Off-Campus Access


Histories of Childhood in 20th C. America

| Background Sources | Secondary Sources: Books | Secondary Sources: Journal Articles |
| Finding Published Primary Sources | Selected Web Sites |
Most of the databases linked from this page are restricted to UW students, staff and faculty. 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.

For research help, please contact Theresa Mudrock, the history librarian. Either drop by my office hours beginning on March 31, every Thursday from 11:00-1:00 in Smith 210c or contact me by email at mudrock@u.washington.edu.

Background Sources -- Encyclopedias

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. More importantly, because encyclopedias often cover the major issues surrounding the subject, they can help you narrow your research from a broad “who, what, where, when” topic to a “how or why” question. In addition many encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic.

  • Adolescence in America : an encyclopedia
    Suzzallo Reference -- HQ796 .A33247 2001
  • Boyhood in America : an encyclopedia
    Suzzallo Reference -- HQ775 .B635 2001
  • The Continuum encyclopedia of children's literature
    Children's Literature -- PN1008.5 .C66 2001
  • Dictionary of American history
    Suzzallo Reference, Undergraduate Reference -- E174 .D52 2003
  • Encyclopedia of children and childhood : in history and society
    Suzzallo Reference -- HQ767.84 .E53 2004
  • The family in America : an encyclopedia
    Suzzallo Reference -- HQ536 .H365 2001
  • Girlhood in America : an encyclopedia
    Suzzallo Reference -- HQ777 .G5745 2001
  • Infancy in America : an encyclopedia
    Suzzallo Reference -- HQ774 .I528 2001
  • Parenthood in America : an encyclopedia
    Suzzallo Reference -- HQ755.8 .P3783 2000

Finding Books

 Use the following databases 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.
  • OhioLINK
    Use OhioLink to access chapters of recent books, use the "Words" search option.
  • OCLC WorldCat [UW only]
    Joint catalog of thousands of major libraries in the U.S. and abroad. Useful for identifying materials for interlibrary loan purposes.

Finding Articles

Use indexes to find articles (from scholarly journals, popular magazines and newspapers and sometimes books, dissertations, government reports, etc.) on a topic. There are indexes covering all sorts of subjects, use those which best fit your research topic. For a complete list of electronic indexes see Research Databases on the Library homepage.

Once you identify articles you need make sure you have the complete citation (author, title, journal name, volume, pages and year), then look in the UW Libraries Catalog for the journal name (do a title search for the journal name to see if the UW subscribes) to see if and where the journal is kept (library location and call number).

Databases marked UW Only require that you use the Off-Campus Access link on the top right-side corner of this page to logon before you use the databases from home. Articles from journals which the UW does not own can be requested via Interlibrary loan.

  • America History & Life [UW only]
    Major index to articles in U.S. and Canadian history. Also includes citations to selected books, dissertations and reviews.
  • Expanded Academic Index [UW only]
    Interdisciplinary index to magazine and journal articles in all subjects, includes some full-text. For a similar database also see Research Library [UW only]
  • JSTOR [UW only]
    Searchable collection of back issues of selected journals including the American Historical Review and the Journal of American History. For another collection of searchable electronic journals related to history see Project Muse.
  • MLA [UW only]
    Major index to articles and books in literature.

Finding Published 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.

Finding 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 1930s), 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, e.g, reports published by the United States Children's Bureau
  • Use special subject terms that designate primary sources:
    sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence, interviews
  • Example:
    • children and united states and correspondence

Finding Primary Sources -- Magazine & Newspaper Articles

The UW Libraries has a number of 19th and 20th century magazines and journals. 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 19th and 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.

  • American Periodical Series Online [UW only]
    Fulltext American magazines from the 18th to early 20th century.
  • International index to periodicals
    Printed index to social science and humanities journal articles. Dates back to 1920, title later changes to Social sciences & humanities index. Suzzallo Reference AI3 .R49
  • Reader's Guide Retrospective [UW only]
    General index to American magazines for the period of 1890 to 1980. Also available in print in Suzzallo Reference AI3 .R48.
  • Historic New York Times [UW only]
    Fulltext version of the New York Times from 1851 to 2001.
  • Pacific Northwest Regional Newspaper and Periodical Index
    Card index available in the Manuscripts, Special Collections, University Archives (MSCUA) division in the basement of Allen South. The regional index covers local newspapers, magazines, and other material dealing with PNW history from the 1850s to the present. Current years are available online.

Finding Primary Sources -- Government Reports

The UW Libraries has a strong collection of U.S. government documents including federal agency publications, congressional hearings and reports and other material. Some material is printed while others are available on microfilm. Some material can be found through the UW Libraries Catalog, for other material use the sources listed below. For more information about locating government documents check with the Government Publications section is on the ground floor of Suzzallo.

  • Congressional Universe [UW only]
    Full-text debates, bills, reports dating back to approximately 1989 and indexing of congressional reports and hearings dating back to 1789.
  • MarciveWeb Docs [UW only]
    Catalog to U.S. government documents published since 1976. For earlier documents see the Monthly Catalog to United States Government Publications (GovPub. 328.73 Un37m) and its predecessors.
  • Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
    Catalog of more than 120,000 digitized items from NARA's collection plus citations to an additional 440,000 items.

Finding Web Sites

The World Wide Web is a growing source for primary sources dealing with U.S. history. For links to other sites dealing American history see History on the Web. For information on evaluating primary source websites see Using Primary Sources on the Web.
  • American Memory
    The premier site for American history. The Library of Congress has digitized more than 100 collections ranging from presidential papers to baseball cards. Most material will predate 1925.
  • Children in Urban America
    "An online archive... that shows the many ways children experienced city life during the last century and a half."
  • Children's Clothing Collection
    Wisconsin Historical Museum's extensive collection of children's clothing spanning from 1800 to 1990s.
  • Home Economics Archive
    Electronic collection of books and journals in Home Economics and related disciplines published between 1850 and 1950.
  • National Child Labor Committee Collection
    Searchable collection of of more than 5000 photographs taken primarily by Lewish Hine between 1908 and 1924.

Photographs from American Memory.

Slides | Children's Literature Subject Page | History Subject Page | UW Libraries | Research 101

10 April 2005
Theresa Mudrock - mudrock@u.washington.edu