State Historical Society of Iowa
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Vachon, John, "Lady signaling operator on old style telephone. Scranton, Iowa," April 1940
A Scranton, Iowa, resident is photographed calling a switchboard operator to connect her call. The 1940 photograph was taken by John Vachon, an employee of the Farm Security Administration, who was employed to publicize the conditions of the rural poor in America.
Vachon, John, "Lady signaling operator on old style telephone. Scranton, Iowa," April 1940. Courtesy of Library of Congress Courtesy of Library of Congress
The online collections catalog has several search options. For a simple keyword search, enter your search term into the main search field and press the search icon or hit enter.
Capital letters and punctuation are not necessary. For personal names, "last name first" order is not necessary.
Use the * symbol to truncate a word in your search.
Click on the "Search" search button to execute the search.
Click on the "Advanced" button to expand to the advanced search options.
Return To TopThe simple search option allows users to conduct a keyword-type search in all of the following fields at once:
All terms entered in the main search box will be combined using the AND Boolean operator. This means that the search results will contain records that have all search terms entered.
Return To TopThe advanced search allows users to search in any combination of the following fields:
As a default, typing in multiple boxes yields results using the AND Boolean operator. Each field has a drop-down menu to the left where the Boolean operator (AND, OR, NOT) may be selected. A Boolean search combines terms with the operators AND, OR, or NOT. AND searches for all terms in the results. OR searches for either or any of the search terms in the results. NOT excludes records which contain the term(s) entered in this field.
Return To TopAfter you conduct a search, you have the option to narrow search results using results filters. Check the boxes for the filters you want to apply, and click on "Submit." To clear filters, click on "Clear filters" and then click "Submit."
Return To TopOn the Search results page, you have the option to bookmark any records. Either click the white check-box next to each record to select individual records, or click the "Select all" at the top of the results. Then click "Bookmark selected records."
Within a Detailed record summary, you can bookmark an individual record by clicking on "Bookmark record" at the top
You can build your set of bookmarked records across multiple searches.
On the Bookmarks page, the Actions column on the left allows for printing, emailing, or downloading a .pdf list of the selected bookmarks. First, select the bookmarks to be printed, emailed, or downloaded by clicking on the check-box for individual records or clicking on "Select all" above the list. Then, click on the desired action ("Print selected, " "Email selected," or "Download report").
Be sure to print or email your bookmarked records before leaving the website, as your bookmarked records will be cleared at the end of your search session.
You must clear any bookmarks from the Bookmarks page. Click on the white check-box for individual records or click on "Select all" above the list. Then, click "Remove from bookmarks" in the Actions column to the left.
Return To TopIf you have questions that have not been answered by the Help page content regarding a function or operation of the database please send us an email.
Return To Top
