LibGuides: Research Smarter: Information Literacy Skills: Primary Sources

Videos

Video: Primary Sources [Credo Instruct information literacy modules]
A short video explainer [3:43]

Recommended Library Databases with Primary Sources

The following databases are recommended for finding primary sources. Many also include secondary or tertiary sources.

Access to these online subscription resources is restricted to NWACC students, faculty, and staff. Please use your My NWACC Connection login credentials if prompted.

Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window Academic Video Online: Premium is Alexander Street's most comprehensive video subscription. Launched in 2013, this expansive resource comprises the full content of dozens of video collections and bonus discipline clusters, and grows by 7,000 titles each year.
Access World News This link opens in a new window NewsBank's Access World News database features full-text articles from national and world newspapers and transcripts of broadcast news reports. The database includes full text from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (2015-present), Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (1994-present), Arkansas Times (2004-present), Arkansas Traveler (2004-present), Benton County Daily Record (2001-2015), Morning News of Northwest Arkansas (2004-2009), Northwest Arkansas Times (2001-2015), Rogers Morning News (2009-2015), and Springdale Morning News (2009-2015).
American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window A comprehensive collection of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912. 50 thematic collections from the American Antiquarian Society may be searched separately or in combination. Full-text results include digitized images of magazines and journals covering advertising, health, women's issues, science, the history of slavery, industry and professions, religious issues, culture and the arts, and more.
Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window Delivers fast and easy access to high-quality, comprehensive information. The rich combination of the insightful Encyclopædia Britannica plus Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, magazines and periodicals, and many other research tools provides the variety of reliable sources that students need to consult when conducting thorough research—all from one resource.
JSTOR Arts & Sciences I & V This link opens in a new window Provides access to the highest-quality academic journals, books, and primary sources in art and art history, classical studies, history, language and literature, music, philosophy, and political science. Collections on JSTOR include the complete archival record of each journal. Coverage begins at the first volume and issue of the journal ever published, and extends up to a publication date usually set in the past three to five years.

Free Online Primary Sources

Exploring Chronicling America Newspapers: All Digitized Titles (Map and Timeline) from The Library of Congress
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This visualization features a map that shows approximate locations of digitized newspapers available in the Library of Congress' Chronicling America Historic American Newspapers collection. Explore the newspapers by clicking the dots on the map and access a time slider in the lower left hand corner to interact with the newspaper publishing timeline.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
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Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
History Central: Primary Source Documents in American History
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Speech transcripts, U.S. Supreme Court proceedings, reports and more organized by time periods.
John F. Kennedy Historic Speeches (videos & transcripts)
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Video, transcripts, and audio recordings from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
Library of Congress Primary Source Sets
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Themed lists of primary source document sets from the Library of Congress.
National Archives Online Public Access Catalog
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Access primary documents of historical importance, including the Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, military records, ancestry records, and much more.
Our Documents
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Gathered from the National Archives and Records Administration, this list of "Milestone Documents" includes sources related to the establishment of the Peace Corps, the moon landing, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the March on Washington, Voting Rights Act, and more.
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Documents and contextualizes Dr. King's speeches, public remarks, and private correspondences.
Project Gutenberg
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Free ebooks with expired copyrights.
Selected Library of Congress Resources for Arkansas
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A sample of the many Arkansas resources available for free from the Library of Congress.

Primary Source Analysis Tool

Primary Source Analysis Tool
This nifty resource from the Library of Congress allows you to record, save, and email your responses to primary sources. The suggested prompts will help you determine how a source might add value to your research.