Research Guides at CSU Pueblo Library: Guide to primary sources: Archives

Finding and using archival collections

Archives are unique collections of primary and secondary sources. Most institutions—universities, companies, libraries, governments—gather their official documents into an archive for preservation. They may include: policy papers and memos, product design and documentation, ledgers and reports, maps, photographs, prints, or artwork.

Personal papers and collections of prominent historical figures like art collectors, industry leaders, authors, and scientists, also end up in archives.

Until recently, archives were inaccessible to most historians, unless they spent considerable time and effort in traveling to where the archives were physically located and obtained permission to access, examine, and use the materials.

Today, archives are going digital. All of the archives listed on this page have digitized some, or all, of their collections, so that you can search and view items online.

Start by searching ArchiveGrid to find archives near you, or browse the links below to find digital archives.

ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window
Includes over 4 million records describing archival materials from more than 1,000 different archival institutions. Includes historical documents, personal papers, and family histories.

National archives

Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
The Library of Congress has digitized millions of manuscripts, maps, prints and photographs, recordings, videos, and newspapers. Browse by themed collection, or search the entire catalog for specific people, places, and events.
National Archives This link opens in a new window
Permanent home for U.S. government records, including documents, maps, charts, architectural and engineering drawings, photographs, film, video, and sound recordings.
UK National Archives This link opens in a new window
Freely available images from the UK National Archives, including digitized maps, letters, documents, newspapers, and political cartoons.

State archives

Digital Commonwealth: Massachusetts Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Contains thousands of photographs, manuscripts, maps, books, audio recordings, and other materials of historical interest that have been digitized and made freely available by libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies in Massachusetts.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania: History Online This link opens in a new window
Photographs, video, documentaries, and online exhibits that explore Pennsylvanian history. Includes special Digital History Projects on the Great Depression, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, and John Fryer's fight for LGBT equality in the psychiatric profession.
Online Archive of California This link opens in a new window
Free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 contributing institutions including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, museums, and the 10 University of California campuses.
Virginia Memory This link opens in a new window
Vast and varied collections of manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, maps, and atlases representing the history of Virginia.

Museum and library archives

Getty Search Gateway This link opens in a new window
Discover the variety of resources available across the Getty's collections, which includes the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the Getty Research Institute.
Gilder Lehrman Collection This link opens in a new window
Open access database of more than 60,000 letters, diaries, maps, pamphlets, printed books, newspapers, photographs, and ephemera that document the political, social, and economic history of the United States. Considered one of the nation’s great archives in the Revolutionary, early national, antebellum, and Civil War periods.
Hagley Digital Archives This link opens in a new window
The Hagley Museum and Library studies the history of American business, technology, and innovation, ranging from 18th century merchants to modern telecommunications. Its open access digital collections include extensive photographs, documents, oral histories, personal papers, newsletters and trade journals.
Huntington Digital Library This link opens in a new window
The Huntington Library specializes in British and American history, literature and the history of science spanning the 11th century to the present. Its Digital Library contains maps, photographs, manuscripts, rare books, prints and ephemera. Unique collections focus on southern California architecture and technology, Jack London (author), Colorado rivers, coded Civil War messages, and Mormonism.
The Library Company of Philadelphia This link opens in a new window
Rare books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and graphics documenting American history and culture through the end of the 19th century. Its strengths include: African Americana; American science, technology, economics, architecture, agriculture, natural history, education, philanthropy, and medicine; German-Americana; the history of printing and publishing; American Judaica; the history of women, domestic economy, and family life; printmaking, mapmaking, and photography in Philadelphia; and the libraries of James Logan and Benjamin Franklin.
Linda Hall Library Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Significant rare and fragile materials from the collections of the Linda Hall Library. Nearly a quarter million digitized images from the History of Science Collection offer researchers the opportunity to view such items as books, maps, photographs, and manuscripts.
The Newberry: Digital Resources and Publications This link opens in a new window
Digital exhibitions, publications, reference materials, and image collections. Its strengths include American Indian and Indigenous Studies, American History and Culture, Maps, Travel, and Exploration, and Chicago and the Midwest.
New York Public Library Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more from the NYPL archives.
Smithsonian Image Gallery This link opens in a new window
A free online archive of images from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.

University and college archives

Avalon Project This link opens in a new window
Free access to digital documents relevant to the fields of law, history, politics, diplomacy and government, spanning from 4000 BCE to the 21st century.
Columbia University Libraries: Digital Library Collections This link opens in a new window
Gateway to digital reproductions and descriptions of photographs, posters, drawings, objects, ephemera, and manuscripts as well as other archival material from Columbia's rare and special collections.
History Collection at University of Wisconsin-Madison This link opens in a new window
Digitized historical documents on select topics, including documents related to Indian Affairs, Germany under reconstruction, 19th century European-American views on the American West, and World War I.
MLibrary Image Collections This link opens in a new window
Public image collections that cover a range of topics including American history, Ancient Egyptian papyrology, Asian languages and cultures, architecture, archives and manuscripts, film, and poetry.
Colorado Chicano Movement Archives, CSU-Pueblo This link opens in a new window
Free online collection of photographs and documents on CSU-Pueblo university's history and Southern Colorado's ethnic heritage and diversity.

Company and industry archives

Hagley Digital Archives This link opens in a new window
The Hagley Museum and Library studies the history of American business, technology, and innovation, ranging from 18th century merchants to modern telecommunications. Its open access digital collections include extensive photographs, documents, oral histories, personal papers, newsletters and trade journals.
Steelworks Center of the West Archives (Colorado Fuel & Iron- CF&I) This link opens in a new window
100,000+ photographs, 150+ films, 30,000 maps and drawings, hundreds of ledgers, and internal publications made freely available from the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company, as well as company records on steel production, geology, labor relations and work orders, and executive correspondence.
Szathmary Recipe Pamphlet Digital Collection This link opens in a new window
Open access collection of 4,000+ promotional recipe pamphlets, published mainly by food and appliance manufacturers and trade associations. Dating from the late 19th century to the present, this advertising ephemera reflects the evolution of the modern American diet. Of particular interest is the time period from 1880–1930, when industrialization gave rise to the modern food industry.