Princeton University 
Library

Library Guide for WRI 157/158:

1950s America

Spring 2007
Raphael Allison, Instructor

Linda Oppenheim, Librarian, lindao@princeton.edu, 258-4043


1. Background sources

The electronic sources listed below can be found on the Princeton University Library homepage in the section Articles and Databases. Library locations and call numbers are listed after the titles for the print sources.

Timelines of the Arts and Literature, by David Brownstone and Irene Franck. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1994. 711 pp.
Location: Trustees Reading Room (DR). Firestone. NX447.5.B76 1994

American National Biography (Electronic)

Authoritative biographies of more than 18,000 deceased, prominent Americans who lived after 1750. Search by name or various characteristics including gender, ethnicity, occupation, dates.

Literature Resource Center (Electronic)
Provides biographies, bibliographies and literary criticism for authors from all eras.

Grove Dictionary of Art Online (Electronic)
Articles on artists in all visual media, worldwide. Also covers noted art historians, patrons, collectors, curators, and arts administrators. Links to illustrations. Updated quarterly.

World Film Directors, edited by John Wakeman. New York, NY: The H.W. Wilson Co., 1988. 2 vols.
Location: Trustees Reading Room (DR). Firestone. PN1998.2.W67 1987
Volume II covers the period 1945-1985. Entries for each director includes a critical essay, filmography and
brief bibliography of articles and books about the director.


2. Finding books on your topic

Search Princeton's online catalog to find out what the Library owns. To find primary sources in the catalog, add terms such as "sources," "diaries," "correspondence," and "personal narratives" to your search. NOTE WELL: Items in the Marquand Art and Archaeology Library (Location symbol SA) or in the Architecture Library (Location symbol UES) do not circulate; they must be used in the library.

Suggested subject headings

Abstract expressionism United States
Beat generation
Black Mountain School
Bohemianism United States
Conformity
Ginsberg, Allen
Feminism United States History 20th century
Friedan, Betty Interviews
I Love Lucy
Motion pictures United States History
Motion pictures and youth United States
Suburban life
Suburbs
Television comedies United States
Television programs for women United States History
United States History 1945-
United States Politics and government 1945-
United States Social conditions 1945-


3. Consulting the subject specialist

Julie Mellby, Acting Art Librarian and Graphic Arts Curator, Marquand Library, jmellby@princeton.edu, 258-5860

4. Finding journal and newspaper articles and images

You can link to the electronic indexes and databases listed below to identify journal, magazine, and newspaper articles and images by going to the Library's home page section Articles and Databases.

Magazine and journal indexes

Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
Comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States.

America: History and Life (1954+)
Indexes over 2,000 history journals, providing abstracts of articles that deal with the entire history of the United States and Canada.

ARTbibliographies Modern (1974+)
Provides full abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art, with approximately 12-13,000 new entries being added each year.

Index to Film Periodicals (1972+)
"Offers in-depth coverage of the worlds foremost academic and popular film journals."

MLA International Bibliography (1926+)
Provides citations to articles, books, book chapters, and dissertations on all aspects of modern literature, language, and linguistics. Some film criticism is included as well.

Newspaper indexes

Chicago Defender (1905-1975)
Chicago Tribune (1849-1985)
Christian Science Monitor (November 25, 1908-1993)
Los Angeles Times (1881-1985)
New York Times (1851-2001)
Wall Street Journal (1889-1989)
Washington Post (1877-1990)

Image databases

AP Photo Archive (AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive) (1840s+)
Contains the Associated Press' current year's photo report and a selection of over 700,000 images from their negative and print library.

ARTstor
"A repository of digital images in the arts. The images are drawn from museums, archaeological teams, photo archives, slide collections, and art reference publishers."

CAMIO (Catalog of Art Museum Images Online)
"Collection documenting 115,000 works of art from around the world. Images, text and multimedia from the collections of the members of the Art Museum Image Consortium are included."


5. Style and Citation Manuals

(Courtesy of Nancy Pressman Levy)

Last update: March 28, 2007
Send mail concerning this document to: lindao@princeton.edu