The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) offers numerous primary sources, including maps, manuscripts, newspapers, diaries, photographs, and pamphlets. The SCRC collects materials related to many areas of research; strengths include University history, Washingtoniana, labor history, and education. There is also a collection of rich bibliographies on popular topics (such as LGBT Resources, American Labor History, and Maps of Washington DC) available to assist researchers interested in particular topics. Contact a special collections librarian for help with your research.
Start here: https://searcharchives.library.gwu.edu/
This database allows you to search across all of the library's archival collections. You can limit your search results by date, names, and subjects. The majority of the archival, manuscript, and rare book collections in special collections are housed offsite and require 3-5 business days for retrieval. Request materials in advance of visits. Send requests or questions here: https://library.gwu.edu/scrc/contact
The Digital Services unit is part of the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) and deeply engaged in cross-departmental projects to identify, digitize, and provide access to historical collections online. GW Libraries’ digital services focus on the development and implementation of ethical and sustainable digital collections. Digital services staff also support the accession, preservation, discovery, and use of born-digital resources and web archives.
The link takes you to the History Vault main page; select "Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle." This database provides access to primary sources that document both well-known and unheralded events in the Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century from the perspective of the people who waged it; including federal government and organizational records, and the archives of the NAACP.
