UWM Libraries Research and Course Guides: Urban Studies Research Resources: Photos, Maps, Primary Sources

Microtext Research Collection

The UWM Libraries' Microtext Research Collection (within the Media Library, west wing, lower level) houses many primary sources.

Primary Sources in the Microtext Collection

Milwaukee Photos & Maps

The Digital Collections at the UWM Libraries include over 41,000 photographic images, maps, and books drawn from the collections of the American Geographical Society Library, the Archives, Special Collections, and the Curriculum Library.

Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos and Maps 1885-1992
Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos and Maps 1885-1992 presents images of Milwaukee neighborhoods from the Far Northwest Side to the Far South Side. The selection of images is limited by the current boundaries of the city of Milwaukee. The digital collection provides a visual documentation of the development of the city of Milwaukee from the mid-1880s to the early 1990s. It includes images of residential and industrial facilities, local businesses, historic buildings, churches, and numerous Milwaukee parks. 832 photographs were selected from the collections of the American Geographical Society Library and the Archives Department at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Libraries. The photos of Milwaukee from 1885 and 1895 come from two rare books in the Archives' holdings: Milwaukee and Art Work of Milwaukee. The images of Milwaukee in the 20th century were selected from three extensive photograph collections: Roman Kwasniewski Collection and Dennis Wierzba Collection that are housed in

Architectural Drawings of Willis and Lillian Leenhouts
Architectural drawings and sketches of Milwaukee buildings —primarily residential, but also public buildings and urban development projects—from the mid-1940s through the 1980s.
Greetings From Milwaukee
Postcards produced primarily by Milwaukee publishers.
From the late 19th century to the 1960s, there were numerous postcard publishers active in Milwaukee. Many of the postcards in this collection have images of parks, buildings, street scenes, churches, hotels and restaurants, making them invaluable as a resource on historic Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Neighborhoods Guide
Includes an interactive map of Milwaukee neighborhoods

Other Photos & Images

Artstor
A digital library of approximately 550,000 images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images. Search by Keyword or category (e.g., Architecture and City Planning).
Academic Search Complete
Select the "Images" search tab (within the top blue toolbar) to limit your search to the Image Collection.
Cities Around the World
Cities Around the World presents over 6,100 photographic images from the slide collections of the American Geographic Society Library. The images selected for this project focus on architecture, city life, people, transportation and other aspects of urban development, such as neighborhoods, commercial streets, and business districts. The pictures were taken by two photographers, Harrison Forman and Harold Mayer between 1942 and 1994. The digital collection provides access to photographs of over 450 cities worldwide. In addition to present-day metropolitan areas, this collection also features ancient cities and deserted settlements, including Carthage, Great Zimbabwe, Machupicchu, and Persepolis.
History Reference Center
History Reference Center offers full text from more than 2,500 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books, cover to cover full text for nearly 170 leading history periodicals, more than 112,000 historical documents, 113,000 biographies of historical figures, more than 112,000 historical photos and maps, and more than 80 hours of historical video.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Search by Document Type: "Photo Stand alone" - Chicago Tribune (1849-1989); Chicago Defender (1905 - 1975); New York Times (1851-three years ago)

Digital Sanborn Maps , 1867-1970: Wisconsin
Large-scale plans containing data that can be used to estimate the potential risk for urban structures. This includes information such as the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors. The maps also give street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers.
Time-span: 1867-1970

Useful Websites

Using Primary Sources on the Web
Recommended guide to finding, evaluating and citing primary sources on the web.
Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Sources
A useful guide put out by UW-Stevens Point that defines primary, secondary and tertiary sources.

What Are Primary Sources

Primary sources are sources of information which help to inform us on the past, because they serve as evidence. They were created contemporary to, or very near to, the event or time period being studied, and thus they are representative.

Primary Sources include:

Original documentary evidence from a given historical period
Materials which were produced at the time of the event or idea under study
Materials that provide the intimacy and the immediacy of an on-the-scene perspective that cannot be recaptured in distant, often refiltered and reinterpreted history

Primary Sources can take many forms, such as:

photographs
letters
drawings
diaries
newspaper articles of eyewitness accounts
statistical information
historical documents
books
films
posters
play scripts
speeches
songs / sheet music
first-person accounts / personal experiences

Legal Sources:

The actual law itself is a primary source, whether statutory, administrative (regulations) or case law.

Example: The United States Code is a primary source. A book discussing and explaining the code is a secondary source.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Primary sources are original material or data, while secondary sources are analyses, interpretations, or comments on the primary sources. Examples:

Primary	Secondary
Autobiographies	Books
Letters	Journal Articles
Photographs	Encyclopedias
Firsthand Accounts of an Event	Dictionaries
Official Memoranda	Reviews
Laws and Treaties	Critical Essays

Different Formats and Some Examples

Document or Manuscript is a written or printed work such as the Declaration of Independence or a grocery list written in 1933. Almost all the collections in the UWM Archives are comprised of documents or manuscripts.

Photographs are another common resource. To locate them, find the catalog records of those particular collections which include photographs: search Search@UW by using the term Photographs in the "Search for" box; then set "Search by" to Subject Heading (keyword) and "Limit to" Archives.

Sound recordings will be on a variety of mediums (LP, digital file, cassette tape) and provide rich audio resources. To locate them, find catalog records of those particular collections which include them by searching Search@UW: use the term Sound recordings in the "Search for" box; then set "Search by" to Subject Heading (keyword) and "Limit to" Archives.

Video recordings are rich in visual and audio source material. To locate them, find catalog records of the collections which include them by searching Search@UW: use the term Video recordings in the "Search for" box; then set "Search by" to Subject Heading (keyword) and "Limit to" Archives.

Oral histories are recordings of an individual's personal recollections of the past. They are sometimes transcribed on paper, and sometimes the complete audio recording is available. To locate them, find catalog records of the collections which include them by searching Search@UW: use the term Oral history in the "Search for" box; then set "Search by" to Subject Heading (keyword) and "Limit to" Archives.

Minutes are the official recordings of meetings. They are sometimes handwritten, but most often found typed, printed or published. To locate, find catalog records of the collections which include them by searching Search@UW: use the term Minutes in the "Search for" box; then set "Search by" to Subject Heading (keyword) and "Limit to" Archives.

Diaries are first-person accounts, traditionally written on paper, but increasingly found on other mediums. To locate, find catalog records of the collections which include them by searching Search@UW: use the term Diaries in the "Search for" box; then set "Search by" to Subject Heading (keyword) and "Limit to" Archives.

Scrapbooks are compilations of a variety of materials, such as photos, letters, news clippings, and organics (flowers, locks of hair). To locate, find catalog records of the collections which include them by searching Search@UW: use the term Scrapbooks in the "Search for" box; then set "Search by" to Subject Heading (keyword) and "Limit to" Archives.