"Vote Socialist"

Locating Materials in the Tamiment Library

• Overview
• Archival Collections
• Books
• Nonprint Collections
• Oral Histories
• Pamphlets
• Reference Sources
• Serials
• Vertical Files
• Research Guides

Overview

BobCat, NYU's library catalog, contains records for all of the Tamiment Library’s cataloged materials. Researchers will find item-level records for books, serials, and pamphlets, and collection-level records for archival materials, oral history collections, microfilm sets, and non-print materials. Follow the links in the BobCat records to access electronic finding aids for processed archival collections.

Please note that not all of the library's collections have been processed and cataloged to date. Follow the search strategies below and consult library reference staff for information on uncataloged materials.

Please also note that all of the materials in the Tamiment Library are non-circulating. This means that they must be used in the library's reading room during our regular business hours.

Archival Collections

Description: The Tamiment Library holds rich collections relating to labor and social history, the history of the Left, the place of workers in American society, the evolution of labor law, women's history, and immigrant history, among other topics.

The Library's Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives is the designated repository for the records of the New York City Central Labor Council, and the Council's member unions and affiliated organizations. Tamiment/Wagner holds more than 750 manuscript collections, a total of more than 15,000 feet of original papers and records.

Search Strategy - All fully processed and cataloged archival collections have collection-level records in BobCat with links to electronic finding aids that describe the contents of the collections in detail.

However, since not all of the Library's collections have been processed and cataloged to date, researchers may need to use a variety of tools and resources to locate collections in the Tamiment Library in addition to BobCat and lists of finding aids on the Library's website and at the Tamiment Library. These include unpublished lists of all of the library's archival collections, processed and unprocessed; unpublished finding aids, container lists, and inventories; and the assistance of library staff. Unpublished lists and guides are available in the Tamiment Library at the Reference Desk.

Finding Aids - Finding aids (also known as guides) describe in detail the scope and contents of archival collections, usually have a box and folder list of contents, explain any use restrictions, give provenance information, and place the collection in context with a historical note.

A large number of Tamiment / Wagner finding aids are available online via a link from the collection's BobCat record and/or from the list of collections and finding aids on the Tamiment Library's website. New collections are being processed every day, so please ask if you have questions about the availability of finding aids.

Other archival collections, though not fully processed and cataloged, are described briefly via links from the list of collections and finding aids.

Researchers may search Tamiment/Wagner finding aids along with the finding aids of the Fales Library & Special Collections, the New York University Archives, and the New-York Historical Society from the NYU Libraries Search Finding Aids page.

Some archival holdings have been microfilmed and microfilm reels may be borrowed through inter-library loan.

Using BobCat to Find Archival Collections

To locate a cataloged archival collection relating to a specific person or organization, try a Basic search in BobCat Anywhere in the Record or under the Author/Creator index. Then, limit your results to the Tamiment Library's holdings by selecting NYU Bobst Tamiment/Wagner from the list of libraries at NYU. Click on the links to finding aids where available for detailed information on archival collections.

You may also search by Subject term (Vietnamese conflict, e.g.) in BobCat to find archival collections on a topic. Limit your results to the Tamiment Library's holdings by selecting NYU Bobst Tamiment/Wagner from the list of libraries at NYU. Click on the links to finding aids where available for detailed information on archival collections.

Un-Cataloged Collections - Unpublished guides and inventories for many uncataloged collections may be consulted at the Library. Browse the list of Tamiment and Wagner archival collections to see if the library holds an uncataloged archival collection on your topic. Then consult a collection summary, inventory, container list, or other unpublished guide to the collection, where available. You may also consult NYU Libraries' Information Bulletin 16 on the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives for information on the library's archival holdings.

Using Archives - Researchers must obtain a Tamiment Library reader's card before using archival materials. To get one, fill out a registration form at the Tamiment Library Reference Desk and present a photo ID. Then, after using finding aids to determine the boxes and folders of a collection that contain relevant information for your topic, submit an archival request form at the Reference Desk to request materials.

Books

The Tamiment Library has a non-circulating collection of close to 55,000 books focusing on the history of labor, politics, political thought, literature and the arts. To locate books in the collection, search BobCat under author, title, or subject. Limit your results to the Tamiment Library's holdings by selecting NYU Bobst Tamiment/Wagner from the list of libraries at NYU.

Nonprint Collections

Description: The nonprint collections of the Tamiment Library consist of posters, broadsides, photographs, film, videotapes, cartoons, drawings, prints, political buttons, and other ephemera that provide a rich visual record of the history of labor and radical politics. Much of this visual material doesn't just supplement information in manuscript collections and papers -- it can also provide evidence that is not available in written sources.

Finding Aids - Researchers should consult the list of finding aids describing processed nonprint collections on the Tamiment Library's website. See the sections on Photograph and Non-Print Collections and ALBA Audio Visual Collections. Researchers may request materials from the processed nonprint collections in person any time the library is open.

