U.S. History: FRASER Digital Library Releases Digitized Archival Docs From Early Days of Federal Reserve
From the Federal Reserve of St. Louis:
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has released newly digitized archival material, making FRASER (Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research) the largest digital collection of Federal Reserve historical materials. These documents offer a glimpse into the founding of the Fed and its policy making activities.
In light of the Fed’s centennial, librarians and archivists have supplemented FRASER with hundreds of documents, maps, charts and illustrations culled from two renowned sources—the National Archives at College Park, Md. (NARA), and the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum in Independence, Mo.
These documents highlight specific themes related to the history of the Federal Reserve System. The topics include:
- Documents related to the Reserve Bank Organization Committee, which selected the cities and boundaries for the 12 Federal Reserve districts.
- The Banking Holiday of 1933, when President Roosevelt ordered the close of banks throughout the U.S. in order to rehabilitate the nation’s struggling banking system.
- Background on the historic Treasury-Federal Reserve Accord, which increased the Fed’s independence.
- The Open Market Investment Committee and Open Market Policy Conference—precursors to today’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
In addition to the archival materials just made available, FRASER also contain selected papers from Marriner Eccles and William McChesney Martin Jr.—two important chairmen from the Fed’s history—as well as speeches from the Chairmen and Governors, and policy documents.
Direct to Records of the Federal Reserve System (via FRASER)
See Also: All Special Collections Available (via FRASER)
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Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Digital Collections, Interactive Tools, Journal Articles, Libraries, Maps, News
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.