Do-It-Yourself Library: Primary Sources
I Am Looking for Primary Sources
In the arts and humanities a primary source is a source created during the historical period being studied. It documents the subject of study in some way. In the sciences "primary source" refers to an original research study.
This page focuses on primary sources for the arts and humanities. Examples of such primary sources include:
| Newspaper accounts | Letters, diaries, and scrapbooks |
| Government documents (research data, statistics, congressional transcripts, laws, etc.) |
Personal accounts, autobiographies, memoirs |
| Images and museum artifacts | Speeches |
| Data from scientific experiments | Oral histories |
Other types of information may also be primary sources if they are analyzed for their historical or cultural significance. You can use this tool from Library of Congress to Use this tool to record your responses to a primary source.
Search Google Books.
If your topic relates to an event that occurred before 1925, there are likely relevant primary sources available in the public domain. Google Books has digitized and made available many such books.
Search for a specific work or for a general topic. Note, however, that Google Books also lists resources that are only available to preview. Look for resources with publication dates before 1925 and with a Read Preview link. The Advanced Book Search allows you to limit to Full view only books.
