Search Tips for Primary Sources
Be mindful of your search terms. Think of the language of the period -- including special formatting or other 'quirks.' Think also about specific names of people and organizations.
Use the database limiter tools. Many primary resources can be browsed (or in the case of online tools, searched) by publication date, or by geographic location.
Note the order of your results. Some primary source databases default to sorting by date. In some cases, sorting by relevance may be more helpful.
Don't just search -- browse. In addition to reading articles that come up in your search results, spend some time looking over pages of newspapers to see what other articles are covering from the time period. By looking beyond a single article, you'll learn about other issues from the time period and possibly see Letters to the Editors and advertisements which can provide historical context.
Start early. It can be more difficult to find relevant primary sources. You may also need more time to decipher, digest, and interpret the content of your primary sources. Leave yourself plenty of time, pace yourself, and ask questions or for assistance earlier rather than later.
Suggested Resources
Databases @ HC Libraries:
Below is a list of selected primary source databases that might be helpful for your research. Since each topic is unique, some databases will be better for your topic than others. Be sure to note the date and geographic coverage for these databases to determine which ones will provide sources for the topic you are researching.
We have over 60 primary source databases, so it's impossible to list every possibility here. You may want to review our full list of primary source databases, here. Need a recommendation? Ask a librarian! We have a good sense of what's available in the library's collections.
REMEMBER to consider....
Primary Documents - Pamphlets, Correspondence, Journals, etc.
- American Indian Histories & Cultures
- Digital Commonwealth (Massachusetts Collections Online) This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Historical sources owned by libraries, museums and other institutions in the state of Massachusetts, browsable by topic, institution, format or location.
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1701-1800
British and American primary sources from the 18th century. - Empire Online This link opens in a new window
Primary sources in English relating to empire building around the world and especially the British Empire.
Early Books & Printed Materials
- EEBO: Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1473-1700
Historical ebooks published in English in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America.
- HathiTrust Digital LibraryHathiTrust is a repository of digitized books drawn from major research libraries in the United States. The library contains millions of books of all different dates and subjects. Certain parts of the collection are restricted, but many books are free online.
Newspapers & Other Periodicals
For more suggestions & recommendations, see the Start Here! tab of this guide.
- American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals, Series 1 This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1684-1820
Early American newspapers and magazines, digitized at the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) in Worcester. - American Periodicals Series This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1740-1940
Historic magazine and journal articles, including professional, childrens' and womens' magazines. - Chronicling America This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Date(s): 1777-1963
Historic newspapers from all different U.S. states, hosted by the Library of Congress.
Government Documents
- HeinOnline: Government, Politics & Law for Academics This link opens in a new window
A library of legal resources including law journals; government, legal and diplomatic documents; books; reports; and historical sources.
Images
- ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Library of images relating to art and architecture, humanities, and social sciences.
Suggested Web Resources:
There are many wonderful primary source collections available online through various museums, libraries and other cultural institutions. Below are listed a few that you might find useful:
- Archive of Early American ImagesImages of colonial America scanned from sources printed and/or created 1492-1825. Available through the John Carter Brown library.
- Early Americas Digital ArchiveAvailable through the University of Maryland.
- Library of Congress Digital CollectionsThe Library of Congress has many wonderful online collections of primary sources from a variety of historical periods.
- Smithsonian Learning LabDiscovery platform for millions of Smithsonian digital images, recordings, texts, and videos in history, art and culture, and the sciences.
...and others! Let me know if you'd like help locating some for your specific topic.
Databases @ BPL:
With a BPL eCard, available to all Massachusetts residents and resident students (even if you're currently learning from out-of-state), you can also search the following (and many other) resources:
Newspapers & Other Periodicals:
Primary Documents - Pamphlets, Correspondence, Journals, etc.
- Making of the Modern World Includes books, serials, pamphlets, essays and more. Tracks the development of the modern, western world through the lens of trade and wealth.
- Sabin Americana, 1500-1926Contains books, pamphlets, serials and other documents about the Americas from 1500 to the early 1900's.