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First Steps
- Select an event or topic in Ohio History
- Do background reading in your textbook and in the general library collection
- Locate resources to support your research
- Determine if there are sufficient primary sources to support your research
- Be flexible!
Selecting a Topic
Below is a list of potential research topics, just meant to start you thinking. You may find other ideas by reading through
the subject bibliographies or the Archival Chronicle newsletter at the Center for Archival Collections website.
African-Americans
Agriculture
Civil War
- Manuscript Collections (many are transcribed online)
- Letters
- Diaries
- Local government records (e.g., Soldiers' Relief Records, Militia Rolls)
- G.A.R. records (veterans' organization)
- Newspaper correspondence and articles
- Archival Chronicle: December 1989 (The Civil War documented in Local Records)
Education
Ethnic Groups
Gas and Oil Boom
- Diaries
- Letters
- Oral history
- Newspapers
- Archival Chronicle: December 1993 (Gas & Oil Boom)
The Great Depression
Great Lakes
Consider topics from the perspective of Great Lakes industry, shipping, etc.
Higher Education
Industry
Kent State University Shootings (May 4, 1970)
- BGSU Archives (President Jerome's papers)
- Newspapers
- Manuscripts--Politicians' papers
- Ohio Memory--Search for Kent State Shootings
Labor
Native Americans
Politics
- Manuscript Collections
- Papers of Congressmen and other elected officials
- Newspapers
- election records (found in local government records)
Prohibition
- Archival Chronicle: August 1991 (Prohibition & Social Reform)
- Anti-Saloon League
- Arrest Registers (found in local government records)
- Newspapers
- Women's organizations
Religion
Roads
- State and local government records
- Manuscripts (references in passing)
- Newspapers
Social Development
Temperance
- Background in Archival Chronicle: August 1991
- Anti-Saloon League
- Woman's Christian Temperance Union
- Newspapers
Vietnamese Conflict
Women
Women's Suffrage
World War I & II
Consider homefront activities, POWs, effect on BGSU, etc.
Locating Resources
Center for Archival Collections
5th Floor, Jerome Library
The Center for Archival Collections is a repository for manuscripts, local government records, the BGSU Archives (including
the BG News on microfilm and original copy, and an online index), newspapers and other materials documenting the history of northwest Ohio. Most of the primary source material you will
need for your research will probably be located here. Some preliminary research can be done online. The Guide to Newspapers at the CAC is available online on the CAC website. You may wish to review the Hints for Newspaper Research. Holdings of Local Government Records can also searched online (though not the records themselves). Subject bibliographies of manuscript holdings have been prepared. The online catalog also provides information about the CAC's collections.
Jerome Library
Jerome Library holds books, federal and state government documents, and microfilm newspapers of national scope and those which fall outside the northwest Ohio region. (However, the Toledo
Blade is available from 1835-present, as is the microfilm copy of the BG News. An online index to the BG News is available). Some manuscripts are available on microfilm (for example, the Draper Manuscript Collection). To see which
titles the library holds, check the online catalog.
Your Hometown Library
Your hometown library will probably have newspapers on microfilm or in original form from your hometown and the surrounding
area. It may also have a local history collection which may include primary source material. If you wish to use these resources, be sure to check with your instructor first.
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