Digitized Images - At present only one of the guides allows direct online viewing of actual images in a collection, the Fifteenth International Brigade Photographic Unit Photograph Collection (ALBA Photo 011).

Unpublished Finding Aids - Certain nonprint collections have unique finding aids available in the library. For example, a guide to the political buttons collection in the Tamiment Library is available to onsite researchers. It contains photocopies of the entire collection, divided by subjects and organizations. Researchers wishing to view original buttons instead of their photocopy surrogates must make an appointment with the Nonprint Curator. All 512 drawings in the Laura Gray Cartoons collection (Graphics 13) have been copied and researchers may browse through the copies arranged in binders.

Un-Processed Collections - Many additional nonprint materials reside in un-processed collections in Tamiment for which only an internal database, a printed draft guide, an inventory, or no guide at all may exist. These collections may be open for research by appointment. To learn if any unprocessed nonprint collections contain materials relevant to your research please contact Tamiment's Curator of Nonprint Collections. The Curator can also provide researchers with the proper forms of citation for nonprint materials (which are as necessary for nonprint primary sources as for text documents) in the Tamiment Library's collections. While most materials are available for research, not all may be published, due to copyright considerations.

Cataloged Collections - To find cataloged nonprint collections, try a Basic search on Author/Creator, Subject, or a term Anywhere in the Record. Limit your results to the Tamiment Library's holdings by selecting NYU Bobst Tamiment/Wagner from the list of libraries at NYU. If an electronic finding aid is available, follow the link for additional information on the collection.

Using Non-Print Collections - Researchers must obtain a Tamiment Library card before using nonprint materials. To get one, fill out a registration form at the Reference Desk and present a photo ID. Then, request materials using an archival request form.

Oral History Collections

Description: The Tamiment Library holds nearly 60 collections containing hundreds of interviews with labor leaders, rank-and-file workers, and political activists; audiotapes of speeches, concerts, conferences, memorial meetings, union meetings and other public and private events; and commercial recordings such as radio broadcasts. Researchers may browse an alphabetical list of Oral History Collections on the Tamiment Library's website.

Search Strategy - Because not all of the oral history collections have been processed and cataloged at the same level of detail, to find interviews and collections researchers may have to do one or more of the following: search BobCat; browse the list of oral history collections online; consult the index to oral history collections available in the Library; or read through the list of collections and finding aids on the Tamiment Library's website, depending on the research topic.

Specific Interviews - To see if the library holds an oral history interview with a specific person or the recording of a particular event, researchers should consult the unpublished index to the oral history collections available in the Library. The index lists all interviews in the processed collections by interviewee or event, identifies the collection that contains the interview, gives the date the interview was conducted, indicates whether a transcript or index is available, and notes whether the interviewee has signed a release form to allow duplication of the interview tape or transcript. After finding an interview in the index, consult the finding aid for the collection if additional information is needed, and request the tape(s) and transcript(s) on an archival request form.

Specific Collections - Many researchers seek oral histories on a particular subject or from a particular collection rather than by a specific individual. Browse a list of Oral History Collections on the library's website or consult the Collections List / Finding Aids page of the website. The Collections List offers links to brief descriptions if full finding aids are not available.

Cataloged Collections - Twenty-three Oral History collections in the library's holdings have been cataloged at the collection-level in BobCat. To browse records for the cataloged oral history collections online, do a Basic search in BobCat in the Call Number index under "Oral Histories." Link to electronic finding aids from the BobCat records for three fully processed and cataloged collections, New Yorkers at Work (OH-01), Oral History of the American Left (Series 1) (OH-02.1), and the Frederic Ewen Audiotape and Videotape Collection (OH-52).

Processed Collections - While the majority of the collections have not yet been cataloged in BobCat, most of them have been processed and are accessible to researchers. Consult the unpublished Oral History index available at the Tamiment Library's reference desk to locate specific interviews in the 60 collections.

Transcripts and Indexes - Many of the oral history interviews have been indexed, summarized and/or transcribed. Consult collection finding aids and the unpublished index to see if these are available for specific interviews.

Accessing Oral Histories - The vast majority of the oral history interviews in the collections are fully accessible to researchers. However, please be aware that donor restrictions govern the use of particular interviews and access to them may be limited. Request oral history interviews on archival request forms in the Tamiment Library. Researchers may listen to oral history interviews in the Avery Fisher Center on the second floor of Bobst Library.

Reference Sources

The reference collection in the Tamiment Library's reading room includes dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, periodical guides and indexes, microfilm guides, bibliographies, microfilm reel guides, and biographical sources to support research in radical politics and labor history. These materials are cataloged in BobCat and are designated by the location "TAM REF" in the catalog record. The collection is browsable and researchers are encouraged to consult these highly useful sources for background information before delving into archival collections.

In addition to these print sources the Tamiment Library has several periodical indexes in card catalog format. Please see the separate listing of Periodical Indexes in the Tamiment Library for summary details.

Updated 05/09/09