Library Guides: Microform Collections: History

American Biographical Archive

American Biographical Archive
Call Number: CT213 .A49 1986a
* WHAT: A single-alphabet cumulation of 367 important biographical reference works covering 280,000 individuals. Special consideration has been given to uncovering material on those Americans long forgotten in the "official" historical records - African Americans, Native Americans and women.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfiche. Installments 1-4.

* ORGANIZATION: Alphabetical by the individual's last name. Cards are consecutively numbered through the series. Several biographies appear on each fiche. This collection is also available in print format in the Reference area on Wilson 2 West.

* INDEX: Located near the collection in Wilson 2 East.
Paper index: CT 113 .A5 1993, v.1 -5
Guide: CT 213 .A49 1986a

Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior

Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the Secretary of the Interior
Call Number: E93 .U72 1824-1949
Also: U.S. Commission of Indian Affairs Annual Reports

* WHAT: Annual reports by the U.S. Commissioner of the Office of Indian Affairs and, later, the Bureau of Indian Affairs initially submitted to the War Department and then to the Interior Department. Each annual report covers departmental activities for the previous year.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfiche, 1824 - 1949

* ORGANIZATION: Fiche are organized by year of report and secondarily by card number. Title and numbers appear on the upper left of each card. Title on cards: U.S. Comm. Of Indian Affairs Annual Reports.

* INDEX: No cumulative index. Individual volumes may contain a volume index or contents.

Foreign Relations of the United States

Foreign Relations of the United States
Call Number: JX233 .A32 v.1 1861-v.193 1956
* WHAT: Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States. Diplomatic correspondence between the U.S. and foreign countries, including letters, treaties, special presidential messages, etc.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfiche - v.1, 1861-1942.

* ORGANIZATION: The collection is organized using three criteria - year, part and card number. These are printed below the fiche header at the upper left of the card. Following 1942 there are fiche dealing specifically with the following:
- China, 1942 - (Contents begins on first fiche.)
- Japan, 1931 - 1941 (2 volumes. Contents begins of first fiche of each volume.)
- Soviet Union, 1933 - 1939 (Contents begins on first fiche.)
- Papers, U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 1914 - 1920 (2 volumes. Contents begin on the first fiche of each volume.)

* INDEX: Contents pages for each year are contained on the first fiche for each year. The contents is chronological. Additionally, there is an alphabetical index for two parts of the collection, 1861 - 1899 and 1900 - 1918. These index are filed within the fiche collection at the start of each of these groups of years.

Herstory

Herstory
Call Number: HQ1154 H57
* WHAT: A comprehensive collection of materials produced by and about the women's movement. The collection has been assembled from the holdings of the International Women's History Research Centre. It includes newsletters, journals and newspapers produced by civic, professional, religious, political and peace groups. The bulk of materials included are from 1968 onward.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfilm, 1956 - 1974. Reels 1-23; plus added sections: "addenda reels", "update reels" and "continuing update reels".

* ORGANIZATION: Filed by reel number. Each reel of film contains a variety of publications. Each title in the collection may appear on multiple reels. Consult print indexes and guides.

* INDEX: Print guides and supplemental guides are located near the collection in Wilson 2 West. Titles of publications included in this set appear as unique entries in the library's online catalog. Section and reel numbers for titles displayed in the online catalog are part of the call number.
- EXAMPLE: HQ1154 .H57 Set I Reel 10, update reel 14

The Microbook Library of American Civilization (LAC)

The Microbook Library of American Civilization (LAC)
Call Number: E156 .L5 1971-
* WHAT: LAC is a collection of materials on microfiche relating to all aspects of American life and literature from their beginnings to the outbreak of World War I. Included in the collection are pamphlets, periodicals, documents, biographies and autobiographies, fictional works, poetry, collections of various kinds, materials of foreign origin relating to America, and many rare books not generally available.
LAC is mounted in a fiche format called ultrafiche which reduces the original image even more than regular microfiche does. When using this collection you will need to ask the Info Desk staff to load the X87 lens on the reader printer you are working at. Note that high quality prints are virtually impossible from this format.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Ultra-fiche. Complete.

* ORGANIZATION: The LAC is organized by fiche number.

