Alphabetical List of Publications
We offer a selection of guides, finding aids, microfilm catalogs, and special archival publications useful to anyone, especially scholars, archivists, historians, and researchers.
Titles, descriptions and ordering information are listed below.
A Guide to Civil War Maps in the National Archives
Civil War Maps in the National Archives lists the approximately 8,000 Civil War maps, charts,
and plans in the Cartographic and Architectural Branch of the National Archives, the largest
single body of cartographic records pertaining to the American Civil War.
The records described in this guide are maps, plans, and charts containing information relating
directly to Civil War operations and installations. Most of the material described dates from the
war and was produced for use by the military forces or to accompany official reports. Many of
the maps that are contemporary with the war do not deal specifically with military operations,
but do provide information concerning the areas directly affected by the conflict. A number of
postwar maps contain military information, usually prepared for historical purposes or in connection with official investigations of Civil War operations.
Combining the familiar with the obscure, American Originals presents glimpses of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Elvis Presley, John Muir, Rosa Parks, John Brown, Susan B. Anthony, and many others, through a selection of the nation's greatest documentary treasures. 2000.
American Women and the U.S. Armed Forces: A Guide to the Records of Military Agencies in the National Archives Relating to American Women
Covering the last two centuries, the records highlighted in this volume discuss women as participants in and victims of war, suppliers of military goods and services, and wives and mothers of soldiers. 1992.
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights. 1986.
Bill of Rights: Evolution of Personal Liberties (Curriculum Unit)
The Bill of Rights is designed for upper elementary through college-level classrooms. The boxed unit contains 46 facsimiles of documents, historical background for the documents, and 10 lesson plans that trace the history of the Bill of Rights and the evolution of liberties protected by the great charter. 1998.
Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives
This award-winning research guide provides accurate, concise information about civilian records held by the National Archives textual, photographic, and audiovisual that can be used to study the history of African Americans. 1984.
Black Studies: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications
This expanded edition of Black Studies describes a wealth of historical records for research in African American history and genealogy. Over 200 microfilm publications are listed—including 60 new or previously uncited series—that document the African American experience from the post-Revolutionary era to the early 20th century.
Brochures and General Information Leaflets
Pamphlets, Brochures, and General Information Leaflets. 1990-2005.
Confederacy: A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America
This companion volume to The Union is a guide to the official archives of the government of the Confederate States of America. 1986.
Discovering the Civil War
Discovering the Civil War peels back 150 years of accumulated analysis, interpretation, and opinion to reveal a Civil War that is little-known. Featuring over 250 letters, diaries, photos, maps, petitions, receipts, patents, amendments and proclamations from the incomparable holdings of the National Archives, it takes a fresh look at the Civil War through little-known stories, seldom-seen documents, and unusual perspectives. Grouped into themes such as "Spies and Conspiracies," "Prisoners and Casualties," "Global War," and "Raising Armies," this new book looks beyond the battlefield to the experiences of ordinary people. Famous documents, such as the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, are juxtaposed with innovative wartime patents, including a multipurpose device that could serve as a tent, knapsack, or blanket, and a message in Chinese script asking for Confederate ships to be barred from Chinese ports - proving that the Civil War became a truly international struggle.
Discovery Book About Federal Courts
What is a Federal court? How were Federal courts established? What kind of Federal courts are there? What is the purpose of a trial? These and many other questions about our court system are answered in this educational activity book for fifth- and sixth-grade students. Published to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Judiciary Act of 1789, Federal Courts contains a variety of exercises and activities based on records of actual court cases in the National Archives. 1989.
Genealogy Tool Kit: Getting Started on Your Family History at the National Archives
Whether you're an experienced researcher or just getting started, the Genealogy Tool Kit will help you to navigate the records of the National Archives, from census and naturalization records
to military and federal land grant records. With checklists to track your progress, family trees to
fill in as you discover your ancestors, and room for taking notes, the Tool Kit will also serve as
your own record of your family history project. [Throughout the book, researchers such as Ken
Burns tell stories of their own personal discoveries.] Published by the Foundation for the National Archives
Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States
In this three-volume set, two volumes describe the nearly 1.7 million cubic feet of records transferred to the custody of the National Archives as of October 1, 1994, and the third volume indexes these descriptions. 1996.
Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives, Third Edition
The Guide is an indispensable aid for researching family genealogy, local history, and social trends. 2001.
Guide to Pre-Federal Records in the National Archives
This guide will assist the researcher in locating within the National Archives those records created during, or directly related to, the pre-Federal era of US history the period before the Constitution went into effect on March 4, 1789. 1989.
Guide to Records Relating to US Military Participation in World War II (Part 1) Superseded
This series of guides identifies and describes the activities of the many military agencies that had a role in World War II. 1996.
Guide to Records Relating to US Military Participation in World War II (Part 2) Superseded
This second volume identifies and describes records in the National Archives that document the activities of the many military agencies involved in armaments production and procurement, lend-lease, stockpiling and consumption of strategic and conventional industrial materials, shipbuilding, military construction, protection of the Western Hemisphere, logistical support, services furnished to personnel, surveys of soldier attitudes, and detention of POWs and civilian internees. 1998.
Guide to Records of the U.S. House of Representatives at the National Archives, 1789-1989
Guide to the Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789-1989.
Guide to Records of the U.S. Senate at the National Archives, 1789-1989
Guide to the Records of the U.S. Senate, 1789-1989.
Holocaust, Israel, and the Jews: Motion Pictures in the National Archives
This guide is an indispensable tool for locating films related to modern Jewish history in the National Archives holdings, presenting an annotated listing of films and portions of films produced by the armed forces, civilian Federal agencies, and commercial newsreel sources. 1989.
Holocaust-Era Assets: A Finding Aid to Records at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland
This aid to locating records in the National Archives focuses primarily on efforts to identify, recover, and restitute assets hidden or stolen by Nazi Germany during World War II. 1999.
Holocaust: The Documentary Evidence
Once in power, the Nazis attempted to build a new social order in Europe a society based on race and created through military force, mass murder, and mass slavery. NARA has preserved thousands of captured documents of their effort. 1993.
Lighthouse Plans in the National Archives: Special List 57
A Special List of Lighthouse-Related Drawings in Record Group 26.
List of Free Genealogy Publications
Free Pamphlets, Brochures, and General Information Leaflets of interest to Genealogists. 1992-2004.
Making Archives Accessible for People with Disabilities
An archives should be prepared to meet and deal with a variety of disabilities that may involve restricted abilities for walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, perceiving or understand ing, or physical coordination. This publication gives information on how to make archives accessible for people with disabilities
Management of Archives
"In this book, Dr. Schellenberg successfully undertakes to define the archival methodology that hertofore has been available only in isolated books and journals... An indispensible manual, which anticipates and answers most questions that arise in the handline of nonpublic records." --The American Archivist 1988.
NARA has microfilmed over 3,000 series of Federal records that contain a wealth of valuable information for scholars and other researchers. A comprehensive catalog that lists these microfilm publications by record group is available, as are catalogs for Federal population censuses covering the years 1790-1930.
Milestone Documents in the National Archives
This book features 22 of the most important "permanently valuable" records of the Federal Government--records that protect public and private rights or contain useful information for researchers and the general public. 1995.
Modern Archives Reader: Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice
A Modern Archives Reader brings together, in a single volume, classic essays of archival literature that outline and define the basic theories of archives administration and recent articles that reexamine basic concepts and demonstrate the practical application of archival principles. 1984.
New Deal for the Arts
The topical organization of A New Deal for the Arts reflects several of the important themes found within New Deal art the projects' use of American history, their celebration of the common man and woman, their support for the New Deal, their political activism and the art that was a product of these concerns, and their sponsorship of "practical" arts. 1996.
Our Mothers Before Us: Women and Democracy, 1789-1920 (Curriculum Unit)
Produced by the Center for Legislative Archives, Our Mothers Before Us traces the history of women’s organized petition campaigns from the First Congress in 1789 to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. 2000.
