IST 605: Sears, Roebuck, and Company Catalog Houses

Welcome to the Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalog Houses LibGuide! Here you will find links to resources that will help you on your research journey about mail-order house kits, specifically ones created, sold, and shipped by Sears, Roebuck and Company during the early 20th century (1908-1940). This LibGuide offers a variety of links and resources for people who are just starting their research. From encyclopedia entries with basic information to articles discussing the rise and downfall of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and even links to digital copies of the original catalogs distributed during the early 1900s, this LibGuide will help guide you in your research.  This guide is meant to help you get started in your research and lead you to resources that will have relevant information. Many resources linked here have other sources referenced or linked on their own pages to help you delve deeper into the history of mail-order house kits. Check out the search strategies for help with search terms and suggestions for both website and database searching.

Suggested search terms:

• Sears Houses
• Catalog houses
• Mail-order houses
• House kits
• Sears, Roebuck and Company
• Kit homes

Database Search Strategies:

• Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to help limit your searches
• Quotation marks will help refine your search by looking for the words/phrase within the quotes. This may help eliminate irrelevant search results that only contain one word from your search term.
• Filter the search results by the “peer-reviewed” option to find academic articles, journals, and books that have been reviewed by experts in the field.
• You can search by title and/or author in an advanced search if you’re looking for a source mentioned in another resource. This may help limit the results.

Search Engine Strategies

• Use nouns and key concepts in your searches rather than full sentences
• Traditional database search strategies often won’t work in search engines (like Boolean operators)
• Quotation marks can help connect a phrase, often bringing more relevant results.
• The first result is not always the best! Filter through search results to see what else you might find.
• Utilize “incognito mode” to try to broaden search results and eliminate filters your everyday searching may have taught the search engine.
• Start broad and then narrow your searches. Look for additional search terms to help you find the most relevant information.