Research Portals
Latin America and the Caribbean
This guide is designed to identify the materials in our collections related to Latin America — that is, to Central and South America. Most of it was in the Spanish sphere of influence, with the notable exception of Brazil, which was colonized by the Portuguese. We have included the Caribbean region in this survey, as the island played a significant role in European interest in the Americas and were subject to similar colonial pressures and part of the same broader conversation. It is divided into three main sections:
- Manuscripts
- Rare Books
- Maps
Slavery, Abolition and Emancipation
This guide is designed to give an overview of our holdings on the subject of the slavery debate and emancipation, with commentary to put various categories of resources into perspective. It offers a robust list of resources reflecting the history of and discourse surrounding domestic slavery in the United States, as well as advice on how to find more such items and collections. It is divided into three main sections:
- Archival Sources
- Public Conversation
- Narratives
From Jim Crow to Black Power: African American History and Culture, 1877-1970
This guide is designed to show what kinds of materials are available at The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections on topics related to African American history during the Jim Crow era, which starts with the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and ends in the 1960s, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
- Everyday Life
- Ideas about Race
- Information Sources
- Special Topics
- At the University of Alabama
Rare Maps Collection
This guide provides a list of our rare maps, which date from 1570 to 1864. It also gives context for each region’s geography, particularly territorial changes over time, including colonization of the non-European world.
It is divided into four categories:
- World
- New World
- United States
- Alabama
Industrial Alabama
This guide contains a list of our resources on nearly 200 years of industrial production in Alabama, from early reports on the state’s geology and documents showing the use of mineral resources in the Confederate war effort to the late 19th century boom and 20th century dominance and decline of the pig iron industry.
It is divided into two categories:
- Archival Collections
- Rare Books and Other Published Items
Alabama Women’s Lives
With so many collections focused on local people and places, the Division of Special Collections is a good place to research the lives of Southern women, in particular those from Alabama. Their stories, in journals, scrapbooks, and oral histories, are spread out through dozens of collections, so they have been brought together here, so as to emphasize their depth and breadth and facilitate research. This resource includes
- Maps of Collections by Format and Time Period
- Glossary of Format Terms
- List of Collections
- Suggested Secondary Sources