Research Guides: Slavery & Freedom: Primary Sources at GW and DC

Guide Author

Leah Richardson

she/her/hers

Email Me

Contact:

Special Collections Research Center
Gelman Library, Suite 704

202-994-3263

Subjects: American Studies, Gender Studies, Primary Source Collections, Women's Studies

Research Skills Development

Connect Google Scholar with GW Libraries
Module 1: Search Engines
The learning objectives for this module are to describe how a search engine works and discover the unique uses of the search engines Google and Google Scholar.
Module 2: Databases
Learning Objectives for this module include listing databases that you encounter in daily life; describing what a library database is and the types of materials it contains; and locating three library databases on the GW Libraries website.
Module 3: Subject Databases
Learn how to distinguish between a general and a subject library database; match information needs and search strategies to appropriate subject databases; and compare the results of a search in a general database vs. a subject specific database.
Module 4: Keywords and Searching
Be able to identify the main concepts in a research question; practice generating a list of keywords or search terms for a research topic; and use “Boolean” operators in a search.
Module 5: Finding a Book in the Library Catalog
In this tutorial you will learn how to conduct a keyword search in the library catalog, identify important parts of a catalog record, use subject headings to find additional books on your topic, and access the books you discovered.
Tutorial: Introduction to Primary Source and Archival Research
This tutorial is designed to provide you with a basic understanding of archival and primary source research: what is a primary source, types of primary sources, and a basic introduction to reading primary sources.

Special Collections Research Center @GW

The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) is where you can access the library's rare and unique materials. SCRC and its collections are open to the GW community and the public. The majority of the archival, manuscript, and rare book collections in the SCRC are housed offsite and require 3-5 business days for retrieval. See the subject guides to the collections or search the archives database to locate materials. Contact the SCRC with questions and to place a request to view materials.

Resources available in the Washington, D.C. area:

See also the Images & Material Culture page for more relevant links.

African & Middle Eastern Reading Room, Library of Congress
The Reading Room is the primary public access point for materials housed in the African and Middle Eastern Division. The extensive collections of the Africana Section of the division include primary source documents, facsimiles, and secondary sources. The Reading Room is open to the public.
African-American Research, The National Archives
This page provides an introduction to research on African-American topics in the federal records holdings of The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
DC Public Library, Washingtoniana and Black Studies Divisions
The DC Public Library has two Special Collections divisions (Washingtoniana and Black Studies) that are very strong in African and African American historical resources. Both are located at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library.
The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
A research center at Howard University, Washington, D.C., this facility is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world.
National Museum of African Art
Collections of this Smithsonian museum embrace the diverse artistic expressions found throughout Africa, from ancient to contemporary times. Two of the museum's main research units are the Warren M. Robbins Library (mostly books and periodicals) and the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives.
Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room, Library of Congress
The holdings of the Serial & Government Publications Division are very strong in US newspapers, with 9,000 titles covering the past three centuries. The complete suite of the Proquest Black Newspapers (historical), e.g., New York Amsterdam News, is included. The Division's Reading Room is open to the public.
American Folklife Center
Part of the Library of Congress, the Center archives recordings of music and oral history as well as manuscripts and other materials in their over 4,000 collections.
Museum of the Americas
"The museum's permanent collection of contemporary Latin American and Caribbean art is one of the most important of its kind in the United States. The museum also maintains a regular schedule of exhibits and related educational programs."
National Museum of African American History & Culture
Construction of the NMAAHC is scheduled to begin on the Mall in 2012 and completed in 2015. Until then, you to visit their Gallery located on the second floor of the National Museum of American History.
Maryland Historical Society
Documents and digital collections pertaining to African Americans in Maryland.
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum
"Documents and interprets the effect of historical and contemporary social and cultural issues on communities."
Alexandria Freedmen's Cemetery
"The Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery was founded in 1997 for the purposes of preserving, commemorating and researching a little known, Civil War-era, African American burying ground in Old Town Alexandria."
Historical Society of Washington, DC
Their library's collection includes over 100,000 prints, negatives, and slides, from 1860 to the present, as well as manuscripts and artifacts.