Documentary Research

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Jen Jarson
Social Sciences Reference Librarian
phone: x3552 | email: jarson [at] muhlenberg [dot] edu
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Selected Reference Sources

Allentown Bicentennial Committee. (1962). Allentown bicentennial, 1762-1962: Lehigh county sesquicentennial, 1812-1962. Allentown, PA: s. n..
Main Collection 974.827 A4331a

Bartholomew, A., & Front, C. M. (2002). Allentown. Charleston, SC: Arcadia.
Main Collection 974.827 B284a

Bloom, K., & Wolbers, M. (1984). Allentown, a pictorial history. Virginia Beach, VA: Donning Co.
Main Collection 974.827 B655a

Hellerich, M. H. (Ed.). (1987). Allentown 1762-1987: A 225-year history. Allentown, PA: Lehigh County Historical Society.
Main Collection 974.827 A433se v.1-2

Lehigh County Historical Society. (1908-2004). Proceedings of the Lehigh County Historical Society. Allentown, PA: Author.
Main Collection 974.827 L522p

Storch, P. H. (1950). Allentown, 1950; Marking 200 years of growth. Allentown, PA: Printed by Miers-Bachman Lithographing Co.
Main Collection 917.4827 A4335

Selected Websites

GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS

Allentown Economic Development Corporation
http://www.allentownedc.com/

Allentown, PA -- City's Official Site
http://www.allentownpa.gov/

Allentown, PA (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allentown,_Pennsylvania
NOTE: The Landmarks and Popular Locations section may be of particular use in finding areas of interest.

City and Town Official Sites
http://www.citytown.info/Pennsylvania.htm

Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
http://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/mainmenu.aspx

Lehigh County -- Official Site
http://www.lehighcounty.org/

Lehigh County Assessment Record Search
http://www.lehighcounty.org/Assessment/Puba.cfm

Lehigh County Historical Society
http://www.lchs.museum/

Lehigh Valley
http://www.lehighvalleypa.org/

Lehigh Valley History and Museums
http://www.lehighvalleypa.org/default.aspx?pageid=14

Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation
http://www.lehighvalley.org/index.cfm
"Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) is a not-for-profit, one-stop, full-service business and economic development agency performing several functions: marketing, business retention and attraction, land and site redevelopment, research, regional development and financing."

Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
http://www.lvpc.org/

National Association of Counties
http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Counties

Northampton County
http://www.northamptoncounty.org/

Northampton County Public Access Website
http://www.ncpub.org/Main/Home.aspx
"This site provides read access to tax record information from Northampton County, Pennsylvania. To access this information, start by performing a search of the property records data."

Pennyslvania -- Official Government Site
http://www.pa.gov/

Pennyslvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations
http://www.pano.org/
PANO is the statewide membership organization serving and advancing the charitable nonprofit sector through leadership, advocacy, education and services in order to improve the quality of life in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Visitor's Network
http://www.pavisnet.com/

State and Local Government on the Net
http://www.statelocalgov.net/

DIGITAL LIBRARIES

Bethlehem Digital History Project
http://bdhp.moravian.edu/home/home.html
"Provides Web access to digitized primary source materials, transcriptions, translations and contextual information relating to the early history of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741–1844."

Beyond Steel
http://digital.lib.lehigh.edu/beyondsteel/
"With an emphasis on industry and society, Beyond Steel: An Archive of Lehigh Valley Industry and Culture highlights the Lehigh Valley's mid nineteenth-century boom through late twentieth-century decline and the continuing community readjustment. Through digitization and presentation of letters, books, photographs, and oral histories we hope to aid researchers in understanding not only the lives of railroad barons and steel titans, but also the experiences of the regular folks who work and live in the community."

Statistical Resources

GENERAL DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

American Factfinder (U.S. Census)
http://factfinder.census.gov/

Pennsylvania State Data Center
http://pasdc.hbg.psu.edu/

SCHOOL INFORMATION

Public School Search (National Center for Education Statistics)
http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/

Private School Search (National Center for Education Statistics)
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/

NOTE: Check school, district, and state department websites, too.

Finding Newspaper Articles

The Morning Call
Online full-text of the Allentown-based newspaper that covers the news for the city of Allentown, the cities of Bethlehem and Easton, and the greater Lehigh Valley. Covers 1984 to the present.
NOTE: The library also has the most recent seven months of The Morning Call in paper, located in the Newspapers section on Level A.

LexisNexis Academic
Indexes and provides full-text of major newspapers, nationally and internationally. Also includes newswires, transcripts of TV and radio broadcasts, and a very limited selection of blogs. Updated daily. Coverage from as early as 1980 to the present, but varies by publication.

Finding Images

See http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/guides/libinst/art/open_access_art.html for tips on finding public domain and non-exclusively licensed images, in compliance with copyright restrictions.

Citing Your Sources

For help using APA Style, consult the following resources:

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.06615 p976m 2001 (at Reference Desk)

Concise Rules of APA Style. (2005). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Reference Desk Reserve 808.06615 C744r (at Reference Desk)

Writer's Handbook (University of Wisconsin--Madison)
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocAPA.html

Trexler Library handout on using APA style: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/library/reshelp/apa_example.pdf.
This and other style guide handouts available from the library website. Library Homepage -- Citation Guides (in the Research Help box).