Library History 459

Once you have some background information on your topic (see the "Reference" tab, or Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War, AC Frost Reserves DS557.7 .M355 2008b), try searching the 5 College Catalog for relevant books. You might start by using one of the following sets of subject keywords, and then narrowing down with more specific topics:

Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Vietnam  Foreign Relations  United States
United States  Foreign Relations  Vietnam
Vietnam (Republic)  Foreign Relations  United States
United States  Foreign Relations  Vietnam (Republic)

Sub-headings might include:

Art and the war
Atrocities
Campaigns
Diplomatic history
Fiction
Influence
Literature and the war
Missing in action
Motion pictures and the war
Peace
Personal narratives
Pictorial works
Poetry
Press coverage
Prisoners and prisons
Protest movements
Psychological aspects
Public opinion
Refugees
Social aspects
Songs and music
Sources
Underground movements
Veterans
Women

• Reference Universe
  Searchable index of the library's entire reference collection, both print and electronic.

Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War : a political, social, and military history / Spencer C. Tucker, editor. AC Frost Reference DS557.7 .E53 1998

Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War / editor, Stanley I. Kutler. AC Frost Reference DS557.7 .E53 1996

• America, History & Life (1964 to present)
  Covers the world's scholarly literature on the history and culture of the United States and Canada.
• Historical Abstracts with Full Text (1955 to present)
  Scholarly literature about world history since 1450 (excluding the United States and Canada).
• Discover: Start here for books, articles & more
  Simultaneously search research databases plus the Five Colleges Libraries Catalog to find full-text articles, books and more.

• Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy (ProQuest History Vault) (1960-1975)
  A collection of primary sources covering everything from early U.S. involvement in the region up to the final resolution of the war at the Paris Peace Talks and the evacuation of U.S. troops in 1973

For general recommendations for finding primary sources (especially in a library catalog), see our "Primary Sources Research Guide". 

Alt-PressWatch (1970 to present) 
Full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the alternative and independent press.

Alternative Press Index (1969 to present) 
Covers alternative, radical and left periodicals, newspapers and magazines.

The American Presidency Project
The American Presidency Project contains the most comprehensive collection of resources pertaining to the study of the President of the United States. Sample document: John F. Kennedy. The President's News Conference.  November 14, 1963. The American Presidency Project. 

CIA Freedom of Information Act Reading Room
See especially the Vietnam Collection, and the Vietnam Histories. Sample document: SNIE 53-2-63: The Situation in South Vietnam. June 3, 1963. CIA Freedom of Information Act Reading Room, Vietnam Collection. 

Congressional Publications 
Index to U.S. congressional material, some full text.

Five Colleges Archives & Manuscript Collections
Use this for archival materials in the Five Colleges. Sample finding aid: John Merson Papers, 1960-1968

FBI Records - The Vault
See especially the Anti-War Movement. 

Foreign Relations of the United States
The Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. See especially the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon presidencies, and the Guide to Sources on Vietnam, 1969-1975.

Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) 
Combined search of the historic Boston Globe, Chicago Defender, Chinese Newspaper Collection, Los Angeles Times, New York Amsterdam News, New York Times, Times of India, and Washington Post. Sample document: Sell, Ted. "U.S. Plans Diem Coup, Saigon Paper Insists." Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File): 5. Sep. 20, 1963. ProQuest.

Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library Online Collections
Digitized documents from the Johnson Presidential Library, including daily diaries, telephone conversation transcripts, and National Security Action Memoranda.

National Security Archives Electronic Briefing Books
The National Security Archive's continually growing collection of Electronic Briefing Books (EBBs) provide timely online access to critical declassified records on issues including U.S. national security, foreign policy, diplomatic and military history, intelligence policy, and much more. Sample document: Prados, John. "JFK and the Diem Coup" The National Security Archive. Nov. 5, 2003.

Nixon Presidential Library: Virtual Library
Digitized documents from the Nixon Presidential Library, including the Presidential Daily Diary, H.R. Haldeman Diaries, National Security Memoranda, and more.

Sixties: primary documents and personal narratives 1960-1974 
Resource brings the 1960s alive through diaries, letters, autobiographies and other memoirs, written and oral histories, manifestos, government documents, memorabilia, and scholarly commentary.

UMASS Amherst Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives: Vietnam War (47 collections)

U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1817-1976) 
Reports, documents and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Preceded by American State Papers.

Vietnam War and American foreign policy (ProQuest History Vault) (1960-1975) 
A collection of primary sources covering everything from early U.S. involvement in the region up to the final resolution of the war at the Paris Peace Talks and the evacuation of U.S. troops in 1973. Sample document: Military coup against Ngo Dinh Diem, November 1-2, 1963. 1963. Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy, 1960-1975.