Skip to Main Content

Asian American Studies *

Finding Archival Collections

These are some of the best ways to go about finding archival collections on a given topic or person. Some of these catalogs provide online finding aids or records describing collections:

Asian American Archival Collections

Chinese-American Archives

Chinese American Museum  Located in Los Angeles, this museum features exhibits and programming, tours, workshops, and more

Chinese Historical Society of Southern California   Located in Los Angeles, the Society features detailed information about Chinatowns in California and through the US, as well as films, exhibits, and more

Chinese Historical Society (USC Digital Library) The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California Collection documents artifacts excavated from two sites in Southern California. The first site is represented by about 1,040 color images of artifacts from the original Los Angeles Chinatown; an additional 150 images document artifacts from the site of a Chinese laundry in Santa Barbara. These two outstanding Chinese Historical Society of Los Angeles artifact collections are among the largest and best documented assemblage of cultural materials on Chinese settlement in the United States

 

Filipino-American Archives

Filipino American Library  Located in Los Angeles, the Library offers collections, curricular materials, programming, and a timeline of Filipino American history, as well as free periodic bus tours of Los Angeles's Historic Filipinotown

Filipino American National Historical Society Founded in 1982, the Seattle-based Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) is a community-based organization whose mission is “...to preserve, document, and present Filipino American history and to support scholarly research and artistic works which reflect that rich past...”

 

Japanese-American Archives

Densho  Densho's mission is to preserve the history and stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II in camps in the US. Access to Densho's digital archive of internment camp newspapers and other primary sources is available with free registration; other materials are available without registering

Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive (JARDA)  From the University of California, this collection includes photographs, letters and diaries, oral histories, art, and more.

USC Digital Library: Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive, 1941-1946   from the Hearst Collection of the Los Angeles Examiner, this collection documents the relocation of Japanese Americans in California during World War II. These 222 photographs provide a glimpse into the lives of Japanese immigrants and native born Japanese Americans (a.k.a. Nisei) residing in California from 1921 to 1958. 

Japanese American National Museum  Collections and research sites include Museum Collections Online; Hirasaki National Resource Center; and Watase Media Arts Center

Japanese American Relocation Collection  (USC Digital Library) This collection of over 200 photographs from the Hearst collection documents the relocation of Japanese Americans in California during World War II

National Japanese American Historical Society   Founded in 1980, incorporated in 1981 is a non-profit membership organization is dedicated to the collection, preservation, authentic interpretation, and sharing of historical information of the Japanese American experience for the diverse broader national and global community. Originally named Go For Broke, NJAHS changed its name in 1986 to reflect its efforts to share the broader story of this community.

 

 

Korean American Archives

Korean American Digital Archive (USC Digital Library)  This collection brings more than 13,000 pages of documents, over 1,900 photographs, and about 180 sound files together in one searchable collection that documents the Korean American community during the period of resistance to Japanese rule in Korea and reveal the organizational and private experience of Koreans in America between 1903 and 1965.

Korean American Historical Society  Located in Seattle, this organization is dedicated to enriching the collective memory of Korean Americans through collecting, maintaining, and transmitting the heritage and achievements of Koreans living in the United States and abroad.

 

South Asian Archives

The South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)  Founded in 2008, in Philadelphia, PA,in order to document and provide access to the diverse and relatively unknown stories of South Asian Americans. This archive collects information from he South Asian diaspora in the United States, including those who trace their heritage to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the many South Asian diaspora communities across the globe.

South Asia Online Resources   Part of UC Berekely's South/Southeat Asia Library. Includes bibliographies, findng aids for South Asians in North America collection and information about the Archive of the South Asian Diaspora

 

Southeast Asian American Archives

Southeast Asian Archive  This UC-Irvine site provides information about its special collections concerning the experience of Vietnamese, Laotian/Hmong, and Cambodian people in the US and diaspora.

Vietnam Center Archive -  @ Texas Tech University. The mission of this archive is to collect and preserve the documentary record of the Vietnam War, and supports and encourages research and education regarding all aspects of the American Vietnam Experience.