Collections Information

18th century manuscripts

nps photo

Library Collections

• The Library collection consists of approximately 13,000 volumes, including books, reports, microforms, theses, dissertations, and periodicals.
• The Library collection is particularly strong in the history and culture of Colonial America, the American Revolution, and the Early National periods; historic preservation; material culture; architecture; and historic archaeology.

Online Library Catalog

The National Park Service Library Program maintains an online catalog of park library collections, which includes the Independence National Historical Park Library. The catalog can be accessed via the Internet at the following website: http://www.library.nps.gov

Users can search for library materials prior to visiting the Library. To conduct a search in the catalog, start by selecting the "search" link under the heading NPS Voyager Catalog. The search page provides two tabs for bibliographic searching. You can limit your search results to the park's library collection by selecting "Independence" from the drop-down menu on the Basic Search tab.

National Park Service History E-Library

The National Park Service History E-Library is an electronic collection of National Park Service publications organized by park. Independence NHP has several publications represented in this collection. Here is a direct link to the material related to Independence:

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/park_histories/index.htm#inde

It should be noted that this is a small sample of the parks' reports, studies, and publications. The majority of the Independence NHP materials have not been digitized and must be accessed at the Library and Archives. Library staff can assist researchers in identifying relevant materials in the park's collections.

Archives Collections

• The Archives contains the park's administrative and resource management records as well as donated manuscript collections.
• The collections consist of approximately 2,000 linear feet of processed textual materials; 90,000 photographs in all formats; and 20,000 maps, plans, and drawings.

Selected Independence National Historical Park Finding Aids

The Archives uses a variety of tools to help users locate information within archival collections. Finding aids are documents that consolidate information about an archival collection and often include an inventory of the collection's series and folders. The Archives organizes park records into "record groups" according to the organizational unit of the park that created them. The Archives has recently completed processing on several important record groups:

1. The Interpretation and Visitor Services Records, 1852-2011, undated (bulk dates: 1948-2010), Catalog Number: INDE 74045.
2. Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site Records, 1929-2010, Catalog Number: INDE 77170.
3. Cultural Resource Management Records, 1936-2003, undated (bulk dates: 1960-1998), Catalog Number: INDE 77171.
4. Utilities Improvement Project Records, 1983-2012 (bulk dates: 1994-2000) Catalog Number: INDE 77175.
5.Museum Branch Records, 1948-2010, undated (bulk dates: 1953-2008), Catalog Number: 77176.

The Archives also collects donated manuscript materials that relate to the history and interpretive focus of the park. One example of a manuscript collection in the Archives is the Morris Family Papers, 1741-1989, (bulk dates: 1830-1950), which document several generations of the prominent Philadelphia Quaker family that were the former owners of the park's Deshler-Morris House. The Archives created an online blog during the processing of the collection that includes digitized documents and photographs from the collection:

http://morrisfamilypapers.wordpress.com

There are several previously processed collections that are particularly important to research on the park. These include:

1. The National Museum at Independence Hall Collection, 1873-1951: A Guide.
2. Construction Project Records, 1916, 1925-1989 (bulk dates: 1955-1980), Catalog Number: INDE 74046.
3. Office of the Architects, Historical and Research Materials Series, 1938-1993, (bulk dates: 1951-1975), Accession Numbers 3853 and 3854.

Some Additional Resources for Historical Research

The Cultural Resource Studies collection (CRBIB) includes over 50 years of research reports related to the park's historic sites, landscapes, and interpretive themes.
The Research and Study Photograph collection documents the park's visual and historic resources with a focus on current and former structures within the park boundaries.
The Notecard File contains transcribed primary sources and historical data related to people, events, and sites from the 1730s to the 1950s.