Exploration 8: Three Strategies for Searching in American Memory, Part 3

2. Browse to Limit Collections

Canadian scenes. Stacks of boxes and trunks

Trunks piled up in Grand Central Station, New York  Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, George Grantham Bain Collection

The Browse page organizes the trunks into groups. Grouping the trunks limits the number of collections by the content or media type they contain.

  • Topic
  • Time Period
  • Collections containing: maps, manuscripts, motion pictures, sheet music, photos, prints, sound recordings, books & other printed text
  • Place

3. Search Individual Collections

Baseball player Heathcote and trainer Andy Lotshaw holding Cubs jerseys in a locker room

"Baseball player Heathcote and trainer Andy Lotshaw holding Cubs jerseys in a locker room" Library of Congress, American Memory: Chicago Daily News, Inc., photographer

Open one trunk and look for items inside. All collections in American Memory can be listed alphabetically by subject or by collection title.

Search bibliographic records of items with keywords. In some collections search the full text of items.

  1. Select a relevant collection and search using key words and synonyms.
  2. Search individual collections by authors, subjects, or titles.
  3. Examine special presentations and features within collections.
  4. Use search options (All words, Exact phrase, result limits, etc.).
  5. Explore Indexes and Browse Lists linked from the home page.

Other tips for learning about the American Memory Collections:

On the Library of Congress Web site

  1. The Learning Page provides helpful information.
  2. Pathfinders search by events, people, places, time, and topic.
  3. The Help Button at the top of American Memory can also point you in the right direction.
  4. Ask a Librarian

On the Primary Source Learning Web site:

  1. Browse the American Memory Collections by the primary sources used in field tested Lesson Plans.