History - Primary Documents

Primary Sources are materials in any format that provide first-hand information on an event, place, or person.

First Person Eyewitness Accounts  

• Diaries, Correspondence, Memoirs, Photos, Films
• Legal Documents, Government Reports
• Data, Statistics, Census, Maps
• Newspaper Accounts, Books from the time period.

Formats: actual artifact or facsimile  copy (microfilm, print, or digital)

• Digital Archives: from Museums, Libraries, Research  Centers.
• Databases of Primary Source Materials. (CCU  users only)
• Online Newspaper Collections
• Print or Microfilm Collections through the online catalog

This guide is a starting point and provides you with access to selected digital resources that contain primary documents and provides listings of some of the print and microfilm primary resources available at University Libraries.

Additional digital resources on your topic maybe available on the web.

Effective searches usually include the topic or time period and words like: archive (s), e-text, primary, diary, letters, manuscripts, memoir, etc.

Secondary Sources interpret events after they have happened. Journal articles, research reports, and books are examples of secondary sources.

Secondary Sources can be found in journal databases:

Books can be found through University Libraries' catalog, PASCAL, or WorldCAT.