Research Resources
Numbers, Stats, Etc:
- Social explorer allows you to make charts and maps with Census and American Community Survey (5 year) data.
- Compare years, regions, etc.
- Accessing Social Explorer through Hunter College will allow you greater functionality of use, and you can upgrade your membership so you can continue to use these upgraded functions at home.
- Infoshare draws from a wider range of information sources than Social Explorer, including “population statistics, immigration trends, socio-economic indicators, birth and death data, hospitalizations, local trade data,” etc. Read more about Infoshare here and basic information about how to use both Social Explorer and Infoshare here.
US Census – American Fact Finder
- The US Census tool for exploring census data.
- Similar content to Social Explorer and Infoshare, plus some additional economic data – such as Economic Census 2012
- Info on Census historical data
NYC OASIS (Open Accessible Space Information System)
- Shows NYC land use data in map form, including historical data.
And more data…
- New York Department of City Planning Population Division Website with publications, especially The Newest New Yorkers(2013)
- New York City Census FactFinder
- Census Bureau Website
- New York Department of Education data
- Bytes of the Big Apple, “software, data and geographic base map files for the City of New York.” (These are big files, but there’s some great stuff, including PLUTO land use and zoning data)
- NYC Open Data and presentation about what’s available in and how to use NYC Open Data.
- I Quant NYC is a blog telling stories using NYC Open Data
- Criminal Court Summonses in New York City, a 2014 guide
- InvestigateNYC, a website that combines some of the resources put out by New York City and explains how to use these resources.
Digital Archives
General
Digital Public Library of America, a collection of 8 million+ digitized resources from public libraries across America. Rights to reuse and cite materials will vary by item, but can be found in the catalog description of the item.
Oral History
NYPL Oral History Archive
Newspapers
- Brooklyn Public Library Historical Newspaper Archives available online
- NYPL Neighborhood Research Suggestions
- NYPL Newspaper Databases – some must be searched on microfiche or from library computers, others are available online with a NYPL library card
- Queens Library digital collections (newspapers, photos, etc)
- Old Fulton Postcards, personally-maintained database of 28,300,000+ historical newspaper pages from the USA & Canada
- Library of Congress, historic newspapers database, which includes a number of New York papers like The Sun and the New-York Tribune.
- Brooklyn Public Library, digital collections on Brooklyn, including The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a local daily newspaper that ran from 1841-1955
Photos
- Find a 1980 photo of any NYC building (or lot)
- 1940’s New York (maps and photos)
- NYC Municipal Archives Gallery
- NY Public Library Digital Collections
- Includes postcards and maps
- Google Streetview archives (only back to 2007)
- NYC Tax Photos from 1940/1980:
- New York City Municipal Archives Online Gallery, 900,000+ NYC photographs. Check the front page main text and footer text for information on reuse of images.
- New York Public Library Digital Collection, 800,000+ digitized images across NYPL’s collections. Read the general policy on reuse and citation of NYPL images here.
Maps and Buildings Research:
NYPL Map Warper, an online collection of New York Public Library’s public domain maps
NYC Interactive Maps, A list of links from the NYPL for other digital resources providing information on NYC maps
NYC Fire Insurance, Topographic and Property Maps, Maps from the NYPL from the mid nineteenth century through the first half of the twentieth century
Map of Building Dates in NYC This map provides a visual representation of the date of construction of every building in NYC. It may not be exact for the building, but can help you figure out the general neighborhood history!
City Realty Neighborhood Stats Real estate prices for some neighborhoods, including maps & graphs over time
Brooklyn Library Introduction to Buildings Research
NYPL Guide to Researching Your Home’s History (or any other building)
Digital Tax Map: http://gis.nyc.gov/taxmap/hist
Old NYC interactive map (drawing on several of these resources): http://www.oldnyc.org/
One Model of a Digital Micro-History Project — Green Street Project: Long History of a Short Block http://www.greenestreet.nyc/
In Person Archives
Some have digital collections as well
- New York Historical Society, links to the digital collections available
- Wyckoff House Museum, 17th century house (and now museum) in Canarsie, Brooklyn
- Lefferts Historic House, 18th century house (and now museum) in Flatbush, Brooklyn
- Brooklyn Historical Society, details on collections & materials available onsite & online
- New York Public Library Research Guides, online guides about how to research certain topics. A selection of relevant ones appear below.
- How to Find Historical Photos of New York City, an NYPL research guide about how to find historical NYC photos at NYPL, online at NYPL, and online through other institutions
- Early New York, an NYPL research guide to finding resources on the period of NYC history dating to Henry Hudson’s arrival.
