Primary Source Material in Historical Research

MENC - Anaheim 2010

Research Process

• Historical research—to me—involves putting together very small pieces to a very large puzzle

• We are like detectives looking for as much evidence as we can find to tell the story or make our case

• Sources will depend on type of research (e.g., chronological narrative, biography, or content analysis)

Primary Sources I Often Use

• Newspaper articles• School yearbooks and periodicals• School Board minutes & Supt. annual reports• Publications related to music, education, or

Music Ed.• Textbooks & other instructional materials

Newspaper Articles• Very useful for a chronological narrative and may be the only historical record left.• Available on microfilm in local public libraries• Newspaper archives

– Univ. of IL archives– State Library of Michigan, or Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library – Springfield IL)– Good for looking a papers from many different locations

• Online – find articles by keyword rather than hours of combing through microfilm– Proquest Historical Newspapers (NY Times, Chicago Tribune, etc.) – Must be accessed

through a Univ. or public library that pays for the service– Pay sites available to the public – smaller publications– Free sites

• Chronicling America – Library of Congress• Some individual newspapers now digitizing past issues

• For links to digital newspapers, see University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign or Cornell University Library web site

School Yearbooks & Periodicals• Periodicals– Early 20th century– Monthly– May often a special issue called the “annual”. What we

think of as a yearbook• Often included a daily calendar of events– Find event and search local newspaper for details

• Excellent source for photos, personnel, instrumentation, director, repertoire, etc.

• Check at the local school or public library• Local antique or vintage bookstores, or online $

School Records/ReportsBoard Minutes

• Tedious to comb through• Good source if you have the date

of a particular event• May be light on details

Supt. Annual Reports• Available for larger public school

districts and private institutions in the 19th & early 20th centuries– See Google Books– Univ. & State Libraries

• Schools almost always open to a historian visiting the school. Often very helpful in finding materials, allowing photocopying, etc.– Make sure you send a copy of

your research when it is finished!

Music/Ed./Music Ed. Publications• School Music

– Available on Google Books (1904-1920)– Available on Hathi Trust Digital Library (1900-1908)

• Etude, Metronome, Jacobs Band Monthly – Univ. Libraries• Music Supervisors/Educators Journal

– Now available on JSTOR and SAGE from vol. 1 (1914)• Proceedings of Music Supervisors’ National Conference and

Music Teachers National Association– A limited number are available on Google Books

• Proceedings of National Education Association and various state associations– Several editions available on Internet Archive & Google Books

Textbook & Instructional Materials• Important for Content Analysis• School song books• Instrumental method books• College methods textbooks• Sources

– Some available on inter library loan– Many available on Google Books. Can be printed from PDF files

• Normal Music Course (Tufts/Holt), National Music Course (LW Mason)• Grade School Music Teaching & High School Music Teaching by T. P.

Giddings• Build your own collection

– Antique stores, flea markets, vintage bookstores, Borders Market Place and other online used book sources

– These articles are usually very reasonable b/c of limited market. Don’t pay a lot. (I have sometimes paid more for shipping than for the item itself)

Closing Thoughts• The search for primary sources is ongoing– I usually have studies in mind and keep an eye out for

materials over a long period of time– The search can begin online – see article in recent

History SRIG newsletter or JHRME (Oct. 2009) – BUT…online research will never replace digging

through file cabinets, libraries, and archives• These notes are available on my web site at

www.pmhmusic.weebly.com or I will be happy to email them to you (pmh3@calvin.edu)

• Thank You!!

Links• Chronicling America (newspapers) -

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/• Links to digital newspapers

– Cornell University Library web site http://guides.library.cornell.edu/content.php?pid=8983&sid=58311

– Univ. of IL Newspaper Archives http://www.library.illinois.edu/hpnl/newspapers/historical.php

• Hathi Trust Digital Library - http://catalog.hathitrust.org/ • Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/)• Google Books - http://books.google.com/