Primary Sources

The library offers an extensive collection of primary source databases. Below is just a sampling of available databases.

British Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth. Literature, philosophy, history, science, the social sciences, music, art, drama, archaeology and architecture.
EEBO - Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
Digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in English from 1473-1700.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Newspapers, books, manuscripts, maps, and photographs. Simultaneously search: 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, Sunday Times (London), Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), Making of the Modern World, Times Literary Supplement, and Times Digital Archive, Financial Times (London).
History Vault This link opens in a new window
Digitized letters, papers, photographs, scrapbooks, financial records, diaries, and other primary source materials.

• American Indians and the American West
• American Politics and Society
• Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle
• International Relations and Military Conflicts
• Southern Life, Slavery, and the Civil War
• Women's Studies
• Workers and Labor Unions
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975 This link opens in a new window
Explores the dynamic period of social, political, and cultural change in the U.S. and U.K., covering such topics as music and television, the Vietnam war, student protests, the civil rights movement, and women's liberation. Includes the Social Protest Collection from UC Berkeley, a wide range of zines and alternative press publications, posters, and multimedia.
Coverage: 1950-1975.

More Primary Source Databases

Historical Newspapers

17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers This link opens in a new window
English news media from the 17th and 18th centuries: newspapers, pamphlets, and books gathered by the Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817).
Times Digital Archive (London Times) This link opens in a new window
Full images of the pages of The Times (London) including advertising, book reviews, letters to the editor, and obituaries as well as news articles.
Coverage: 1785-2019
ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Historical access to the following newspapers: Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Daily World, The Baltimore Afro-American, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Defender, The Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Tribune, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cleveland Call & Post, The Commercial Appeal, Detroit Free Press, The Globe and Mail, Hartford Courant, The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Advocate, The Jewish Exponent, Korea Times, Knoxville News Sentinel, Leftist Newspapers, Los Angeles Sentinel, Los Angeles Times, Louisville Courier Journal, Michigan Chronicle, New York Amsterdam News, The New York Times, New York Tribune, Norfolk Journal & Guide, The Philadelphia Tribune, Pittsburgh Courier, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, St. Louis Post Dispatch, The Tennessean, The Times of India, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Current News Sources

ProQuest News and Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Direct link to the newspaper section of ProQuest. Includes Alt-Press Watch, Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch, Latin American Newsstand, Canadian Newsstand Complete, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Times of London, and The Tennessean.
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
News and newspaper stories, federal and state court cases, US law reviews and journals, company profiles and directories. Company Dossier; data on public figures.
Access Note: Personal account required for some functionality.

America in World War Two: Oral Histories and Personal Accounts This link opens in a new window
Oral histories, correspondence, diaries, photographs, artifacts, and military records of American military personnel and civilians show how World War Two changed American society and the economy, how it impacted individuals and their families, and the legacy of the war in human terms.
Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies This link opens in a new window
Collection of interviews with Holocaust survivors and witnesses that detail a wide range of experiences, including imprisonment in concentration camps, living in hiding, fighting with partisans or the resistance, rescuing and protecting those targeted by Nazi persecution, and escape to Allied or neutral countries.

First time users must register for an account then search for and request access to an initial testimony. You only need to request access to one testimony to obtain viewing rights for the entire collection. Users must always be logged in to the site to view videos. Detailed instructions for access can be found at http://fortunoff.library.yale.edu/archive/search.

Off-campus access is not working at this time.
HistoryMakers Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Oral history interviews with both well-known and unsung African American artists, business leaders, scientists, athletes, and intellectuals.
Visual History Archive (USC Shoah Foundation) This link opens in a new window
Streaming video collection of primary source testimonies of survivors and witnesses of crimes against humanity.

IMPORTANT: Streaming clips from the Television News Archive from off-campus requires the installation of the Pulse VPN service and the use of Duo Multi-Factor Authentication. You can find detailed information about the Pulse VPN and Duo as well as download files on Vanderbilt's Information Technology page: https://it.vanderbilt.edu/services/catalog/end-point_computing/network_access/remote-access/index.php

Vanderbilt Television News Archive This link opens in a new window
The world's most extensive and complete archive of television news. All individual network evening news broadcasts since 1968 and special news-related programming since 1989.