Asian American Immigration
Newspapers
For this topic, newspapers are likely to be good sources of information. Just be aware that back issues of local papers are not generally available online. However, a trip to the Urbana Free Library Archives or the University Library's History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library is well worth the effort! See details and links below.
Uni High Library: We keep the previous 10 issues of the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette. The following two databases will get you to older issues. Use your NetID and password to access them from home.
NewsBank Newspapers
This service includes both contemporary and historical databases. Click on Illinois to search for articles from the News Gazette and other small-town Illinois papers back to 1997. Click on Chicago Tribune to search the Tribune back to 1985.
Chicago Tribune, 1849 - 1985
Use this database to get to articles prior to 1986.
Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection
This UIUC project has currently fully digitized the Daily Illini (1916-1925) and the Daily Urbana Courier (1916-1925). To conduct an advanced search, click on More search options next to the search box.
Public library holdings: Search the catalogs of the libraries that are in the Lincoln Trail Libraries System to find out what's available locally. Here's the trick: do a keyword search on “newspapers” and the name of the city or county you are interested in. You will find that the most comprehensive public library newspaper collection in the area is in the Urbana Free Library Archives department. The index is now online!
Newspaper Library (University of Illinois Library): The University of Illinois History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library is a great resource for this project. They hold tens of thousands of reels of microfilm and subscribe to almost 500 current newspapers. From the search page, type in your city and select Illinois as your state.
Library Books
General books on immigration can be found in the 325s while books on Asian American history are typically located in the 973.4095s. Remember that these call numbers will help you in the school library, at any University Library, and at Urbana Free Library and Champaign Public.
When searching, you can use the following subjects for general information on Illinois immigration:
Illinois—Emigration and Immigration
Immigrants—Illinois
Immigrants—Illinois—Champaign County
Immigrants—Illinois—Chicago
Immigrants—Illinois—History
It may also be helpful to first browse a few Asian groups in Illinois, then to focus on their immigration to Illinois:
Chinese Americans—Illinois
Filipino Americans—Illinois
Japanese Americans—Illinois
Korean Americans—Illinois
Vietnamese Americans—Illinois
(and so on, depending on the group you choose)
For general information about Asian immigration, use these subject headings:
Asia—Emigration and immigration
Asians—Migrations
Asians—United States
Databases
Historical Abstracts and America: History & Life
Identifies international articles and books on history since 1450.
Web Sites on Illinois Immigration
Champaign County Historical Archives
For projects on local immigration, consider taking a trip to the Urbana Free Library to look at their archives. Search and browse the index here.
Illinois Alive!
Click on Illinois in the Nineteenth Century for a general overview and resources on the history of Illinois. Click on Emigration, Immigration, and Ethnicity for a few immigration links.
Illinois Issues
Published by the University of Illinois at Springfield, this is "the state's leading public affairs magazine." Search this magazine back to 1975 for Asian immigration at the Illinois Periodicals Online.