Research allows you to pursue your interests, to learn something new, to hone your problem-solving skills and to challenge yourself in new ways. With a self-initiated research project, you can create a product that represents the distillation of your interests and studies, and possibly, a real contribution to knowledge. Every field of study has its own research problems and methods. As a researcher, you seek answers to questions of great interest to you. Your research problem could be aesthetic, social, political, scientific, or technical. You choose the tools, gather, and analyze the data, and report your findings to a wider audience. Below are links to sources that can inform your research, of course there are many places to find information. We hope our growing selections can get you started!
Do you know of a great resource to share, we can add it to our list.
Any questions or problems with the links, please email library@worcesterhistory.net
Archives in the United States
- American Antiquarian Society
- ArchiveGrid
- Academy Film Archive
- American Heritage Center
- American Radio Archive
- Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism
- Archives of American Art
- Archives of the History of American Psychology
- Atlanta Housing Archives
- Black Archives of Mid-America
- Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library and Archives
- MIT Department of Distinctive Collections
- Harvard University Library
- Historic Films Archive
- Hoover Institution Library and Archives
- Interference Archive
- Internet Archive
- The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
- Library of Congress
- Massachusetts Archives Searchable Collections
- Massachusetts Historical Society
- Mennonite Church USA Archives
- New England Historic Genealogical Society
- National African American Archives and Museum
- National Public Broadcasting Archives
- National Security Archive
- Pullman Library, Illinois Railway Museum
- Rhizome ArtBase
- Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University
- Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History at Smith College
- South Asian American Digital Archive
- South Texas Archives and Special Collections
- Ukrainian Museum-Archives
- Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs
- Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive
- Washington University Special Collections
- National Archives and Records Administration
- Smithsonian Institution Archives
Cemeteries & Gravestones
- Cemetery Records Online
- Farber Gravestone Collection (American Antiquarian Society)
- Find A Grave
- Friends of Hope Cemetery
- Massachusetts Cemetery Guide
- Nationwide Gravesite Locator
Community Projects
- City Of Corsets
- Covid-19 Chronicles – Worcester’s Community Archive
- Digital Worcester
- Major Taylor Association
- Worcester Black History Project
- Worcester Latino History Project
- Worcester Women’s History Project
- Worcester Historical Photo Repository
- Worcester Veterans Square Project
Digital Exhibits
- Armenians at Work
- Commonwealth Museum
- Concord Museum Online Exhibits
- Early Caribbean Digital Archive
- Mass Air & Space Museum
- New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center
- Project SAVE Armenian Photograph Archive
- Tenement Museum
- 9/11 Memorial and Museum
- QUEEROLINA: EXPERIENCES OF PLACE AND SPACE THROUGH ORAL HISTORIES
Cultural Groups
LGBTQ+
- Digital Transgender Archive
- Dyke TV – Collection at Smith College
- Fordham University Queer Studies Libguide
- GLBT Historical Society
- Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of GLBT History
- Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies
- Lambda Archives of San Diego
- Lesbian Herstory Archives
- Northwest LGBTQ History
- ONE Archives at USC Libraries
- Pride Worcester
- The ArQuives of Canada
- The Center
Libraries, Museums & Repositories
- Armenian Museum of America
- Assumption College, Emmanuel d’Alzon Library
- Boston Public Library
- Cape Ann Museum
- Clark University Libraries
- College of the Holy Cross Libraries
- Digital Public Library of America
- Digital Commonwealth
- Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room
- Getty Publications Virtual Library
- HaitiTrust
- Internet Archive
- Library of Congress
- Library of Congress Digital Collections
- Making of America
- Massachusetts Trial Court Libraries
- National Library of Medicine
- Nautical Archaeology Digital Library
- New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill
- New York Public Library
- Old Sturbridge Village
- Samuel Slater Experience
- Smithsonian Digital Library
- Quinsigamond Community College, George I Alden Library
- State Library of Massachusetts
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library
- Worcester Historical Museum Library
- Worcester Public Library
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute, George C. Gordon Library
- Worcester State University, Learning Resource Center
General Resources
- Mass Library Gale databases courtesy of the Mass Library System
- Google Scholar
- Mass.gov Court Records
- US Post Office History
- Worcester District Medical Society
Genealogy Resources
- New England Historic Genealogical Society
- Massachusetts Vital Records
- 1930 Census Resources for Genealogists
- Castle Garden
- Cyndi’s List
- Ellis Island
- FamilySearch
- Genealogy.com
- One-Step Webpages by Steve P. Morse
- RootsWeb
- USGenWeb Project
- Jewish Genealogy
Historic Preservation, Property & Land
- Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS)
- Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986 (FamilySearch Historical Records)
- National Register of Historic Places
- Photographs of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Structures in Massachusetts Taken 1887-1945 by Harriette Merrifield Forbes (American Antiquarian Society)
- Preservation Massachusetts
- Preservation Worcester
- Worcester Registry of Deeds
- Friends of Institute Park
Maps
- Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
- Google Earth
- Google Maps
- HistoryPin
- Norman B. Levanthal Map Center (Boston Public Library)
- State Library of Massachusetts, Real Estate Atlases
- Union List of Sanborn & Other Fire Insurance Maps
- Waymarking.com
- Earthworks
Online Newspapers
- Cambridge Public Library Historic Cambridge Newspaper Collection
- Chronicling America
- Elephind
- Massachusetts Newspapers
- NewsBank (Worcester Papers can be found here)
- Old Fulton Postcards (newspapers)
Online Books & Publications
- Lincoln, William. History of Worcester, Massachusetts, from It’s Earliest Settlement to September, 1836.
- List of Persons Whose Names Have Been Changed in Massachusetts, 1780-1892
- New England Historical Genealogical Register Online
- Nutt, Charles. History of Worcester and Its People.
- Open Library – eBooks
- Paine, Nathaniel. Bibliography of Worcester History (1885).
- Project Guttenberg
- Rice, Franklin Pierce. Dictionary of Worcester, Massachusetts and It’s Vicinity
- Rice, Franklin P. The Worcester Book: a Diary of Noteworthy Events in Worcester, Massachusetts from 1657 to 1883