Picturing the Century: One Hundred Years of Photographs from the National Archives
Marking the end of the 20th century, Picturing the Century selects 157 photographs from one of the world's largest photographic archives--the vast collections of the National Archives and Records Administration in the Washington, DC, area, regional records facilities, and Presidential libraries. 1999.
Presidential Perspectives from the National Archives
This series highlights modern American Presidents and the National Archives Presidential Libraries System. Each richly illustrated booklet features a brief Presidential biography and a description of the respective library and its holdings. 1992 - 1994.
Records Management Publications and Posters
In compliance with the agency’s publication distribution policies, NARA is moving toward disseminating all records management publications and posters primarily via the Internet. The publications and posters may be downloaded and reproduced as needed.
Records of Our National Life
Published in honor of the Archives' 75th anniversary, Records of Our National Life is an extensively illustrated volume that takes the reader on a journey through American history, from the struggle for independence to the 2009 tally of electoral votes. Featuring more than 800 documents, maps, photographs, and drawings, as well as essays by some of Americas leading journalists, political commentators, and broadcasters, the book provides readers with a glimpse into the extensive holdings of the Archives.
Reference Information Papers
Reference Information Papers describe National Archives materials on specific topics found in several different record groups. The form and style of these Papers vary, and the records are described at the record group, series, or item level.
Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project
Bad fashion, odd fads, and disco dance music sum up the 1970s for many Americans. But the
1970s were much more than leisure suits, streaking, and disco. Profound changes took root in our
politics, society, and economy. Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography
Project draws on the National Archives' photographic holdings to take a new look at those years
through the lens of a Federal photography project created by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). DOCUMERICA photographers took thousands of color photographs and were
given the freedom to also capture the era's trends, fashions, problems, and achievements. The
result is an amazing archive and a fascinating portrait of America from 1972 to 1977.
Select List of Publications: Inventories, Preliminary Inventories, and Special Lists
Inventories and preliminary inventories provide researchers with series-level descriptions of the holdings of individual record groups in the National Archives.
Story of the Constitution
This popular history was first published in 1937 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Constitution. A new introduction by Daniel Elazar, Director of the Center for the Study of Federalism at Temple University, sets the book in historical context and explains why it is a classic in constitutional studies. 1937, 1986.
Teaching With Documents (Article Compilations)
The following four volumes feature 113 articles, most of which have appeared in Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies. Each article supports a document from the National Archives, providing historical context and related teaching activities. Various dates.
Teaching With Documents (Curriculum Units)
These curriculum units are designed to help students of US history, government, and economics to understand the process by which history is written and to develop analytical skills. Each unit contains about 50 reproductions of documents, charts, photographs, letters, drawings, and posters and a detailed teacher's guide. The materials deal with key issues of the period, with governmental and political responses to these issues, and with public attitudes. Various dates.
Technical Information Papers on Preservation and Standards
Technical Information Papers report on archival innovations resulting from studies made at the National Archives or for NARA under contract. Publications are available in hard copy and on microfiche.
Tokens and Treasures: Gifts to Twelve Presidents
This lavishly illustrated book, based on the exhibition of the same name, showcases over 200 gifts sent to Presidents from Hoover through Clinton. 1996.
Trans-Mississippi West, 1804-1912: A Guide to Federal Records for the Territorial Period
This multi-volume guide identifies and describes records in the National Archives that are associated with the American West. These guides alert readers to the research potential of these records and assist in their location. 1993 - 1997.
Treasures of Congress
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the move of the Congress to Washington, DC, from Philadelphia, Treasures of Congress showcases the role the House and Senate have played in our history through reproductions of fascinating petitions, resolutions, roll call votes, and bills. 2000.
Union: A Guide to Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War
This guide provides an opportunity to study the vast collection of US Government documents in the National Archives that relate to the Civil War. 1962/1986.
Woman's War Too: U.S. Women in the Military in World War II
More than 350,000 women volunteered to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II. This volume, comprising the proceedings of a conference held at the National Archives at College Park, is a compelling account of these volunteers' groundbreaking efforts to establish women's units within the traditional military service branches. 1996.