What are primary sources?
Primary sources are first-hand accounts or records of a topic or event, created by people who have a direct connection to it. Primary sources are usually created during the time period being studied. Some examples of primary sources are:
- Autobiographies
- Government documents or texts of laws
- Photographs, artworks, video, or audio that capture an event
- Letters, correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks
- Music and lyrics
- Newspapers and news reports
- Speeches and oral histories
- Original research
- Datasets and survey data, like census or economic statistics
In contrast, secondary sources are a step removed from primary sources; they often reference or quote primary sources, but provide interpretation or analysis of the topic and are usually created after the fact by someone who was not directly involved with the event or topic. Some examples of secondary sources are:
- Most books on a topic
- Biographies
- Essays
- Documentaries
- Articles that are not based on an original study or experiment
- Reviews, criticisms, or analyses of historical events or topics
Primary & Archival Databases
The Library provides access to a number of digitized archival and primary sources through the Gale platform.
- Archives Unbound This link opens in a new window
Contains 36 digital collections focused on a wide variety of topics and regions, including the Civil War, Westward Expansion, the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Search all collections, browse by collection or search within individual collections. - U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new windowDeclassified documents from presidential libraries, the Department of State, Department of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United Nations, National Security Council, and other executive agencies.
- Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920 This link opens in a new windowManuscripts, books, and periodicals pertaining to the evolution of crime and how it is perceived, both as a legal matter and in popular culture.
- Slavery and Anti-Slavery This link opens in a new windowA collection devoted to the transatlantic history of slavery. It includes books, manuscripts, court records, serials, pamphlets, and a variety of other primary source materials.
- The Economist Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Fully searchable archive of The Economist's international political, social, and economic analysis, published weekly since 1843.
- Introduction to U.S. History: American Revolution (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window
Personal narratives and memoirs Political pamphlets and speeches, sermons and poems, legislative journals and popular magazines documenting the American Revolution from the earliest protests in 1765 through the peace treaty of 1783. Part of Archives Unbound.
- Introduction to U.S. History: Civil War (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window
Personal narratives and memoirs, pamphlets and political speeches, sermons and songs, regimental histories and photograph albums, legal treatises and children's books documenting the Civil War. Part of Archives Unbound.
- Introduction to U.S. History: Slavery in America (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window
Personal narratives, pamphlets, addresses, political speeches, monographs, sermons, plays, songs, poetic and fictional works published between the 17th and late 19th centuries documenting key aspects of the history of slavery in America. Part of Archives Unbound.
- The Listener Historical Archive, 1929-1991 This link opens in a new window
Complete digital archive of the BBC periodical, The Listener, published from 1929-1991.
- The Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new windowMore than 200 years of The Times of London, one of the most highly regarded resources for 19th and 20th-Century history detailing every complete page of every issue from 1785.
- WAVES, Records for the Asst. Chief, Naval Personnel for Women, 1942–1972 (Archives Unbound) This link opens in a new window
Search and view digitized records collected by the Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel related to the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) branch of the U.S. Naval Reserve. Records included in the collection cover the activities of WAVES from 1942 through 1948, and on their subsequent activities and reunions through 1972.
