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Infant, Child, & Family Nutrition Resources: Books

The guide includes information about in the History of Food & Drink materials relating to the feeding, care, and nutrition of infants, children, and families. It also has tools and resources for completing historical research in these areas.

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New Theatre (the Lyric) and Store Building for the Blacksburg Realty Company
New Theatre (the Lyric) and Store Building for the Blacksburg Realty Company

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Contact us:
Email: specref@vt.edu
Telephone: 540-231-6308
Twitter: @VT_SCUA
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Locating Books & Other Publications

In Print

The History of Food and Drink collecting area has more than 4,600 publications. Books, relevant theses and dissertations, pamphlets, extension publications, and other printed materials can be searched through the library catalog or through the discovery system.  

About 2/3 of the book collection is located in Special Collections and University Archives and can be accessed through the our reading room, Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm or by appointment (please contact us to arrange appointments). The remaining 1/3 of the book collection is housed in Newman Library or in the library storage facility and is available to be checked out. 

The published materials (books, pamphlets, booklets, Cooperative Extension bulletins, and resources kits) are cataloged with the Rare Book Collection in Special Collections and University Archives and the circulating collection in Newman Library.

  • Select "Note" and enter "culinary collection" in the search box.
  • Add any additional terms to the box below. You may wish to try multiple searches with different terms, depending on your topic (for example. "nutrition" or "child care" or "infant" or "southern cooking").
  • If you want to limit publication dates to a certain time, use the "Publication Date" fields. (Optional)
  • If you wish to see results for Special Collections and the circulating collection, leave the "Limit to" field as "All University Libraries. This will search Special Collections, Newman Library, and materials in the Remote Storage building (which can be requested through the catalog). 
  • If you would like to see only materials you can check out, select "Newman Library."
  • If you would like to see only materials in Special Collections, select "Special Collections." 
  • Click on the "Search" button. 

Tip: If you results are coming up slim or empty, try ignoring the first step above and simply putting your keyword(s) into the search box with "Any Field" selected. Sometimes books are missing a note or have information in a different field.

Tip: Not all books dealing with infants and children will be clearly labeled as such. You may need to try out different search terms and look at different kinds of books (i.e. household management guides or home encyclopedias). 

Tip: Still stuck? Contact Special Collections and University Archives--We're here to help you!

Online

The History of Food and Drink collecting area includes more than 200 books in the public domain which have been digitized and are available at Special Collections Online, our digital platform. Many of these books relate to household (and family) management, dietetics, and nutrition.  

Remember: Books located in Special Collections and University Archives can only be used in our reading room! 

The Fannie Farmer Junior Cook Book (1942)