Research Resources

This is a great place to start any research project. As this page will continue to change, please check back again!

This list isn't exhaustive and isn't meant to be. However, if there's a source you've found particularly helpful, please let me know! Sources are loosely arranged by topic, but with no particular order within topics. 

 

Well-Known Sources

• The Library of Congress has a truly stunning collection. This page for research and reference services is a good place to start.
• The National Archives are a trusted source of information.
• The Smithsonian Magazine. Enough said.
• A Smithsonian site specifically for educators and researchers.
• Smithsonian information on natural history.
• This National Public Radio home page offers a search function or multiple choices. NPR also offers an archive of past programming.
• An archive of American public radio and television programs. Use the search tool, or, to browse, scroll down a bit and there’s quite a list to choose from. 

 

Salina/Kansas

• A searchable database of Kansas Historical Quarterly articles, 1931-1977. Many articles are digitized.
• Saline County portion of, History of the State of Kansas, by William G. Cutler, first published in 1883.
• Kansas Memory, sponsored by the Kansas Historical Museum, offers a large searchable database of primary documents.
• Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc., written in 1912.
• The Kansas Secretary of State Civics page. Info on counties and famous Kansans is helpful.
• The Political Graveyard is a handy reference guide of politicians, including Kansas and Salina.
• This page takes you directly to the beginning of the holdings of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps for Salina. 
• Wichita State University offers a wonderful digital collection of maps. On the home page click on the map to the right – that will take you to another page that allows you to search by keyword or browse by date.

 

America/World

• Eyewitness to History connects you to first-person testimonials of important events in history.
• Digital History contains an amazing amount of history, delivered in various ways and easy to follow.
• Statistical abstracts from the census.
• U.S. military history.

 

Diverse Populations

• The National Museum of African American History & Culture.
• The National Civil Rights Museum education page.
• The National Museum of the American Indian.
• The website for the Kaw Nation. Put your cursor on the Culture tab to see a dropdown menu with many choices.

 

Presidents/Government

• Scroll down to find links to all 14 Presidential Libraries and Museums.
• The University of Virginia hosts the Miller Center. This is a database of important presidential speeches, including both transcript and audio where possible. The home page – millercenter.org – offers information on presidents.
• Focusing on foreign relations, this official U.S. government site has many primary source resources. Choose historical documents, then foreign relations to find an index of presidents with access to primary source documents. Or, click on other resources, then key milestones, to find topics by date.
• The National Security Archive.

 

Crime/Law

• Information on a number of important national and international court cases. This site may be inappropriate for younger students.
• Published FBI records on a wide variety of cases. This site may be inappropriate for younger students.
   

Interesting Topics

• This food timeline follows people’s food preferences and usage through every decade of the 20th century.
• Brief information on each decade of the 20th century. Also provides links.