American Studies: Research Seminar: Finding Images, Media, and Sound

Want to know if the Rutgers Libraries own a particular film?

Select Advanced Search in the Library Catalog. Enter the title into the "TITLE" search box, and select Visual Materials from the format pull-down menu.

Videos/DVDs owned by the Dana Library are available for viewing in the Media Center on the 4th floor of Dana Library.

Videos that are only available from the Media Center in New Brunswick must be booked BY FACULTY for class viewing. All other users must view materials on-site at the Media Center in the Douglass Library. Advance reservations for viewing rooms are recommended. To make a reservation, call 732-932-978.

Videos on the U.S. and American Studies

Film and Television Literature Index with Full Text

Indexes industry papers, news journalism, and scholarly academic journals on topics relating to film and television.

Off-Campus Access  Rutgers-restricted Access

Film Literature Index

Index to scholarly and popular film and television periodicals worldwide from 1976 to 2001. Search or browse citations.

FIAF International FilmArchive Database

1972- . Index to over 300 international film periodicals, including academic journals and trade papers.

Off-Campus Access  Rutgers-restricted Access

Paley Center for Media Database

The Paley Center (New York City) houses a media collection of nearly 150,000 television and radio programs and advertisements. The database includes synopsis of programs. The Edward John Noble Scholars Room has carrels equipped with an audio/visual monitor for viewing and listening to the Paley Center's collection of programs and computers that access the library's database. Use of the Scholars Room is available to students and others affiliated with educational organizations at a rate of $15 per day; The Scholar's Room is open: Wednesdays to Sundays 12:00 to 6:00 pm, and 12:00 to 8:00 pm on Thursdays.

American History in Video

Digitized documentaries, newsreel films, and archival footage.

Off-Campus Access  Rutgers-restricted Access

Smithsonian Global Sound Over 2900 online audio recordings (over 42,000 tracks) of American folk, blues, bluegrass, jazz, spoken word, and world music. Off-Campus Access Rutgers-restricted Access

DRAM: Database of Recorded American Music CD quality audio, complete and original liner notes and essays from New World Records, Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) and other important labels. Over 1,200 complete CDs (7,500 compositions). Off-Campus Access Rutgers-restricted Access

Ad*Access. Search or browse over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Covers five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II. A project of the Digital Scriptorium, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.

Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920.Over 9,000 images relating to the early history of advertising in the U.S. From collections in the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University. Site also includes an advertising history timeline

ARTstor. Approximately 700,000 images with citations in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences.Off-Campus Access Rutgers-restricted Access

New York Public Library Digital Gallery. Over 685,000 images digitized from NYPL collections.

Digital Schomburg: Images of African Americans from the 19th Century. Search or browse a rich collection of images taken from the collections of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library.

You can also use Google Image Search to look for images of particular people or subjects.