Library/Archive

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collection includes digital images of measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories for 10,000 historic structures and sites dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. These collections display building types and engineering technologies from a farmhouse to a pickle factory, from churches to the Golden Gate Bridge. New material is added monthly. A gallery of images includes 36 photographs and 18 drawings of 50 structures, one from each state in the U.S. The site is searchable by geographic location, keyword, and a subject index that is organized by structure type. For each structure, the site provides from one to ten drawings, from one to 30 photographs, and from one to 50 pages of HABS text in facsimile detailing the structure’s history, significance, and current physical condition. Useful for a specialized audience, for architectural historians, or for those looking for illustrations and examples.

Excellent source of secondary material about World War I. The narratives are well hyperlinked allowing easy movement between the chronological, biographical, geographical, and historical pages. Also included are sections on artists, literature, women, technology, and inventors. Links to other World War I sites are made available as well.

The National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) developed the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) to help users locate and access records held in a multitude of government libraries and repositories throughout the United States. To assist researchers, the site has a powerful search tool, a description of steps to finding records, and information on research tutorials and workshops. Links connect the NARA site with sites for individual archives and libraries and online articles outline government record-keeping procedures. Besides acting as a finding tool, the NARA also works to develop better techniques for preserving records that are valuable to the documentation of American history.

ArchNet, maintained by the Archaeological Research Institute at Arizona State University, is an exhaustive repository for links to archeology-related sites. Links are organized and browsable by region, topic, education and research, and institutions and organizations. It also features a search function which includes a guided form.

Collection of links to other virtual libraries which catalog sites in the following topics: Agriculture, The Arts, Business and Economics, Communications and Media, Computing and Computer Science, Education, Engineering, Humanities and Humanistic Studies, Information and Libraries, International Affairs, Law, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Recreation, Regional Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Society. Material is well maintained and can be browsed by subject or searched, and is available in English, Spanish, French and Chinese.

Online exhibit drawing on "The Long View: Panoramic Photography from the National Archives," which was displayed at the National Archives at College Park from August 15, 1998 through May 1, 2000. Collection of twenty-three panoramic photographs, many of military subjects, which are also viewable interactively through QuickTime Panoramic. Includes links to other areas of the National Archives site.

This site is a vast database of Thomas Edison's papers including 71,000 pages of correspondence and 12,000 pages of technical drawings. Processes for searching the site are complicated and visitors are recommended to read a 3,000-word guide to searching it. The site may be searched by name, date, or document type, by Folder/Volume, or by Series notes. Series collect documents in groups, such as scrapbooks and legal papers. The site includes over 2,000 facsimiles of Edison patents from 1868 to 1931 for products such as the electric lamp and the phonograph. More than 7,000 clippings from 103 journals and newspapers discuss Edison's achievements. Journals range from the American Engineer to the Westminster Gazette. "Document Sampler" contains over 20 documents including Edison's wife's design for a light bulb and a list of 19 different possible names for the phonograph. A collection of photographs, maps, and prints depict Edison, his environs, and his inventions. There are two chronologies of Edison's life on the site, the longer one running 13,0000-word. The site offers an 8,000-word essay on Edison's companies and over 20 pages about Edison and the development of the motion picture industry. A 70-item bibliography and a shorter 10-item version direct visitors to books and articles about Edison. The site links to 20 Edison-related websites. Because it is somewhat difficult to search, this site will be most useful to experienced researchers.

The National Library of Medicine is one of the world's largest depositories of medical information - manuscripts, published materials and digital collections. NLM publishes Medline, a massive electronic database of full text articles and abstracts that have recently been published in the various medical fields. The Library itself hosts catalogues and databases providing researchers with a wealth of material. Though the focus of the library is on modern medicine and assisting medical researchers, the collections include a wide array of historical documents and manuscripts. The easily-navigable site also provides information on the library itself, which is located near Washington, DC.