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Paul Laurence Dunbar: A Resource Guide

Digital Resources

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of primary source materials related to Paul Laurence Dunbar. Provided below is a link to the home page for each relevant digital collection along with selected highlights.

Digital Collections

African American Perspectives: Materials Selected from the Rare Book Collection

The collection presents a panoramic and eclectic review of African-American history and culture, spanning almost one hundred years from the early nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries, with the bulk of the material published between 1875 and 1900.

Selected highlight from this collection:

Federal Theatre Project, 1935 to 1939

This online presentation includes items selected from the Federal Theatre Project Collection at the Library of Congress. Featured here are stage and costume designs, photographs, posters, playbills, programs, and playscripts, including productions of Macbeth and The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus as staged by Orson Welles, and Power, a topical drama of the period.

Selected highlight from this collection:

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and design in the United States through a comprehensive range of building types and engineering technologies.

A selection of highlights from this collection includes:

The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America

The Songs of America presentation allows you to explore American history as documented in the work of some of our country's greatest composers, poets, scholars, and performers. From popular and traditional songs, to poetic art songs and sacred music, the relationship of song to historical events from the nation's founding to the present is highlighted through more than 80,000 online items. Paul Laurence Dunbar is the contributor for eight songs from this presentation.

A selection of highlights from this collection includes:

Mary Church Terrell Papers

The papers of educator, lecturer, suffragist, and civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) consist of approximately 13,000 documents, comprising 25,323 images, all of which were digitized from 34 reels of previously produced microfilm. Spanning the years 1851 to 1962, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1886-1954, the collection contains diaries, correspondence, printed matter, clippings, and speeches and writings, primarily focusing on Terrell's career as an advocate of women's rights and equal treatment of African Americans.

A selection of highlights from this collection includes:

National Jukebox

Tthe National Jukebox makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge. The Jukebox includes recordings from the extraordinary collections of the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center and other contributing libraries and archives.

A selection of highlights from this collection includes:

Related Digital Resources

African American History Month

The monthly portals highlights the Library's own collections and events, they also represent a collaboration with other federal cultural heritage institutions to feature relevant materials from their institutions. Partners in the past have included the National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Historic Newspapers

A selection of highlights from this collection includes:

Legislative Information

The official website for U.S. federal legislative information is Congress.gov which is maintained by the Library of Congress.

A selected highlight from this collection:

Library of Congress Blog

Selected blog posts include compelling stories and fascinating facts written by Library of Congress curators and librarians.

Online Exhibitions

Poetry and Literature

A selected highlight from this feature:

Prints and Photographs Division

The Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) contains catalog records and digital images representing a rich cross-section of still pictures held by the Prints & Photographs Division and, in some cases, other units of the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress offers broad public access to these materials as a contribution to education and scholarship.

Related Research Guides

Resources for Teachers

The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Find Library of Congress lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards, and the standards of national organizations.

Today in History

Today in History is a Library of Congress presentation of historic events illuminated by items from the Library’s Digital Collections. Each essay offers search tips and links selected to encourage users to dive more deeply into the Library’s growing digital collections.