Primary Sources

What are Primary Sources?
Primary Source Databases

A primary source is a document or other sort of evidence written or created during the time under study, or by one of the persons or organizations directly involved in the event. Primary sources offer an inside view of a particular event. Some types are:

Original Documents (excerpts or translations acceptable)

Diaries
Speeches
Letters
Interviews
News film footage
Autobiographies

Creative Works

Drama
Novels
Music
Art
Films

Artifacts

Clothes
Jewlery
Pottery

Useful Keywords When Searching for Primary Sources in the Library Catalog

Diaries		Correspondence

Sources		Personal narratives

18th century		Biography

Interview

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.
British Library Newspapers This link opens in a new window
National and regional newspapers representing different political and cultural segments of British society.
Coverage: 1732-1950.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 This link opens in a new window
English-language original source material detailing China¹s interaction with the West. Provides insight into customs, events, and the monumental social and political upheaval that recreated China as a modern power.
Coverage: 1793-1980.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new window
Digital images of books published during the 18th Century in the areas of history, geography, social sciences, religion and philosophy, general reference, fine arts, literature and language, law, medicine, science and technology.
Coverage: 1701-1800.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, statistics, and more. Collections: British Politics and Society, Asia & The West, British Theatre and Popular Culture, Corvey Collection of European Literature, Europe and Africa, Photography, Science, Technology, and Medicine Parts 1 & 2, Women Transnational Networks, Children Literature and Childhood, Mapping the World, Religion and the Periodical.
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. User Limit: 2.
Making of the Modern World This link opens in a new window
Digital facsimile images of unique primary sources that track the development of the modern, western world through the lens of trade and wealth. History, political science, social conditions, technology and industry, economics, area studies, etc.
Coverage: 1450-1930.