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What Primary Sources Do You Need?
First, consider what kinds of primary sources you might need.
| Personal journals, letters, memoirs |
Libraries (Books) Archives (Personal papers) |
| Newspapers, magazines |
Libraries (Databases and archives) Archives (Individual articles) Newspaper web sites |
| Films, images |
Libraries Film archives Web sites |
From there, plan your approach. Many library catalogs list archival materials, but others include archival materials in a separate area of their web sites. Browse library home pages for links to their "Archives" or "Special Collections" pages. (There is a link to URI's Special Collections on the Home page of this guide, but many local public libraries contain their own archives.)
If you're using a catalog, play around with your search terms. Many tools use a standardized vocabulary to describe items. For example, academic library catalogs like ours use the Subject subheadings "Personal narratives," "Correspondence," and "Diaries" to classify certain types of information. Look at likely results to form further searches. WorldCat uses the same naming conventions, but other sources may use different terms.
Tools for Searching for Primary Sources
- First World War (AM) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Portal showcasing a wealth of primary source material encompassing all aspects of the First World War. Includes diaries and letters, manuscript collections, official documents and correspondence, extracts from local newspapers, newsletters, pamphlets and leaflets, artwork and posters, sketches and paintings, cartoons, postcards, scrapbooks and albums, photographs, film clips, and a wide range of ephemera. Comprises three sub-collections: Propaganda and Recruitment, Personal Experiences, and Visual Perspectives and Narratives.
- EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History
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Links to primary source materials about Europe. Maintained by the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University. - Europeana
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Digital archive of over two million images, texts, sounds, and videos from libraries, museums, and archives across Europe.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Le Monde (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Page image and full-text of the French-language newspaper Le Monde from 1944-2000.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Page image and full-text index to The New York Times. Additional year of content added annually.
- What dates are covered? 1851 - 2018.
- Times Digital Archive (Gale Primary Sources) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? An online, full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of The Times (of London). Includes every complete page of every issue.
- What dates are covered? 1785 - 2019.
- British Pathé Archive (YouTube)
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Contains 85,000 historical newsreels, all uploaded to YouTube in HD format. Includes archival war footage, fashion, and additional cultural footage.
Examples of Primary Sources at URI
- Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg Military Tribunals under Control Council law no. 10, Nuremberg, October 1946-April, 1949Call Number: URI Govt Pub D 102.8: v.1-15
- Law reports of trials of war criminals byCall Number: Carothers Library Stacks JX6731 W3 U6 v.1-14Publication Date: 1947-1949
- The Menshevik trial : the text of the indictment of the counter-revolutionary Menshevik organisationCall Number: Carothers Library Stacks DK266 M4Publication Date: 1931