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Discovering American Women's History Online
This database provides access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States. These diverse collections range from Ancestral Pueblo pottery to Katrina Thomas's photographs of ethnic weddings from the late 20th century.
This database simplifies access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States. These diverse collections range from Abigail Franks' letters to her son from the 1730s and 1740s (Center for Jewish History) to Katrina Thomas' photographs of ethnic weddings from the late 20th century.
Search and Browse Options
Please see the Search Tips page for several examples of simple and complex searches.
Researchers can browse the database by subject (150+ entries), place (i.e., states), time period, and primary source type. By browsing through these lists of preconfigured searches, researchers not only gain a quick sense of the scope of the database, but may also discover topics (e.g., women engineers) and approaches to research (e.g., using scrapbooks as primary sources) that they had not considered. In addition, many users will be pleasantly surprised by the number of collections that document the history of women in their home state.
Thumbnail Images
Many "short records" in the database include a thumbnail of an image from the collection that the record describes. The use of thumbnails in this way provides a visual cue to the content of the collection. Full records include a thumbnail caption field.
About the Developer
Ken Middleton is a reference librarian at Middle Tennessee State University Library. He has a second master's degree, with an emphasis in American women's history, from the same university.
Credits and Acknowledgements
Numerous people have provided valuable advice, technical knowledge, and encouragement. Many thanks to Fagdeba Bakoyema, Al Camp, Mary Hoffschwelle, James Staub, Mayo Taylor, and the entire Digital Projects team at Walker Library.
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