Appalachian Resources in Special Collections and University Archives: Digital/Online Resources
About
This section links to databases and collections of digital/online materials, both located at Special Collections and elsewhere. It also contains tools and resources for searching, including links to authoritative thesauri and subject/name terms that can help you identify search terms. If you need additional assistance, please contact our staff for help or suggestions!
Other Guides from the University Libraries
- Appalachian Studies LibGuideUniversity Libraries LibGuide
- Food & Drink History Resources @Virginia Tech (and Beyond) LibGuideSpecial Collections LibGuide
- Religion and Culture LibGuideUniversity Libraries LibGuide
- Researching Blacksburg, Virginia, History LibGuideSpecial Collections LibGuide
- Special Collections and University Archives: A Basic Introduction LibGuideSpecial Collections LibGuide
About Special Collections and University Archives
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Email: specref@vt.edu
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Digital Paper & Multi-Format Collections
- Appalachian State University Digital CollectionsAppalachian State University Digital Collections consists of rare and historic materials and are made available online through the efforts of the Belk Library and Information Commons and the departments of Special Collections, Technology Services, and Bibliographic Services. The materials digitized include sound recordings, oral histories, civil war letters, and images focusing on the Appalachian region, Appalachian State University, children’s literature, art, and theater.
- Center for Virtual AppalachiaThe Center for Virtual Appalachia is a collection of information, photos, articles, and data about the Appalachian region and its people.
- Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA)The Core Historical Literature of Agriculture (CHLA) is a core electronic collection of agricultural texts published between the early nineteenth century and the middle to late twentieth century. Full-text materials cover agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, animal science, crops and their protection, food science,forestry, human nutrition, rural sociology, and soil science.
- Digital Library of AppalachiaThe Digital Library of Appalachia provides online access to archival and historical materials related to the culture of the southern and central Appalachian region. The contents of the DLA are drawn from special collections of Appalachian College Association member libraries.
- Digital Public Library of AmericaThe Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science.
- ImageBase from VT Libraries Special Collections and University ArchivesImageBase is a browsable/searchable database of images and related information (metadata), retrievable by 19 fields including subject, title, and creator. Both small thumbnail images and larger full-screen images are available to the Virginia Tech community.
- Kentucky Digital LibraryThe Kentuckiana Digital Library is built to enhance scholarship, research and lifelong learning through the establishment of access to shared digital archival collections in the state of Kentucky. It also provides guidance and instruction for Kentucky libraries, archives, historical societies and museums on applying appropriate technologies used in the production of digital library resources.
- Library of Congress, American MemoryAmerican Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.
- University of North Carolina Digital CollectionsThe digital collections emphasize North Carolina and the American South. Topics include the experience of African Americans, the Civil War, the arts, economics, and politics. Documenting the American South (DocSouth), the Library’s award-winning digital publishing initiative, provides access to important texts, images, and audio files for the study of Southern history, literature, and culture.
- VT Special Collections Online (Virginia Tech)This site features digital collections of rare and unique materials such as letters, diaries, photographs, films, maps, newspapers, posters, reports and other media from the Special Collections of Virginia Tech.
- Western Carolina University Digital CollectionsHunter Library is committed to building regionally oriented, historically significant collections of broad cultural and research interest. A number of these collections are online. These digital collections provide a foundation for research, education, and humanities programming through their documentation of significant aspects of the American story.
Digital A/V & Oral History Collections
- Digital HeritageDigitalHeritage.org includes essays, video interviews, and other materials created by the students of Western Carolina University. It also includes regional lesson plans created by teachers participating in the Adventure of the American Mind project sponsored by the Library of Congress. Radio spots created by WCU faculty and students may be heard on stations WKSF-FM, WMXF-AM, WPEK-AM, WWCU-FM, and WWNC-AM.
- James Madison University, Shenandoah National Park Oral History CollectionThe Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, SdArch SNP, 1964-1999, consists of audio, transcripts, and images pertaining to interviews conducted primarily by Dorothy Noble Smith in addition to members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, park collaborators Eugene and Diane Zior Wilhelm, Darwin Lambert, and others.
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online CatalogThe Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) contains catalog records and digital images representing a rich cross-section of still pictures held by the Prints & Photographs Division and, in some cases, other units of the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress offers broad public access to these materials as a contribution to education and scholarship.
- University of Kentucky, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral HistoryThis links to the list of histories with online content, but the collection contains additional interviews.
Sources for Subject Terms & Keywords
- American Folklore Society Ethnographic Thesaurus (AFSET)The AFS Ethnographic Thesaurus (version 2.2) is a vocabulary that can be used to improve access to information about folklore, ethnomusicology, ethnology, and related fields. The American Folklore Society developed the Thesaurus in cooperation with the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress and supported by a generous grant from the Scholarly Communications Program of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Art & Architecture ThesaurusThe AAT is an evolving vocabulary, growing and changing thanks to contributions from Getty projects and other institutions. This vocabulary is useful for scholars dealing with topics relating to art and crafts.
- Cultural Objects Name Authority® Online (CONA)Please note: CONA tends to focus on specific named cultural heritage objects (a particular painting or piece of furniture, for example), but it may be worth exploring the vocabulary for ideas.
- Library of Congress AuthoritiesUsing the Library of Congress Authorities, you can browse and view authority headings for Subject, Name, Title and Name/Title combinations.
Search Tools for Primary Sources
ARVAS is a database for finding aids (collection guides) at about 35 participating institutions in Virginia and West 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!
- ArchiveGridArchiveGrid includes over four million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.
- ARVASArchival Resources of the Virginias is a consolidated database of more than 12,000 finding aids which provide information about the vast array of manuscripts and archival materials housed in historical societies, libraries, museums, colleges and universities across the Virginia and West Virginia. The continuous addition of new and updated finding aids makes this a great tool for discovering primary source materials documenting the history, culture, and people of the area.
- WorldCat
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With an index of hundreds of millions of bibliographic records which represent several billion resources in libraries worldwide, WorldCat is the world's most comprehensive database of information about library collections.
