As to be expected with any archival collection, we may have a tremendous wealth of information on a particular individual or subject but have next to nothing on a really exciting and important figure or topic. You may have your heart set on researching Elisabeth Zinser to find that we only have one thin box of papers and news clippings about her. Here we'll list a few possible topics for research based on our experience and familiarity with our resources.

One important tip to remember before starting any research project in the archives. Start with the vertical files.

--Religion and the Deaf. We have plenty of various periodicals of different churches throughout different eras in Deaf history. We also have large Manuscript collections of various Deaf religious leaders and clergy as well as collections of Deaf churches. We also have a collection of Deaf Jewish papers that are slated for processing and will be open to the public for research in the upcoming future.

--Art and the Deaf. We own more than 1,300 artworks. Those artworks can give you a good primary source analysis for Deaf Art History. We also have manuscript collections of artists and art historians at your disposal.

--University Presidents. We maintain both professional and personal collections of past Gallaudet Presidents. Each president, with the exceptions of Dr. Johns and Dr. Zinser, have resourceful collections rich with material. See our Presidents Reference Page for further information.

--Deaf and Industry/Labor. Benjamin M. Schowe Senior's collection in itself is very impressive and quite large. His collection, in addition to other resources available in the archives, can give you an excellent insight in Deaf Labor during the early and mid 20th century. We also have Tom L. Anderson's collection as well as a digitized Silent Worker collection to further research in this topic.

For further ideas, we have prepared an expanded list of topics kept on file in the Archives Reading Room.