The Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress holds 10,000 collections containing more than 50 million items. These collections document all aspects of American history and culture and include papers of presidents; cabinet members; members of Congress; members of the Supreme Court; and other prominent Americans whose lives reflect the evolution of the United States. This guide highlights the following collections: Founding of the Nation; Presidency; Congress; Federal Judiciary; Military Affairs; Foreign Policy; Arts and Literature; Science and Medicine; African-American History and Culture; and Women's History. Many illustrations showing items from the collections are included. (JLB)

"There are 1,366 collections described in this guide. Collections range in size from a single letter or document to over fifty record storage cartons of material. Guide entries in Part I are arranged by 'record group' number, from 300 to 1307 (the first 299 numbers have been assigned to other collections housed by the Department of History). Guide entries in Part II are arranged alphabetically and numbered from B001 to B358. ... The index located at the back of the Guide is really the key to the whole work. The index lists all collections in both Parts I and II" -- Introd.

Based on reports from American repositories of manuscripts.

When the Handbook for Research in American History was first published, reviewers called it "an excellent tool for historians of all interests and levels of experience . . . simple to use, and concisely worded" (Western Historical Quarterly) and "an excellent work that fulfills its title in being portable yet well-filled" (Reference Reviews). The Journal of American History added, "It is not easy to produce a reference work that is utilitarian and enriching and does not duplicate existing works. Professor Prucha has done the job very well." This second, revised edition takes account of the revolution that is occurring in bibliographic science as printed reference works extend to electronic databases, CD-ROMs, and online networks such as the Internet. Focusing on and expanding the major section of the original Handbook, it provides information on traditional printed works, describes new guides and updated versions of old ones, notes the availability of reference works and of some full-text sources in electronic form, and discusses the usefulness to researchers of different kinds of material and the forms in which they are available. Extensive cross-referencing and a detailed index that includes authors, subjects, and titles enhance the book's usefulness.