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HIST 114 Modern United States in Global Perspective: Find Primary Sources

What is a Primary Source

What is a Primary Resource?

Primary sources provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence created by participants and/or observers of a historical event or time period enabling researchers to get as close to the truth of what actually happened. Often, these materials are created at the time when the events or conditions occured. However, primary sources can also include autobiographies, memoirs and oral histories that are written or recorded later. 

Primary sources are characterized by their content not their format.  Therefore, primary sources can be found in published books, on microfilm/microfiche, in digital form or in their original format.

The following types of materials are generally considered primary resources:

  • Diaries or journals
  • Letters or other manuscripts
  • Speeches and interviews
  • Photographs
  • Sound recordings
  • Video or motion picture recordings
  • Memoirs and autobiographies. 
  • Published materials (books, magazine and/or newspaper articles)
  • Government documents
  • Objects and artifacts

Find Primary Sources in Books

Search LibrarySearch to find primary sources in books and ebooks.   When searching, you will want to use specific subject headings in your searches to single out the primary source materials.  These subject headings are specialized "tag" added to the records to books by catalog librarians to provide accurate descriptions of books.  Using the following subject headings in your search will help you find the source material you seek:

correspondence personal narratives
literary collections  pictorial works 
diary or diaries songs and music
sources  

Find Period Boooks, Magazines and Newspaper Articles