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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.
Memoirs, Journals, and Letters
One category of primary sources are those written by individuals at the time, describing events during their lives. These include memoirs, journals, diaries, letters, and so on.
Most catalogs (such as our catalog and WorldCat) use standardized terms to describe these kinds of materials, making it easier for researchers to locate them.
Below are terms used and some example searches. To find your own: search the catalog using these terms with your topics. For example, civil war and personal narratives.
- Sample catalog search for "Correspondence""Correspondence" is used to describe compilations of letters.
- Sample catalog search for "Diaries"This is the term used for diaries and journals.
- Catalog search for "Sources" in the Subject Headings"Sources" is used for a wide array of primary source material.
- Sample catalog search for "Personal narratives"This is the term used for diaries and oral histories.
Online Resources
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection, Series 1-5 (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Full-text from more than 6,500 historical periodicals and magazines, provided by the American Antiquarian Society.
- What dates are covered? 1693-1877
- 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.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Archival journal collections in many disciplines, scholarly e-books, images, and primary source materials from institutions worldwide.
- What else should I know? Many journals in JSTOR have an embargo (called the "Moving Wall") on their most recent articles, generally ranging from 3-5 years. Other databases will provide more current results.
- List of National and State Libraries (Wikipedia)
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Provides a directory of national libraries around the world. Some libraries may have digital collections available. - Yale University, Lewis Walpole Library"...a research center for eighteenth-century studies and an essential resource for the study of Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill. Its collections include important holdings of eighteenth-century British prints, drawings, manuscripts, rare books, paintings, and decorative arts." Located in Farmington, CT.