This is a guide to history resources for graduate students.
Repositories and Archives: Local
For details about BC's own archives and special collections, see the Burns Library page on their Boston collections. Other local archival repositories that are potentially useful include:
The Bostonian Society is dedicated to studying, and preserving Boston’s uniquely important history, embodied in materials, records, and structures such as the Old State House, and in sharing an understanding of the revolutionary ideas born here.
It's strongly recommended that you visit the main branch of the Boston Public Library (700 Boylston St. -- Copley Square). Not only is it interesting both aesthetically and historically, it's also a very important repository of material that is potentially useful in this course.
Includes the History of Nursing Archives which holds papers of prominent nurses, records of nursing schools and organizations, early textbooks and other books and the Pascal Collection which includes 150 books by and about Blaise Pascal.
An online system that merges information about its immense collections of museum artifacts, archival documents, books, and periodicals in a single searchable database.
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library is one of fourteen Presidential Libraries within the National Archives and Records Administration. The Library is also the primary repository for the papers of Ernest Hemingway.
Some might wish to make a trip to Worcester and visit the Massachusetts Historical Society. The collections of the AAS comprise some four million items related to American history, literature, and visual culture, the collections offer perspective on everyday lives, community developments, and the history of printing.
Founded in 1791, the Massachusetts Historical Society is an independent research library and a very important resource for Boston and Massachusetts history, life, and culture. If you plan to visit the MHS (1154 Boylston Street, Boston), do some preparatory research by consulting its catalog: Abigail
Repository for the official records of the Commonwealth. Nearly all the collections are represented in ArchiveGrid by series-level descriptions together with numerous agency history records.
MIT Libraries collects, preserves, and fosters the use of unique and rare materials such as tangible and digital archives, manuscripts, ephemera, artists’ books, and more.
Located in Waltham, MA, they hold the permanent records of Federal agencies and courts located in the six-state New England region: CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT
They also house some federal military records pertaining to New England-based installations and units.
Founded in 1845, New England Historic Genealogical Society is a leading resource for family history research. NEHGS provides expertise and research in nearly all aspects of family history, from 17th-century colonial New England through twentieth-century immigration research.
Includes records for the Boston Black United Front records, 1932 (photocopy), 1950–2002 (bulk dates 1968–1973); Franklin Park Coalition Records, 1945–2006, bulk 1977-1989; Massachusetts Experimental School System (M.E.S.S); Melvin King Papers, 1983 Mayoral Campaign, 1972–1988.
Holdings include the Charities Collection (1790s to about 1950): annual reports and other publications of private charities, public welfare agencies, and hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts, the eastern United States, and England.
Located on the 3rd floor of the State House. It contains the most complete collection of state documents, a large collection of material on Massachusetts, and on public policy in general.
