With the proliferation of internet resources, finding a credible source of information online can be quite challenging. It’s hard to tell which websites have the proper pedigrees, and which are just pretending. That’s why resources like the American Memory archives from the Library of Congress are so valuable for academic research.
This website contains only a tiny fraction of the documents available in the Library of Congress, and yet the collection is still nothing sort of astounding. The American Memory archives provide over one hundred collections, adding up to over nine million individual documents, all of which are guaranteed credible primary sources for whatever it is you’re currently working on. What’s more, each collection is accompanied by a collection guide and a time line, so it’s never hard to know what you’re looking at.
Not only are there tons of informative and useful documents, but those documents exist across all forms of media, from old photographs and ragged parchment scans to modern high-definition video. The site also has several useful features, both for teachers and students, and for the casual browser.
For the Student
Anyone who’s ever tried to write a historical essay knows that finding primary sources can be quite a challenge, especially if you aren’t allowed to use the materials presented in class. With the American Memory archive, that’s not a problem. The collections in the archive cover a wide range of topics, including recreation, religion, literature, racial histories, the evolution of government, city biographies and just about everything else related to US History.
For example, say you wanted to write an essay about the history of Yellowstone National Park. It would be nice to have a map of the territory from when it was first set aside in 1988. The American Memory archives can provide that for you, as well as maps of many other national parks, including the Grand Canyon and the Great Smokey Mountains.
Or maybe the assignment is to chronicle the history of War in the US, or analyze early travel advertising, or even study dialect differences in native English speakers. All this information is available from the library of congress, for free.
Feature: Ask a Librarian
Despite the expansiveness of the American Memory archive, you may not find the information you’re looking for. But don’t worry! That’s where the Ask a Librarian function comes in. While the question form is the first thing that pops up when you click the feature’s icon, you should take some time to look through the topic categories, to make sure your question goes to the right place. Some of the topics even come with a chat function, so you can get immediate responses to your questions. But if there isn’t a chat for your topic, you can send your question to one of the many qualified librarians employed by the Library of Congress, and expect a thorough and well-sourced response within five business days. Also check out the frequently asked questions and reference shelf sections—both are valuable resources.
For the Teacher
Making lesson plans is time consuming and difficult in the best of conditions, but trying to find primary sources to build around can be downright impossible. Fortunately, the American Memory archive has teachers in mind as well, and the “Teachers” section has just about everything you could need. It includes classroom materials, resources for developing your career, tips for using primary sources and tons of outside resources that might be helpful.
Feature: Lesson Plans
Along with all the other resources, the American Memory archives have tons of pre-designed lesson plans for teachers, each with its own grade rating, estimated time and lesson objectives. The lessons correspond to specific collections in the archive, which means that most of them have a variety of materials for students and teachers to choose from.
Examples of lessons range from the Civil War through a Child’s Eye (grades 3-8) to defining what it means to be American, to learning about race relations through Jackie Robinson. Grade classifications are pretty broad, so the lessons may take some tweaking to fit them to your specific age level, but they’re a great baseline that can save you a lot of time on that lesson plan.
For the Casual Browser
But learning about American history isn’t just for the classroom. For the historically inclined (or those who are just bored and looking for something interesting to do), American Memories is a great way to learn about America and see cool old images without having to spend a cent. The collections are deceptively fascinating, and it shouldn’t surprise you if you end up avidly reading through each one when you ought to be getting other things done.
Because the collections cover such a wide range of topics, there’s guaranteed to be something that you find interesting. If you like sports and entertainment, take a look at the recreation section, which has information about baseball, traveling fairs, ballroom dancing and even old films. If you’re more politically inclined, take a look at the government & law section, or learn about the presidents and their legacies.
Feature: Today in History
For trivia buffs, this feature is a dream. Every day, a new interesting fact from decades past pops up on this page. It’s a great way to learn about history in piecemeal form, and browsing through the archives is alarmingly addicting. For example, did you know that the first ever college unofficial basketball game happened on January 15th, 1896, and pitted the University of Iowa against the University of Chicago? The sport as it was played at the time is nearly unrecognizable from what we have today, but even so Chicago managed to soundly beat Iowa, with a final score of 15 to 12. That day in history also marked Carol Channing’s debut of her stunning performance in Hello, Dolly! In 1956. The notable events are linked back to related collections, so getting lost in the archives is even easier.