* INDEX: The contents of this collection appear in the online catalog as unique entries. All entries have the call number assigned to this collection. Additional digits follow the call number and these digits designate the fiche number.
- EXAMPLE: LAC E156 .L5 10174
Print indexes are located near the collection in Wilson 2 East.
- LAC Index: E156 .L52 4 volumes

Newspapers on Microfilm

Newspapers on microfilm

- WHAT: While not a formal collection in itself, the Library does own a variety of current and historical newspapers on microfilm. There are extensive runs of the Bellingham Herald, Seattle Times, and New York Times, among others. When looking for articles in older papers be aware that big city papers often published several editions a day (morning, afternoon, evening, etc.). The edition cited in a particular newspaper index may not be the same edition we committed to microfilm. If an article is not exactly where the citation indicates it should be this may because the editions being referenced do not match. While the article is likely in the paper you will have to browse though the issue's pages looking for it.

- FORMAT & SCOPE: Varies by title. Consult online catalog.

- ORGANIZATION: Newspapers are filed by the call number assigned to each title. They are typically arranged chronologically within the assigned call number. Note: The Times of London and the Sunday Times (of London) are treated as two titles each with its own call number.

INDEX: Paper indexes for some papers are shelved near the collections in Wilson 2 West. These papers also indexed in ProQuest Newspapers. Among them:
* Bellingham Herald (Minimal indexing. Also indexed online in the Bellingham Public Library catalog.
* New York Times
* Wall Street Journal
* Seattle Times (minimal indexing)
* Times of London

The following library subscription databases, which include some full text articles online, also index newspapers:
ProQuest Newspapers

The Nineteenth Century

The Nineteenth Century
Call Number: DA533 .N56
* WHAT: A collection of cultural materials from the 19th century. This collection is jointly owned by WWU, the other Washington State supported universities, and Evergreen State College. The collection is divided into the following areas: linguistics, publishing, book trade and diffusion of knowledge, visual arts and architecture, and women writers.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfiche. Western only holds volume 2 - Publishing, The Book Trade and the Diffusion of Knowledge.

* ORGANIZATION: Microfiche cards are organized by at "Title Number" consisting of 3 or more digits separated by two decimals.
- EXAMPLE: Title Number 3.1.1
A notation in the upper right corner of the card indicates the total number of cards per title. Each card is uniquely titled and titles may encompass more than one fiche. Microfiche in this collection are sometimes filed more than one to an envelope.

* INDEX: Call number is DA533 .N563 and lists the contents of all four parts of the collection. Western only holds volume 2 - Publishing, The Book Trade and the Diffusion of Knowledge.

Oral History: Washington State Archives

Oral History: Washington State Archives
Call Number: F890.5.Z9 W3 1977 1974-1977
Also: Washington State Oral/Aural History Program.
* WHAT: Collection consists of microfiche transcripts taken from oral history tapes. We do not own the tapes themselves.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfiche, 1974-1977

* ORGANIZATION: Fiche are organized by county or ethnic group designated on the fiche by a three-letter code appearing at the middle-top of the card. The code is followed by a hyphenated number.
- EXAMPLE: Wet 75-6mr
Cards are alpha-numeric by the complete code/number.

* INDEX: Paper index, F890.5.Z9 R86 1977, provides locator codes to collection.

Available at Heritage Resources--Archives Building Center for Pacific Northwest Studies (Archives Bldg. 225 )

Pre-1900 Canadiana

Pre-1900 Canadiana
Call Number: F1008 .P74
* WHAT: Pre-1900 books and periodicals printed in Canada or printed elsewhere, but relating to Canada. The collection contains important cultural documents. Our subscription to this resource is consortial and therefore various parts of the collection are owned at different universities.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfiche. The Western Library owns only the Economics portion of Pre-1900 Canadiana.

* ORGANIZATION: The collection is filed by the CIHM number which is assigned each item cited in the index.

* INDEX: Paper only - F1008 .P742 - shelved near the collections in Wilson 2 West. Each unit (or group of fiche issued) has its own index. There is no cumulative index. Each supplement provides indexing for all the subject areas of the collection. The only relevant portion is the Economics section.

Underground Newspaper Collection

Underground Newspaper Collection
Call Number: H1 U55
* WHAT: Radical counter-culture and New Left publications from all areas of the United States and some foreign countries covering the years 1963-1973. Titles include the Berkeley Barb, Chicago Seed, Georgia Straight, Electric Newspaper, Anarchist Weekly Freedom, Faculty Peace News, among dozens of others.

* FORMAT & SCOPE: Microfilm. Reels 1-116, this is not the complete collection.

* ORGANIZATION: Numbered microfilm reels. Each reel contains a variety of titles and years. Many titles appear on more than one reel. Refer to index or online catalog.

* INDEX: The Underground Newspaper Microfilm Collection Table Of Contents, 1963-1972, call number H1 U56, is the print index to this collection. It is shelved near the collection in Wilson 2 East. All publications included in this collection and which are owned by the library appear in the online catalog.

Microform Help

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