Child by Design
Ann Keene, our History Librarian, has developed an excellent guide to primary sources in history. Contact her for any indepth research you need to do.
In the Fine Arts, there are 3 types of Primary sources, depending on your interest.
First, the works themselves: paintings, sculptures, music, compositions/scores, textiles, etc.
Second, information about the creator of the work, biographical information. Letters, manuscripts, diaries, records.
Third, information about the social and historical context of the time. Newspaper articles, magazines,
Use the following sources to find period spoken word or musical recordings or period visual images
Smithsonian Global Sound streaming audio database has more than 40,000 individual tracks of music, spoken word, and natural and human-made sounds from Smithsonian/Folkways and other record labels. Included are readings of literary and dramatic works, historic speeches, language instruction, natural sounds, environmental and mechanical sounds, sound effects, children's music, and traditional music from virtually everywhere in the world. Playlists can be created for personal or classroom use.
Naxos Music Library streaming audio database offers over a million tracks of classical, film, world, and folk music. Users can search for music by composer, artist, period, year of composition, instrument, label, duration, mood, or genre. Added features include composer biographies, musical terms glossaries, work analyses, and K-12 curriculum resources. Playlists can be created for personal or classroom use.
American National Biography provides biographical information relating to significant men and women from all periods of United States history. Limited to 5 simultaneous users.
55,000 biographies of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the earliest times to the year 2003. Limited to 3 simultaneous users.
Includes over 700,000 biographical entries covering more than 400,000 notable international figures from all time periods and areas of study.