Social Sciences Librarian
(804)-289-8262
Boatwright Library, Room #183
261 Richmond Way
Richmond, VA 23173
Head of Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books; History Librarian
RHCS 349: Memory & Memorialization in the City of Richmond (Maurantonio)
Featured Resource
Showcase for digitized collections of archival materials, including the Wyatt T. Walker Collection and UR architectural drawings/blueprints, as well as UR student paper publications like The Collegian and The Messenger.
Access the full list by following this link: https://library.richmond.edu/collections/digital/index.html
Primary Sources
- Accessible Archives This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles from American newspapers from the 18th and 19th centuries, including African American newspapers and women's suffrage newspapers. (Coherent Digital)
- Archival Resources of the Virginias (ARVAS) This link opens in a new window
Search for information on archival materials housed in historical societies, libraries, museums, colleges, and universities across Virginia and West Virginia. The online finding aids help researchers discover primary source materials that document the history, culture, and people of these two states. (ARVAS)
- Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new windowSearch a collection of nonfiction writings by major American Black leaders, including books, letters, speeches, essays, interviews, and political leaflets. Researchers can study the historical development of Black culture by examining the ideas of one individual over time or compare the thinking of various figures on a given topic. (Alexander Street Press)
- Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970 - Virginia This link opens in a new window
Search large-scale plans of Virginia cities and towns, created to assist fire insurance companies assess the risk associated with insuring a particular property. Map information includes data such as the outline of each building, the size, shape, and construction materials, heights and function of structures, and location of windows and doors. The maps also give street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house numbers. (ProQuest)
- HistoryMakers Video Archive This link opens in a new windowWatch videos of thousands of oral history interviews that highlight the accomplishments of individual African Americans and African-American-led groups and movements. (HistoryMakers)
Newspaper Collections
- News Sources Research GuideCollection of news databases accessible to UR students on an international, national, and local level. The following papers may be particularly useful for your RHCS 349 research:
-Richmond Planet
-The Daily Dispatch
-Richmond Times-Dispatch (Historic and Current)
-Richmond Free Press
-Richmond Magazine
-Richmond Voice
- Access World News (Historical and Current) This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles from thousands of US and global news sources. It includes some audio and video news sources, as well as traditional newspapers. (Newsbank/Readex)
- African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 This link opens in a new window
Search for articles from US newspapers that chronicle 150 years of the African American experience, including the Antebellum South, growth of the Black church, the Jim Crow Era, the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights movement, and more. Note: UR has access to Series 1 only. (Newsbank/Readex)
- 19th Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new windowSearch an archive of newspapers published in the 1800s by a variety of groups, including political parties, African Americans, Native Americans, women's rights groups, labor groups, and the Confederacy. This collection includes newspapers from every one of the 50 modern-day US states. (Gale)
Local
- Collegian Archive This link opens in a new window
Search the University of Richmond's student newspaper that has been in publication since 1914. Note: Recent archives are available at the Collegian website. (University of Richmond)
- Richmond Times-Dispatch (1903-present) This link opens in a new windowSearch the complete archives of the Richmond Times-Dispatch from its inception in 1903. PDF scans are available from 1903-present and transcriptions of individual articles are available from 1985-present. (Newsbank/Readex)
National
- New York Times (Website) This link opens in a new window
*Redeem a code and create an account using your UR email address to access the New York Times' website. Your account will be active for 26 weeks, after which you will need to repeat the process and redeem the code again. Note: If you have a current paid New York Times subscription, cancel your paid subscription, prior to redeeming the code and registering. Our subscription does NOT contain access to Games or Cooking. Once registered, you will have access to the New York Times articles from 1851-present. For the date range 1923-1980, users are limited to 5 accesses per day. Note: Web-only content is not linked in OneSearch. You must access the website directly for those articles. (New York Times)
- New York Times Historical Newspaper & Index This link opens in a new windowAccess the archives of the New York Times from 1851-2019. (ProQuest)
