United Farm Workers - Research Guide: Primary Sources

Microfilm allows libraries to have filmed copies of materials we might not otherwise have, due to space considerations.  Materials that have been microfilmed may include one-of-a-kind manuscript collections, newspapers, or large collections of books or documents.

Microfilm must be read on a microfilm reader; these machines are usually available at the appropriate campus library.  You should be able to make photocopies and sometimes can make digital scans, depending on the machine.

Use secondary sources to narrow down your topic and identify dates, names of people and organizations, and types of sources.  If the collection has a guide, use it to identify which rolls of film you need to view.  Some guides are printed and can be found in the Newspaper/Microforms Room; some are online; some are available both in printed and online forms.

Please note:  the Newspaper/Microforms Room has limited hours; check before you go!

Click on the titles of the collections to view the OskiCat record (including the call number) of each item.

Collections of the United Farm Workers of America.  Series 1, Office files of the President...

     online guide to the collection

Collections of the United Farm Workers of America. Series 2, Papers of the United Farm Workers of America Work Department, 1969-1975

     (significant portions of the collection are in Spanish)

Papers of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee 1959 - 1966

     printed guide available in the Newspaper/Microforms Room microfilm guides section,
     call number  Microfilm 79323 guide 

     online guide to the collection

Cesar Chavez and United Farm Workers [electronic resource]/Federal Bureau of Investigation

online

and on microfilm:

FBI file on Cesar Chavez and United Farm Workers

     printed guide available in the Newspaper/Microforms Room microfilm guides section,
     call number Microfilm 77773 guides

     online guide to the collection

Farmworker Movement Documentation Project

Life of Philip Vera Cruz:  Childhood in the Phillippines; Working and Studying in the United States; Labor Organizer; Labor Leader (1982) (oral history)

Chicano Studies/Labor-related videos and DVDs at the Media Resources Center

To find primary sources you may search:

• Catalogs:  OskiCat and MELVYL
• Article Databases
• Primary Source databases provided by the Library
• Internet

For more information, see the Library's Guide to Finding Historical Primary Sources