Project Kit

Basic Bibliographies and Research Tips

Bibliographies

The Veterans History Project has prepared selected bibliographies of books and Web sites on each of the following topics. Click on the links below to see these bibliographies.

• Oral History
• World War I
• World War II
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
• Persian Gulf War

Browsing the Shelves at Your Public or School Library

In addition to the sources listed on our bibliographies, other books about oral history and America's involvement in the major wars of the twentieth century can be found by browsing the shelves and searching the catalogs of your public and school libraries. Most books on the topics above will be shelved under the following call numbers, depending on whether your library uses the Dewey Decimal classification system or the Library of Congress classification system. Please don't hesitate to ask your librarian for help.

Searching the Catalog of Your Public or School Library

Most libraries use the Library of Congress subject headings in their catalog records even if they use the Dewey Decimal system for their classification system.

The main Library of Congress subject heading under which to search for general works on conducting oral history is Oral history. Other useful search terms include Oral history Bibliography and Oral history Handbooks, manuals, etc. To find individual oral histories, search under the name of the interviewee or the appropriate subject, e.g., World War, 1939-1945-Personal narratives, American or Women veterans-Pennsylvania-Interviews.

The main Library of Congress subject headings for general works on each of the twentieth-century wars covered by the Veterans History Project are listed below.

The terms above may be used alone or followed by the name of a specific country, state, or region, e.g., World War, 1939-1945 United States or World War, 1914-1918 North Carolina. They may also be followed by other topical and format-related terms such as those listed below.

• Aerial operations, American (example: World War, 1914-1918 Aerial operations, American)
• Bibliography (example: World War, 1939-1945 Bibliography)
• Campaigns (example: Korean War, 1950-1953)
• Causes (example: Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 Causes)
• Maps (example: Persian Gulf War, 1991 Maps)
• Naval operations (use the phrase by itself or followed by the name of a country or region)
• Participation, African-American
• Personal narratives, American
• Pictorial works
• Prisoners and prisons (use the phrase by itself or followed by the name of a country or region)
• Recruiting and enlistment United States
• Regimental histories United States (use the phrase by itself or followed by the name of a specific regiment, division, etc.)
• Social aspects United States
• Veterans United States
• Women (use the phrase by itself or followed by the name of a country)
• Women's work

Also keep in mind that you can search directly under the names of specific battles, campaigns, or ships. To locate books on specific branches of service, search under United States. Army or United States. Navy, etc. These terms, like those for the wars above, can be followed by the names of specific regiments, divisions, types of sources, ethnic and racial groups, etc. For example, United States. Army. Armored Division, 4^th History or United States. Navy. Women