- Wall Street Journal (Website) This link opens in a new window
Read articles published on WSJ.com. Note: If you want to access WSJ using an app or via Google, create an individual account using your UR email address OR enter the email address in the app and send yourself a one-time passcode to login. The app does not redirect to the UR login screen, so you can't use your UR password. Note: Web-only content is not linked in OneSearch. You must access the website directly for those articles. (Dow Jones)
- Wall Street Journal Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new windowAccess the archives of the Wall Street Journal from 1889-2011. (ProQuest)
- Economist This link opens in a new window
*Create an account using your UR email address. Once you have an account, login to access the most current articles from this news source that focus on politics, business, science, and economics. Note: If you already have an account with The Economist (free or paid) that uses your UR email address, change your email on that account to a personal email address. You can only take advantage of the UR group subscription at the time of registration, and you must use your UR email address for that (which you can't do if the email address is already in use). Note: Web-only content is not linked in OneSearch. You must access the website directly for those articles. (Economist Group)
- Economist Historical Archive, 1843-2020 This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles from the archives of The Economist. Find editorials, news, and commentary that offer insight into British, European, American, and world affairs. (Gale)
- VCU Libraries Digital CollectionsDigitized materials curated by VCU Libraries. Though not comprehensive, the following collections may be particularly useful for your research topics:
-Broad Street Old and Historic District, Richmond, Virginia
-Farmville 1963 Civil Rights Protest
-Rarely Seen Richmond
-Richmond Architectural Survey Collection
-Voices of Freedom (oral histories of Virginia civil rights leaders) - Virginia Memory - Source CollectionsDigitized materials produced through the Library of Virginia. Though not comprehensive, the following collections may be particularly useful for your research topics:
-Adolph B. Rice Photograph Collection (Richmond area photos from 1949-1961)
-Born in the Wake of Freedom: John Mitchell, Jr., and the Richmond Planet
-City of Richmond 1 June 2020 Protest Collection
-Richmond Esthetic and Historic Building Survey
-School Buildings Service Photographs - Virginia ChronicleHistorical archive of digitized newspapers across Virginia. Free copies of over 4 million newspaper articles from 1787 - 2022.
- Library of Virginia Research GuidesList of guides and accompanying materials curated by the Library of Virginia. Includes information on African American communities, historic photographs, and resources about the school desegregation push across Virginia.
- Jackson Davis Collection of African American Educational Photographs*Housed in the UVA special collections library, this features over 6,000 photos by "educational reformer and amateur photographer" Jackson Davis.
*Note: Accessing this collection requires searching through Virgo, UVA's library database service. You can select the "Jackson Davis Collection" as a resource filter to narrow your results. - The Ground Beneath our Feet: Massive ResistanceWebsite for the documentary series "The Ground Beneath Our Feet" on Virginia's history since the Civil War. This page features images, documents, and interview clips on the fight for school desegregation across Virginia following Brown v. Board.
- Television News of the Civil Rights Era, 1950-1970Digitized copies of mid-20th Virginia television news programs featuring interviews with key national figures and local Virginia officials on numerous topics related to the Civil Rights Movement.
- National Historical Geographic Information SystemAccess historic census data from across the U.S.
- Washington and Lee University Digital ArchiveCollection of primary sources and school documents from W&L University. Particularly useful for groups interested in Robert E. Lee primary sources.
- Virginia Museum of History & Culture - Collections*Link to the online catalog for the VMHC's collections. Includes letters, memoirs, manuscripts, and diary entries as well as physical objects.
*Note: Fewer of these items will be available digitally, meaning you may have to visit the VMHC in person to view these items in full.
UR Books
The following items are held by the University of Richmond, either through online copies or physically in the Main Circulating Collection or the Rare Books collection. If you want assitance accessing any item in this list, please contact Kyle Jenkins or Lynda Kachurek.
Help Menu
- Library Catalog This link opens in a new windowSearch our library catalog (aka OneSearch) for all types of sources. It combines results from many of our databases. (Ex Libris)
- OneSearch This link opens in a new windowUse this discovery tool to search most of the University Libraries' collections, including books, journal articles, newspapers, dissertations, music, and video recordings. (Ex Libris)