Research and Course Guides: Topic :Minnesota & Twin Cities History: Find Primary Sources

Find Primary Sources in Books

Search LibrarySearch to find primary sources in books and ebooks. When searching the catalog, 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 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 Books, Newspapers and Magazine Articles

* Northwestern Chronicle (microfilm , 1866- 1935)
Minnesota's first Catholic newspaper, which including news from the Upper Midwest. No index is available.

* Catholic Bulletin (microfilm, 1911 - 1995)
The official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul/Minneapolis. No index is available. Digitized copies of issues from 1911 - 1922 are available on the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub.

Catholic News Archive
A collection of digitized Catholic newspapers from across the United States including the Catholic Worker and the National Catholic Reporter.

Star Tribune (historical) This link opens in a new window
Complete searchable content of the Star Tribune (including all title variations) from 1867 to 2001 including all articles, editorials, advertisements, and photographs.

Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub
A digital collection of historical newspapers from across Minnesota.
Chronicling America - Minnesota Newspapers
Digital versions of the Minneapolis Journal (1901 - 1906), the St. Paul Daily Globe (1878 - 1905), and the Western Appeal/ The Appeal (1885 - 1922) are among the newspaper titles available on this site.

ProQuest US Newsstream, including Star Tribune This link opens in a new window
This resource indexes the Star-Tribune (Minneapolis) from 1986 to the present. A print index to the Star-Tribune for the years 1976 - 1986 is available in the microfilm room on the Second Floor of the OSF Library along with the microfilm from 1977 - forward.
St. Paul Pioneer Press (archive) This link opens in a new window
Index to the Pioneer Press (St. Paul) newspaper from 1988 - present. A print index to the Pioneer Press covering 1971- 1996 is availabe in the microfilm room on the second floor of the OSF Library. The Library also has microfilm for this newspaper from 1966 - present.
Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window
In this database, you will find full-text content and images from numerous newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S. The collection encompasses the entire 19th century, with an emphasis on such topics as the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life.
American Periodicals Series This link opens in a new window
With this database you have access to 1,500 magazines, newspapers and popular journal titles published in the United States dating 1741 through the 1930s.
Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Use the Readers' Guide Retrospective index to locate articles published in popular press magazines and journals dating from 1890 to 1982.
Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500–1926 This link opens in a new window
Sabin Americana, 1500–1926 is digital archive of books, pamphlets, serials and other works about North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean the from the time of their discovery to the early 1900s.

Find Digital Collections

UST Historic Publications
A collection of digitized historical University of St. Thomas publications.
Minnesota Digital Library
A digital collection featuring materials highlighting Minnesota history
Digital Collections at the Minnesota Historical Society
Links to digital collections from the Minnesota Historical Society, including the Minnesota Newspaper Hub.
Hallie Q. Brown Community Archives
Materials from the Hallie Q. Brown Community Archives (HQBCA), primarily relating to the Rondo Neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota,

Find Archival Collections

Minnesota Historical Society
The collections at the MHS document all aspects of Minnesota history.

Special Collections - Central Library (Minneapolis) - Hennepin County Library
An extensive Minneapolis Collection is held here,

Hennepin History Museum
The historical society for Hennepin County

Ramsey County Historical Society
The historical agency of Ramsey County

Minnesota Historical Organizations
A list of local Minnesota historical organizations arranged by county