How to: Work With Primary Sources

Print Resources in Dinand

Although we often think of primary sources as being located online, some primary sources can also be found in the library. This includes books published during the relevant time period as well as memoirs, collections of essays, and others. 

When searching in the Classic Catalog, used Advanced Search to choose a publication date range. When using CrossSearch, you can check the Catalog box on the left navigation bar to only search for items in the library catalog, then use the date slider to look at publication dates in your time period. 

Remember to watch your keywords -- a book written at the time events took place will use different vocabulary to talk about a the event and related issues than a secondary source published today.  For example, older works on World War I will likely refer to it simply as the Great War or the World War.

Try searching one of the following catalogs: 

and using the SUBJECT field to search by Subject Heading. 

Subject Headings are like tags that identify what a particular book is about.Subject headings can also sometimes include genre information, which helps you identify the types of sources you are looking at. This is particularly useful in searching for primary sources, because the titles of these sources often do not indicate that they are primary sources or what time period they focus on (but the subject headings might). For example: 

Conservation of natural resources -- United States -- History -- Sources.
Germany -- Politics and government -- 1918-1933 -- Sources.
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 -- Sources.
Nature conservation -- United States -- Pictorial works.
United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union -- Sources.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Causes -- Speeches in Congress.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal narratives, American.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.

Searching by SUBJECT will also help you expose the range of materials available on a subject. It will identify instances where there may be a different 'standard' term in use, for instance: 

Of course, many primary sources may also be listed under more generic headings, such as 

Populism -- United States -- History.

If your research will address historical events, movements, etc. in foreign countries, don't forget to also examine the names of the events as they are known in their own countries (both in your keyword searching and in the subject headings). For example, 

Partito nazionale fascista (Italy)

Searching by SUBJECT will also help you expose the range of materials available on a subject. It will identify instances where there may be a different 'standard' term in use, for instance: 

The catalog will also suggest alternate, related subjects that you may want to look into: 

Environmental policy. -- 8 Related Subjects
United States History Civil War, 1861-1865 Campaigns. -- 45 Related Subjects  (lists individual campaigns) 
United States -- Foreign relations -- 21st century. -- See Also the narrower term War on Terrorism, 2001-2009 
World War, 1939-1945 Diplomatic history. -- See Also World War, 1939-1945 Historiography 

Periodicals in Print

Particularly with older primary sources, you will find that there are some articles which the library owns in physical (or microfilm) copy, but not electronically. There is no one single way to locate these articles -- but here are some suggestions below: 

• Use article databases to locate articles from the appropriate time period. The library catalog will tell you which journals we have in physical copy, and where. Then, use the citation you found to browse to the correct volume/year, issue (if applicable) and page number. 
   
• Search the library catalog for periodicals from this time period (either those suggested by your professor, or those you have found elsewhere). Or, browse the periodicals area of the stacks (A call numbers).  Peruse volumes for the appropriate years to look for potentially-relevant sources. 
   
• Use a print index, the pre-cursor to our article databases. Some indexes are located in the Periodicals Room, while others will be in the stacks. Useful indexes include Poole's and the Reader's Guide. Locate the volume(s) for the relevant year(s), then check the index of each for authors and/or subject terms. 

Print Indexes

Before scholars had access to databases, they often referenced print tools such as bibliographies, abstracts and indexes to locate resources for their research. Print indexes are manually-compiled bibliographies of publications meeting certain criteria produced during a given time period (often a year). The organization and content can vary by the purpose of the index, but in general it is usually possible to look up resources by title and author as well as a subject heading. These headings became the subject tags that you see in databases today. 

Why use a print index?

• To find materials not indexed in research databases. Some indexes may have overlap with the content of article databases, but not the same collection of content gathered in the same way.
   
• To find older materials. Often even when a print index has a database counterpart, the dates of coverage vary. For example the online version of Catholic Periodical & Literature Index (above) only covers resources published since 1981. Its print counterpart (under various titles) has coverage all the way back to 1930. 
   
• For a different experience! Electronic databases have definite advantages, but staring at the same search box for hours can hurt your eyes (and your productivity). Trying a change of scene by using a print index might help you think about your topic in a different way. 
   
• Serendipity. Often, when searching for a particular book in the stacks, you might find an equally-useful (or much better) book shelved nearby -- that didn't appear when you searched the catalog. Likewise, because information is organized in a print index in a different way, while reading through the pages you may find yourself stumbling across articles, books, journals or authors that you would not have discovered even with repeated keyword searching. 

Suggested Indexes

Here are some of the print indexes available in Dinand which may be most helpful for your topic:

• The Literary Index to American Magazines - 1815-1865 [PS208 .W44]
• The Literary Index to American Magazines - 1850-1900 [PS214 .W44 1996]

Periodicals on Microfilm

You will find that some older periodical sources are available only on microfilm. Periodicals on microfilm are stored page-by-page in a long row of film, which the user then scrolls through using a special machine and magnifier. 

Dinand has a number of magazines on microfilm. For example: Crisis, Ebony, Essence, Off Our Backs (Women's Liberation Collective), Rolling Stone, Jet, the New Yorker, Sports Woman, USA Today, and US News & World Report. 

Dinand's microfilm collection and microfilm viewing machine are located on the 2nd floor, in the back of the Debate Room. Ask a librarian for help before getting started! 

Microfilm does not come with its own way of "looking up" articles, other than browsing, so you may find it helpful to identify an event and/or date ahead of time -- or to use some of the strategies mentioned elsewhere on this guide to locate the citations for articles. 

Databases@ BPL

With a BPL eCard, available to all Massachusetts residents and resident students, you can also search the following (and many other) resources: 

Periodicals - Newspapers, Magazines, & More

Other Primary Documents - Pamphlets, Correspondence, Journals, etc.

Government Documents

Other Libraries

In addition to the resources available to you immediately online / on-campus, you might want to explore the resources available in other libraries and archives (depending, of course, on the depth of your project!). Some suggestions for doing so are listed below. Feel free to contact me for more ideas! 

Visit the American Antiquarian Society

The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) is an independent research library founded in 1812 in Worcester. The library's collections document the life of America's people from the colonial era through the Civil War and Reconstruction, with resources such as a collection of cartoons from the Civil War. You'll need a letter from your professor, explaining your research.

Explore the library's collections using their Advanced Search.

If you are looking for a newspaper, you can search their list of newspaper holdings.

Explore Archives & Manuscript Collections at Other Libraries

Use WorldCat to explore the catalogs of other libraries around the world. 

Use C19 to browse a variety of 19th century archives.  For help using C19, visit the Guide to....C19 or ask me! 

You can also use WorldCat's Archive Grid (in beta) to explore archival and manuscript descriptions so that you can find libraries, museums and archives related to your topic.