EDHE 6064: Higher Education in the United States: Additional Guides & Search Tools

Additional Guides & Research Tools

This section of the guide includes some tools and resources for searching, including links to authoritative thesauri and subject/name terms that can help you identify search terms, some databases and aggregators in which you can search for information about manuscript collections, and some LibGuides hosted by the University Libraries.

Sources for subject terms & keywords

Search tools for primary sources

Virginia Heritage is a database for finding aids (collection guides) at about 35 participating institutions in Virginia. ArchiveGrid is a database of finding aids and catalog records for institutions around the country, but it is voluntary and not all-encompassing. WorldCat contains records for a wide variety of materials and formats with varying degrees of information. It is primarily focused on academic and public libraries.

Other states, state/multi-state partnerships, and regional consortia may also have search tools that include both finding aids and/or digital content. So, you may need to do some digging to locate additional search tools--and you can always ask our staff for help or suggestions!

Other guides from the University Libraries

About Special Collections and University Archives

Hours

Special Collections and University Archives is currently open Monday-Friday from 8am to 5pm.

Appointments are not required, but strongly encouraged (**see below)

Appointments can be made by visiting the SCUA Seat Reservation page (instructions are included on this page)

Virtual reference help remains available at specref@vt.edu or by phone at 540-231-6308

**By making an appointment, you will help us limit the number of researchers using our Reading Room at any one time for health and safety; guarantee you a seat at the requested time; and help us plan for your visit, for example, making sure the materials needed are on site and available.

Connect with us

Email: specref@vt.edu
Phone: 540-231-6308
Twitter: @VT_SCUA
Information for Visitors

​Find us online

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Our digital collections
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Our LibGuides

Land Acknowledgement

Virginia Tech acknowledges that we live and work on the Tutelo / Monacan People’s homeland, and we recognize their continued relationships with their lands and waterways. We further acknowledge that the Morrill Land-Grant College Act (1862) enabled the commonwealth of Virginia to finance and found Virginia Tech through the forced removal of Native Nations from their lands in western territories. We understand that honoring Native Peoples without explicit material commitments falls short of our institutional responsibilities. Through sustained, transparent, and meaningful engagement with the Tutelo / Monacan Peoples, and other Native Nations, we commit to changing the trajectory of Virginia Tech's history by increasing Indigenous student, staff, and faculty recruitment and retention, diversifying course offerings, and meeting the growing needs of all Virginia tribes and supporting their sovereignty.

Labor Recognition

Virginia Tech acknowledges that its Blacksburg campus sits partly on land that was previously the site of the Smithfield and Solitude Plantations, owned by members of the Preston family. Between the 1770s and the 1860s, the Prestons and other local White families that owned parcels of what became Virginia Tech also owned hundreds of enslaved people. We acknowledge that enslaved Black people generated wealth that financed the predecessor institution to Virginia Tech, the Preston and Olin Institute, and they also worked on construction of its building. Not until 1953, however, was the first Black student permitted to enroll. Through InclusiveVT, the institutional and individual commitment to Ut Prosim (that I may serve) in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence, we commit to advancing a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.

Full and short versions of the acknowledgements can be found on InclusiveVT's website.

This guide was adapted with permission from a course LibGuide originally created by Kira Dietz.