Panama Canal Museum Collection: Searching

The Panama Canal Museum Collection (PCMC) primarily is comprised of archival materials and museum objects, including correspondence, photographs, ephemera, historical artifacts, manuscripts, etc. These materials are accessible via the Grand Reading Room in Smathers Library and they can be discovered using the Panama Canal Museum Inventory database (PCMI). Researchers are strongly encouraged to contact curators because the collection is currently being reorganized and some materials are not fully described in the PCMI database. Additionally, some of these objects are digital resources (e.g., oral history interviews), and are best discovered by searching the Digital Library of the Caribbean as well as PCMI.

Published resources including books, reports, and periodicals are primarily available in the Latin American & Caribbean Collection. Maps are held in the Maps and Imagery Library. These printed resources, along with government documents, are best discovered using the library catalog. Note that some printed materials may be found with the archival materials (e.g., news clippings, article reprints, individual newspaper issues, maps found in travel brochures, etc.). Consult with PCMC curators when searching for resources.

Descriptions of the archival materials and artifacts in the collection are best discovered by using the PCMI database:

https://apps.uflib.ufl.edu/pcmci/

Search Tips:

• The search is interpreted exactly as entered. Entering George W. Goethals searches for that exact phrase and it will not find records that include "Colonel Goethals" or "Geo. Goethals". To find all records containing the name Goethals simply enter Goethals.

• The search is conducted on these fields: Title, Description, Accession Number.

• The search results indicate when items are "Available Online". Click on that link to open the digital object.

• The Advanced Search is not functional at this time.

On the PCMI home page, select "Search" on the menu and then select "All Items". This lists all records in the database.

Enter your search term/phrase in the search box.

Use the Library Catalog to search for books, periodicals, and maps.

https://ufl-flvc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01FALSC_UFL:UFL&lang=en

Use the "Refine your results" options to sort or limit your results list.

To search for Maps, open Advanced Search: https://ufl-flvc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01FALSC_UFL:UFL&lang=en&mode=advanced

• Click on UF Library Catalog
• Under Material Type, select "Maps"
• Any field contains: Panama
• Or Any field contains: Canal Zone

To search the digital collection, use either UF Digital Collections or the Digital Library of the Caribbean:

https://dloc.com/collections/pcm

Search tips:

• Try using quotation marks to find specific names or phrases:
  • “George W. Goethals”
  • “George Goethals”
  • “Thatcher Ferry”
• When searching for names, try variations:
  • “George W. Goethals”
  • “G.W. Goethals”
  • “Goethals George” (with last name first)
• Pay attention to the “Matched From” text below the search result. It shows the place(s) where it found the text you searched for.

When you get search results, you can limit your results by using the “Filter By” options.

Use Mediatype to limit by format/genre (e.g., photos, newspapers, etc.).

After selecting a media type (e.g., Photograph) it will appear in the “Active Filters” box. You can remove this filter by clicking on the minus (-) symbol.

You can also sort results alphabetically or chronologically:

Use the Advanced Search to search in specific fields (by donor, country of publication, etc.):