Home - FYSE 117 - Interpreting Our National Treasures - LibGuides at College of Charleston

Library Resources at CofC

The College Libraries and archives provide access to a wealth of resources, including some rare items about South Carolina people and places.

Find research articles, newspapers, and more with Discovery Search
The Discovery Search accesses information from many resources, including academic journals, newspapers, magazines, and books. Search for scientific literature about your park with Discovery. Limit your search to peer reviewed journals to find the highest quality articles.
The College of Charleston Catalog
Find books, films, and other physical materials in the College of Charleston's libraries.
South Carolina Historical Society (Addlestone Library, 3rd floor)
Special Collections (Addlestone Library, 3rd floor)
Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture
The Avery Research Center serves as an archive of material about African Americans, especially in the Lowcountry. Contact Avery staff for assistance.

Digital Libraries

Digital libraries bring history alive with online primary source material. Find pictures, letters, documents, oral histories, etc.

Library of Congress
Includes numerous digital resources such as newspapers, maps, sketches, etc.
National Archives
Includes scanned images, documents, etc. held in the National Archives.
South Carolina Digital Library
Digitized collections of the SC State Library
Low Country Digital Library
Online treasures of South Carolina, curated in partnership with CofC.
University of South Carolina Digital Library
Digitized documents held by USC.

Useful Websites

Use websites to find background information about your National Park/Monument. Only cite websites if your assignment permits you to do so. Make sure the website is an official site or is managed by a reputable institution.

National Park Service Data Store
NPS Data Store is a National Park Service database containing a variety of reports, articles, and books about national parks. Highlights include Natural Resources and History/Cultural Resources. In the Advanced Search, choose the Text Field dropdown and search for your national park in the title field.
United States Geological Survey
Search USGS site for any geology and environmental information related to specific locations.
National Park Service (South Carolina)
Map and list of National Park Service sites in South Carolina. Pages for each site have introductory information. ***Note that Fort Moultrie is included as part of the Fort Sumter National Monument***
National Register of Historic Places (South Carolina)
Read summaries of South Carolina sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Importantly, also view the original application for inclusion in the register. These are rich in detail and often contain bibliographies with references to useful material.
Wikipedia - SC Historic Landmarks
A useful place to find background information, but remember that anybody can edit this information. You probably shouldn't cite a Wikipedia page as a source. Pay attention to cited sources and external links at the bottom of pages to help you find authoritative information.