection of major U.S. newspapers on microfilm for the 20th centuries. Complete runs are available for such papers as the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Oregonian and Seattle Times. The libraries has a strong collection on Northwest papers. Newspapers are housed in the Microform and Newspaper Collections (Mcnews) on the ground floor of Suzzallo.

Historic New York Times
Fulltext version of the New York Times from 1851 to 2001.
PAIS
Index to articles in the field of public and social policy. Can also be used to find some government reports. Not fulltext.
Reader's Guide Retrospective
General index to American magazines for the period of 1890 to 1980. Not fulltext.

Image: Time and Life magazine covers from the 1950s.

History Subject Page | UW Libraries

28 January 2006
Theresa Mudrock - mudrock@u.washington.edu