Fiction
Lots of possibilities here. Searching the library catalog to identify bibliographies on the type of literature is a very good idea.
A few other starting points for identifying works of literature dealing with a particular theme or topic and published during a certain time include:
Fiction Catalog (1941- ) Reference Z5916 .W74
Short Story Index (1984 - ) Reference Z5917 .S5 C62
Play Index (1949-) Reference Z5781 .P53
Children's Literature
Rare Books and Special Collections houses several historical collections of children's literature.
To search the catalog to find books in the children's books in the regular collection, add suczto your keyword search. sucz is an internal code for the juvenile collection.
Motion Pictures
Handbooks and websites can be helpful for identifying films on certain themes.
- Handbook of American Film Genres
- Reference PN 1993.5 .U6 H335 1988
The Education Film Collection has a genre index to the films in our collection. You can also limit your search of the library catalog to videos/films.
Television
We have many books in the general and Reference collection about television, but finding actual footage could be difficult without consulting a special collection.
The Newsfilm Library's holdings include several South Carolina television news collections.
Music
The Music Library has an incredible range of resources including sound recordings and sheet music. Special collections are indexed on the Music Library's website.
Search the sheet music collection (and see the actual sheet music of materials within the public domain).
You can limit your search in the library catalog to recordings.
Ads
You may need to employ several strategies to find ads.
We may have books which include reprints of certain types of advertisements. Use the wordadvertising instead of advertisements in your keyword search. It might be hard to know without looking at the actual book whether it will be helpful or not.
- The American automobile : Advertising from the Antique and Classic Eras
- HF6161.A9 A4413 1988
- The Best in Retail Ads
- HF5823 .P3
- Soda Pop; the History, Advertising, Art, and Memorabilia of Soft Drinks in America
- NK1125 .D43
The Ad*Access Project (Duke University) presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.
Advertisements are included in two library databases of primary source material,
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 and New York Times [Historical 1851-2002]
Sears Roebuck and Sears Christmas catalogs are on microfilm
Some of the older American magazines in our collection with rich ad content include the following. Be sure to check the library catalog for the complete information on what years we have and location (regular call number, microfilm or in the Annex).
| AP2.A3G664 | Good Housekeeping 1916- |
| AP2.A346 | The American Magazine 1906- |
| AP2.C65 | Collier's 1904- |
| AP2.E845 | Esquire |
| AP2.H376 | Harpers Bazaar 1942- |
| AP2.L135 | Ladies Home Journal 1888- |
| AP2.L547 | Life (the original publication) 1936- |
| AP2.L79 | Look 1937- |
| AP2.M2884 | Mademoiselle 1940- |
| AP2.M443 | McCall's 1951-, plus a few earlier individual issues |
| AP2.N6763 | New Yorker 1930-, plus a few earlier individual issues |
| AP2.N6772 | Newsweek 1933- |
| AP2.S2 | Saturday Evening Post 1927-, plus some earlier individual issues |
| AP2.T37 | Time 1923- |
| AP2.V32 | Vanity Fair 1914-1936 |
| AP2.V658 | Vogue 1955- |
| AP2.W653 | Women's Home Companion 1945-1957, plus a few earlier individual issues |
| Annex HQ750.A2P33 | Parent's Magazine 1947- |
| NA7100.B45 | Better Homes and Gardens 1928- |
| Special Collections AP201.S2 |
St. Nicholas (also available on microfilm as part of the American periodical series 1850-1900) |
Refer to the Magazines and Periodicals section of this guide. Maybe you'll have to identify magazines published during a certain time period that would likely have the types of ads you are seeking. That type of search is not easily done in the library catalog.
Political Campaign Materials
South Carolina Political Collections
Books may have published samples of campaign ephemera.
Running for President: The Candidates and Their Images Reference E183 .R96 1994
Hats in the Ring: An Illustrated History of American Presidential Campaigns E176.1 .C793
Introduction | Articles Books | Digital Collections | Library Databases | Magazines and Journals| Microforms | Newspapers | Public Opinion