Baseball Resources at the Library of Congress

Starting Points

For the beginning baseball researcher, there are several excellent starting points for becoming acquainted with research strategies, resources, and publications in the field of baseball. Three of these starting points are listed below. Other starting points, such as the Library's online catalog and subscription databases, as well as other Web sites, are discussed elsewhere on this guide.

Research Guides

Tomblinson, Gerald, ed. How to Do Baseball Research. Cleveland: Society for American Baseball Research, 2000. [catalog record]

Although published in 2000, this guide remains a valuable resource for understanding the basic principles of baseball research, especially for individuals interested in conducting original research. The first eight chapters of the book, each written by a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, introduce readers to keys to good baseball research, the value of libraries and archives, important print publications and online resources, and how to locate and analyze baseball photographs. Some of the resources discusses in the book are obsolete, but the general research strategies and concepts, as well as most of the major publications, make How to Do Baseball Research essential reading for anyone beginning to conduct in-depth baseball research.

Bibliographies

Smith, Myron J. The Baseball Bibliography. 4 vol. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2006. [catalog record; table of contents]

The Baseball Bibliography is the most comprehensive print bibliography of baseball publications, with more than 57,000 references to resources documenting all aspects of baseball. The 4-volume set is divided into seven major categories (Reference Works; General Works, History, and Special Studies; Professional Leagues and Team; Youth League, College, Foreign, and Amateur; Baseball Rules and Techniques; Collective Biography; Individual Biography) and indexes a multitude of print sources, including books and monographs, scholarly papers, government documents, doctoral dissertations, masters' theses, poetry and fiction, novels, professional team yearbooks, college and professional All-Star Game and World Series programs, commercially produced yearbooks, and periodical and journal articles.

The Baseball Index. Bibliography Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research. < http://www.baseballindex.org/ >

Begun in 1990, The Baseball Index (TBI) is a free online bibliography of baseball literature. TBI includes more than 200,000 references to sources that include books, magazine articles, programs, pamphlets, films, recordings, songs, poems, cartoons, and advertising. TBI is regularly updated by volunteers working with the Bibliography Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research.