Getting Started
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when starting a new research project:
- Identify formats of sources
- The Schomburg Center is organized by format. Each of the 5 divisions offers a different research experience based on the medium that is housed there.
- The Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division holds unpublished personal and institutional papers, and rare printed material. This means that you will find paper materials such as letters, newspaper clippings, passports, and other personal documents.
- This does not mean that other types of material is not available, only that you will need to go to another division to find things like photographs, sound recordings, artwork, or published books.
- Check for digitized material
- Some of our collection items have been digitized and made available to you remotely.
- This means, that you can view parts of collections, or in some cases, whole collections, from wherever it is that you enjoy using the internet.
- Start your searching
- There are a few tools available to help you identify materials to request to view. Please see our five search platforms below.
Online Searching Tools
- Start with the list of collections categorized by subject on the MARB landing page.
- Identify a few subject areas that may prove helpful (e.g., Black Arts Movement, Labor, or Religion)
- Identify collections listed under significant subject headings and search for them in the NYPL Catalog or the Archives Portal for more information.
- Read the description to decide if you want to see the finding aid.
The New York Public Library Research Catalog allows you to do basic and advanced searches.
- For basic searches you can narrow your search by:
- Keyword
- Author
- Title
- Subject
- Location: Schomburg Center
- The advanced search function allows you to do all of the above, but also narrow your search by:
- Format (i.e., book, map, audio)
- Specific Research Division (i.e., Schomburg Manuscripts and Archives)
- Language
- Year
- Location: Schomburg Manuscripts and Archives
Advanced Searching tips:
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Create a list of terms to use, and try different combinations of 2-3 terms to broaden and narrow your search results.
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Use Boolean terms such as: AND, OR, NOT when searching to produce results using multiple terms.
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Use Quotation marks (" ") for exact phrases and names.
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Try local spellings of names for people, places or events.
To visit the Archives and Manuscripts Portal, visit Archives.nypl.org
By searching for the title of the collection here, you will learn:
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Where within NYPL the collection is housed
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Citation information
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Number of boxes or containers in the collection
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Links to the NYPL digital collections
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Subject headings to find additional collections and items
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Access to the finding aid, if it has been published online.
Click on the tab that reads “Detailed Description” to locate the container list of the finding aid. If that tab is unavailable, email us at SchomburgArchives@nypl.org to ask for the complete finding aid.
Use the “modify search” feature to narrow the location of collections. You can narrow to the Schomburg Center, or to specific divisions.
The New York Public Library Digital Collections contains 896,001 items and counting. While that is a small fraction of the Library's overall holdings, it is representative of the diversity of our vast collections—from books to videos, maps to manuscripts, illustrations to photos, and more.
Start with a search or begin browsing by item, collection, or division. For a more extensive user guide and primer, see "NYPL Digital Collections Platform: An Introduction."
You can browse just the items that have no known U.S. copyright restrictions. When searching, select the "Search only public domain items" option to filter your results to items with no known U.S. copyright restrictions. On the Browse page, you can easily turn this filter on and off with the “Show Only Public Domain” button in the upper left corner of the page.
The #SchomburgSyllabus archives Black-authored and Black-related online educational resources to document Black studies, movements, and experiences in the 21st century. In connecting these web-archived resources to the Schomburg Center’s own unique materials, the project honors and recognizes the source and strength of Black self-education practices, collective study, and librarianship. The #SchomburgSyllabus is curated by Schomburg Center staff and organized into 27 themes to foster a greater understanding of the Black experience.
Silent Protest parade on Fifth Avenue, New York City, July 28, 1917, in response to the East St. Louis race riot
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. "Silent Protest parade on Fifth Avenue, New York City, July 28, 1917, in response to the East St. Louis race riot" New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Collection Subject Headings
The following subject headings can be searched to locate archival collections dealing with Slave Revolts and Protest:
- Civil Rights
- Education
- Haiti
- Genealogical Resources
- Post Civil Rights/ Black Power Era
- Prison/ Incarceration
- Queer Studies
- Radical/Political
- Reconstruction
- Research Collections
- Slavery
Relevant Search Terms
Search the following keywords in the NYPL Catalog, Digital Collections, and Archives Portal to locate relevant material:
- AIDS Activist
- Boycotts
- Campus Protest
- Civil Rights Demonstrations
- Civil Rights Protest
- Demonstrations
- Gay Liberation Movement
- Gay Rights
- Lesbian Activists
- Police Brutality
- Political Activists
- Protest
- Riots
- Slave Insurrection
- Slave Revolt
- Student Movements
- Student Protest
- Student Strikes
Ask a Librarian
Making an appointment with the reference librarian can help you sort though your ideas, locate relevant collection materials, and build a research plan. Email the librarian here.