Recently, the Library launched new and improved Research Guides for a myriad of subjects. Each research guide subdivides relevant resources by type of resource--for example, book collections, articles, encyclopedias, citation guides, etc. Click on the tab describing the type of resource you're looking for, and the list of suggestions appears. Special Collections materials are located under the "Special Collections" tab. The Research Guide for History actually contains two tabs relating to Special Collections materials. The "San Diego" tab is a complete list of all San Diego-related collections in our department, subdivided by General Collections, Historic Landmarks, Arts, Religion, Environment, Social Issues, Business, Legal, Public Works, and Individiual and Family Papers. There's also a section for Unprocessed Collections Forthcoming, to let our patrons know that we have these collections, though research access to them may be limited.
The "Special Collections" tab in the Research Guide for History refers users to our full list of subject guides. Because all of our collections are "History," they've been further subdivided by subject for ease of use. We currently have eleven different subject guides in areas like Women's Studies, Art, and Chicano/Latino Studies. Each of the Special Collections research guides detail historical collections in our holdings of potential interest to History. If you're looking for primary sources related to the Civil War, World Wars I or II, or other conflicts, click on Military.
The Special Collections Research Guides can be powerful tools for your students as they embark on primary source research for assignments and final papers--spread the word! The neatest part of the Research Guides for faculty, though, is that Special Collections staff can easily tailor one to your specific course needs. Check out the list of Course Support Pages for examples. You can then include these course support pages in Blackboard, if needed. Contact Anne Bahde in Special Collections for more information on a course support page.