Digital National Security Archive: database trial

We have a one-month trial to the Digital National Security Archive database.

Created in collaboration with the National Security Archive, this database is the most comprehensive collection available of significant primary documents central to U.S.foreign and military policy since 1945.

This database contains the most important, declassified documents -- totalling more than 488,000 pages -- that have been gathered through extensive use of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): many are published now for the first time.

To access this resource, please go to the eLibrary Gateway. You will need to note the password in order to log in.

Declassified Documents Reference System: database trial

We have a one-month trial to the Declassified Documents Reference System (DDRS) database.

This unique reference product contains a large selection of U.S. government documents obtained from presidential libraries. These libraries receive declassified documents from various government agencies, including the White House, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department, and others. It is a collection of more than 75,000 documents, consisting of more than 465,000 pages, covering major international events from the Cold War to the Vietnam War and beyond.

This single source enables users to locate key information underpinning studies in international relations, American studies, United States Foreign and Domestic Policy Studies, journalism and more. Information relating to all major political and military events from every corner of the globe since World War II offers fascinating insight into government viewpoints, activities and decisions.

To access this resource, please go to the eLibrary Gateway. You will need to note the username and password in order to log in.

The "March of Time" Archives

HBO Archives is making complete episodes from The March of Time newsreel and documentary series, produced from 1935 to 1967, available for online viewing at its stock footage portal.
The award-winning series, produced by Time Inc., contains original footage shot in the 1930s through 1960s, with historic footage dating back to 1913. HBO Archives, launched in 2002, reintroduced The March of Time in 2007 and has been re-cataloging, restoring and transferring the original 35mm films to HD video. HBO Archives has also been developing additional The March of Time productions.

Direct to The March of Time Collection
NB: To view online you must register (takes about 2 minutes). Viewing the online video appears to be free.

Avalon Project

The Avalon Project is the name of Yale Law School's digital library of Documents relating to Law, History and Diplomacy.

The project contains online electronic copies of documents dating back over the past two thousand years and so it possible to study the original text of not only famous documents such as the Magna Carta and the United States Bill of Rights, but also the text of less well known but significant documents which mark turning points in the history of law and rights, including those pertaining to Slavery, the Nuremberg Trials, the Cold War, Vietnam and 9/11.

Full details and access to the documents can be found at: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp

Institute of Museum and Library Services: Digital Collections and Content

IMLS: Digital Collections and Content contains descriptions and access to a wealth of digital resources developed by IMLS grantees. Examples of what you will find here include: cookbooks from MSU's Feeding America, theater posters from Colorado State University, prints of samurai fighting demons from the Japanese Prints collection at the UCLA Hammer Museum, war posters from Minnesota's A Summons to Comradeship.
There's also a link to the Civil Rights Digital Library based at the University of Georgia which features 30 hours of imagery captured by Atlanta's WSB and Albany TV station WALB taken between 1948 and 1982. The Web site also is a portal: It links users to 75 other civil-rights-related sites. They range from WGBH in Boston to Emory University, from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to the Nashville (Tenn.) Public Library.

To search the available collections, go to: http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Chronicling America allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1880-1910 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

At present it is possible to view newspaper pages from 1880 to 1910 from the following states: California, District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

Ultimately, over a period of approximately 20 years, NDNP will create a national, digital resource of historically significant newspapers from all the states and U.S. territories published between 1836 and 1922. This searchable database will be permanently maintained at the Library of Congress (LC) and be freely accessible via the Internet. An accompanying national newspaper directory of bibliographic and holdings information on the website will direct users to newspaper titles available in all types of formats.

For further details and to search either the full-text papers or the Newspaper Directory, go to: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

Library of Congress on YouTube

The Library of Congress has begun to make its multimedia resources available via YouTube:

"We are starting with more than 70 videos, arranged in the following playlists: 2008 National Book Festival author presentations, the Books and Beyond author series, Journeys and Crossings (a series of curator discussions), “Westinghouse” industrial films from 1904, scholar discussions from the John W. Kluge Center, and the earliest movies made by Thomas Edison, including the first moving image ever made (curiously enough, a sneeze by a man named Fred Ott)."

To see what's available, go to: http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress

National Security Archive

An independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The Archive also serves as a repository of government records on a wide range of topics pertaining to the national security, foreign, intelligence, and economic policies of the United States.

The Archive obtains its materials through a variety of methods, including the Freedom of Information act, Mandatory Declassification Review, presidential paper collections, congressional records, and court testimony. Archive staff members systematically track U.S. government agencies and federal records repositories for documents that either have never been released before, or that help to shed light on the decision-making process of the U.S. government and provide the historical context underlying those decisions.

To see the range of documents available, go to:

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/index.html

The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960 to 1974: online database trial

Electronic publisher Alexander Street Press [has] announced the release of The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960 to 1974, the first online collection of primary sources to document the key events, trends, and movements—as well as the look and feel of everyday life—in 1960s America.
The collection includes a wide range of interviews—with the Beatles, the Weathermen, commune members, and women beat writers—as well as memoirs and diaries from Vietnam War veterans, civil rights workers, feminists, and regular people caught up in the times. Included are autobiographies of Abbie Hoffman, Medgar Evers, Bill Graham, and Roger Mudd; Civil Rights Commission hearing transcripts; and books documenting the Sixties, such as Like a Rolling Stone, by Greil Marcus.

To Access the Free Trial Go To:http://asp6new.alexanderstreet.com/sixt/
Then, run a search, you’ll be asked for a login and password when you’re ready to access the content.
Login: bringback
Password: thesixties
The free trial is available until March 31, 2009