I thought the community would enjoy this resource:
http://www.survivorlibrary.com/ Apparently the maintainer is preparing for a post-EMP (or other apocalyptic cataclysm) society. But the resources he's gathering (Civil War era medical manuals, non-electronic meteorology etc.) collate a lot of info for someone researching how humans might cope in various scenarios (including, I would think, fantasy/alternate universe stories).
Have fun.