History Research

Images, Audio, & Video

Scholarly resources in all areas of historical research at Boston College

Boston TV News
Catalog of news content from WHDH, Cambridge Community Television, WCVB, and WGBH from the 1960s–1990s. Some is available streaming.
C-SPAN Video Library
Streamed collection of C-SPAN archives, since 1987. Includes floor debates, committee hearings, state of the unions, and more.

Films on Demand
Films On Demand is a Web-based digital video delivery service that allows users to view streaming videos in dozens of subject areas anytime, anywhere, 24/7. Special features allow users the ability to organize and bookmark clips, create and share playlists, and personalize folders.

Internet Archive: TV News
Nearly 750,000 news programs collected since 2009 from national U.S. networks. New broadcasts updated 24 hours after air. Searchable index and clips allow you to discover programs available for borrowing.
Living Room Candidate
Archive of U.S. presidential campaign commercials from the Museum of the Moving Image.
Miller Center Presidential Speech Archive
A collection of key presidential speeches in American history. All include transcripts, and some are available in their entirety in audio or video.
Open Vault (WGBH)
Digitized versions of video, audio, and searchable transcripts of the WGBH media library and archives.
Universal Newsreels
Produced from 1929–1967 and released twice weekly, they were shown before feature films and in dedicated newsreel theaters. Each contains 6–7 short stories covering world events, politics, sports, and more.

Vanderbilt Television News Archive
Index of national network television news programs 1968-present. Streaming access for NBC broadcasts 1968-present and some CNN broadcasts 1995-present. Requests for other broadcasts can be made through Interlibrary Loan.
World Newsreels Online
Streaming video collection of international newsreels, 1929-1966. Includes transcriptions and the ability to create and export clips. Includes March of Time series.
Meet the Press
Meet the Press, network TV’s longest running program—includes thousands of interviews, panels, and debates,1947-2013.

ARTstor
Over 1.6 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences.

Ad*Access (Duke University)
U.S. and Canadian advertisements from 1911–1955 covering five product categories: beauty and hygiene, radio, television, transportation, and World War II propaganda.
AP Images
Millions of photographs from the 1820s to moments ago. Note: This database is available from the Boston Public Library, not directly through Boston College. You will need a BPL eCard (free for all MA residents and students) to gain access.
New York Public Library Digital Collections
Hundreds of thousands of images digitized from rare and unique materials held by the New York Public Library.
Wikimedia Commons
Great source of public domain, creative commons, or otherwise reusable images. Each image is usually accompanied by source and copyright information.

For additional recommendations, contact your subject liaison (Brittany Lehman) at brittany.lehman@bc.edu or schedule an appointment with them.