HOLLIS Search Strategies

Remember that our catalog is old -- in the best sense of the word. You'll find a treasure trove of primary source documents there from all periods, in all languages, and from most parts of the world.

Some tips:

Think about time frame. 

One easy way to find texts and other items that are roughly contemporaneous with your course readings is to modify a HOLLIS search you've run, using the date limiters that appear on the right hand side of the screen.

Load your linguistic dice.

​Adding the word sources to a keyword search can sometimes be useful in surfacing republished collections of original documents and other primary materials. Reader, anthology, documents or documentary also can work well. ​

Remember, however, that this technique presupposes that someone has done the work of identifying, selecting, describing, and otherwise curating a set of materials. Major figures or groups, and major historical moments and concepts are more likely to generate this publication type. 

Think in terms of genre.

​Instead of adding a general word like sources, you can seek primary materials in HOLLIS in other ways.  For instance: you can run your keyword search and then scan the  Form/Genre filter on the right side of the results screen. 

Form/genre is commonly where you'll see primary sources of these types: correspondence (the official way of describing letters); diaries; exhibitions (typically designating the catalog of a museum show) ; speeches; interviews; memoirs; notebooks; personal narratives; pictorial works (a traditional way of identifying a collection of images); maps; photographs.

In HOLLIS, the form/genre label --powerful as it is -- has been inconsistently applied  So also tconsider adding genre terms to a straight keyword search. 

Scour finding aids.

​Manuscripts that are held by Harvard libraries, like Houghton, will usually have an online finding aid linked to their HOLLIS records. Finding aids are detailed item-by-item descriptions of everything in a particular collection. Typically, finding aids will also provide contextual information, like biography, scope/content notes, preferred citation methods, etc. Finding aid URLs appear below the title in a HOLLIS manuscript record. 

Think backward from a secondary source.

​Remember that the secondary literature you find  (scholarly journals, other biographies, and books) will themselves be built on primary source materials.  Canvass the bibliographies and footnotes. If the primary documents exist in a published form (rather than being unique to an archive you may not have access to), consider tracking them down at Harvard (if you're close to Cambridge) or (if you're not) at a library near you.

Newspaper and Periodicals Databases

Newspaper and Periodical Collections

Examples: 

Time coverage varies; generally, from paper's beginning to late 20th or early 2000s. This database allosw searching across U.S. major dailies, a collection of important African American newspapers, and some international titles, like the Times of India. HARVARD KEY

Search across 22 news databases with contents from all the states and territories.  Coverage from the 17th century. HARVARD KEY

The Library of Congress's  ongoing, long-term effort to digitize state and local newspapers published between 1777 and 1963.  As well as searching contents, you can also access from here the US Newspaper Directory 1690-present, which comprehensively identifies publications and provides information on where to access them. 

24,000-plus newspapers, mostly local United States papers, some from as early as the 1700s. 

Good for regional and local newspaper coverage; searching not highly sophisticated, but limiters help and potential for discovery makes it worth the labor. HARVARD KEY

Users can simultaneously search or browse across multiple databases: 17th, 18th, and 19th-century newspapers, including those from the British Library's important collection; 19th-century UK periodicals, and archives for such UK publications as the Daily Mail,  the Economist, Financial Times, Illustrated London News, Liberty Magazine, the Listener, the Picture Post, and the Times Literary Supplement (TLS). HARVARD KEY

Search across the contents of 130 ethnic newspapers published in the U.S. in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries. Created in partnership with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. HHARVARD KEY

Created in cooperation with the University of Houston, this new digital resource represents the single largest compilation of Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. The distinctive collection features hundreds of titles, including many published bilingually in Spanish and English. HARVARD KEY

A collection of the popular and general interest magazines in circulation in the U.S. and Canada  between the late-19th and late-20th century.  HARVARD KEY

Wide ranging collections of newspapers and magazines. HARVARD KEY

Genealogy

Ancestry.com (Library Edition) Harvard Key

An extensive collection of vital records, directories, censuses, military records, and other material from the United States and Canada, intended for genealogical research. Includes fully-indexed, full-text images of United States federal census returns, 1790-1950, plus access to historical documents and photos, local narratives, oral histories, indexes and other resources in over 30,000 databases that span from the 1500s to the 2000s.

Always use the Harvard subscription to Ancestry – it removes the paywall (and thus, means that you have all the benefits of full access to the resource's contents without the financial expense).

Ancestry.com has a suite of research guides and learning tools to help you use the database well

If you are interested in pursuing African American heritage, Ancestry’s guide to African American Family Search  is essential reading.

Related Guides and Subject Experts

Digital Primary Sources Online is an extensive list, maintained by Harvard librarians Fred Burchsted and Anna Assogba.  You may find good leads there, with a little digging.

Anna and Fred are the Library's History Liaisons. Their expertise is vast and their generosity vaster still. You can contact them directly with questions or for a follow-up consult: