American Consumer History

For overviews of particular events, time periods, topics, and people in modern American history, there are many encyclopedias and reference works in Rolvaag Library. Make sure to check the article bibliographies for suggestions on useful secondary and primary materials.

How does my topic fit within the scope of its times?
American Decades (in the 20th Century) R.R. E169.12419 1994 (in-depth articles)
American Eras (prehistory through the 19th century) [R.R. E169.1 .A471979]
American Chronicle: Six Decades in American Life, 1920-1980 [R.R. E169.1.G68 1987]
Timetables of American History [R.R. E18.5.U75]

What about particular aspects of my topic?
Atlas of the Baby Boom Generation R.R. E741.A88 2000

Racial and Ethnic Relations in America [R.R. E49.R33 2000]
Racial Justice in America [R.R. E185.M95 2003]

What was the government doing that affected my topic?
Congress and the Nation R.R. JK1051.C6
West's Encyclopedia of American Law R.R. KF154.W47 1998
Great American Court Cases R.R. KF385.A4G68 1999

What was the general public thinking about my topic?
The Gallop Poll R.R. HM261.G3
American Attitudes R.R. HN90.P8M58 1998

What was life like for the people involved with my topic?
Working Americans, 1880-1999 R.R. HD8066.D47 2000
American Generations: Who they are. How they live. What they think. R.R. HC110.C6M545 1998

Consumerism and Retail Sales
Value of the Dollar: 1860-2004 R.R. HB235.U6V35 2004
Best customers : demographics of consumer demand R.R. HC79.C6 R87 2005, and 1999 in stacks
Statistical handbook on consumption and wealth in the United States R.R. HC110.C6S73 1999 (some data back to 1980s)
Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands R.R. HF5415.3.E527 1994
Encyclopedia of Advertising R.R. HF5803.A38 2003

This is just a brief overview -- many, many more resources exist in the Reference area. Check with a reference librarian for ideas.

USING BRIDGE TO IDENTIFY SECONDARY SOURCES
Books, Videos, Music Recordings, etc.

Bridge will offer subject access to secondary materials on your topic, i.e. studies about your topic. Start with a keyword search and then follow the Library of Congress Subject Headings links. These are the topic labels which are used by most libraries across the United States (and often abroad) to describe your subject.
Headings for this course might include:

Stores, retail
Discount houses (Retail trade) -- [country]
Retail trade --[country]
Consumption [Economics]
Materialism -- Social Aspects
Consumer behavior -- United States
Consumers' preferences
Popular culture -- Economic aspects

If you have time to receive materials on interlibrary loan, World Cat (which includes the holdings of most academic libraries in Minnesota, the United States and some abroad) may be a good choice for searching. In the advanced search, use useful subject links from above, limit to books, and limit by English language to construct a viable search.

For historians' studies on particular events and movements, look for journal articles, use journal indexes and databases. For US history, start with:

Via Library of Congress Subject Heading tags:
Sources, correspondence, personal narratives, reminiscences, interviews, case studies, pictorial works

Via Keywords:
document*, reading*, memoir*, autobiograph*, diary, diaries, letters, speeches, accounts

Via Date limits:
Subject or keyword search by relevant topic and then limit by publication date. Note: if things have been republished more recently you'll miss them.

Primary Sources in the Catalog: Neat stuff to have in hand
A Sample to Whet your Appetites

Primary Sources Collected in a volume:
The Depression and New Deal : a history in documents

Memoirs, oral histories, diaries, journals, personal accounts, interviews:
All the livelong day : the meaning and demeaning of routine work [interviews](1977)
Bridges of memory : Chicago's first wave of Black migration
Meatpackers : an oral history of Black packinghouse workers and their struggle for racial and economic equality

Government Documents [keyword or subject heading and limit to Govt Docs]:
Paycheck Fairness Act : report together with minority views (to accompany H.R. 1338) (including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office)

Public Opinion:
The Gallup Poll; public opinion, 1935-1977 [by] George H. Gallup

Gems of the times [keyword or subject heading and limit by date]:
The chain store problem: A critical analysis [1938]
The hometown advantage: How to defend your main street against chain stores and why it matters [2000]

To determine what is, or was, being read at the time on your topic, check indexes of popular materials covering the appropriate years. For instance:

Historical magazines:
Reader's Guide to Popular Literature . In print! R.R. AI3.R48 Indexes magazines back to 1890.
Business Periodicals Index R.R. HF5001.B9 Indexes back to 1958. (On 1st floor storage shelves)
PAIS Archive Public Affairs from 1915-1976 and PAIS1976 to date.
Alternative Press Index Available through First Search (You'll need the passwords from a reference librarian.)
Index to Periodical Articles by and about Negroes/Index to Black Periodicals R.R. AI3.O4

The web is especially useful for collections of primary materials. There are a variety of ways to search the web but it might be useful to start with librarians' catalogs of web sites:

Infomine Web sites"collected" by academic librarians -- full descriptions and subject headings
Librarians' Index to the Internet Aimed more at public library patrons but still useful for many topics
Scout Report Reviews of web sites; searchable by keyword and Library of Congress Subject Headings
OAIster is an catalog of digital collections. You can choose text or image and search by keyword. It will tell you about the responsible party (authority).
Web of Knowledge/Web of Science Do a subject search on your topic. On the results page, in the upper right hand corner, click on "Scientific WebPlus, View web results."

Google -- Search google with your keywords AND add "digital collections" (with quotation marks) to your search. This phrase is used by authoritative sites so it will bring up useful items. This is a better strategy than using google images.

Remember to speak with a reference librarian about your specific topic for individualized assistance. We're always ready to brainstorm, suggest search strategies and language, and to help you on your way.