Researching History with Primary Sources
September 25, 2024 2024-09-26 17:09Primary Sources and Historical Research
Primary sources are a core part of any historian's research toolbag. RMC Library has many databases and resources to help you! If you ever need research assistance please email library@rocky.edu
What are primary sources?
"Primary sources are items that are directly associated with their producer or user and the time period in which they were created. Examples include diaries, newspaper articles, government documents, clothing, photographs, oral interviews, and news broadcasts. A primary source reflects the authority and perspective of someone who directly experienced what they are describing." from The Information Literate Historian
Some common categories of primary sources include:
- Public records
- Official records
- Personal documents
- Artifacts/relics
- Business and organization documents
- Historical periodicals and books
Resources at RMC Library
You can filter our A to Z list of databases to see only things that include Primary Sources. Just use the buttons near the top of the list of databases.
Also, our Power Search will help you find books in our collection that are primary sources. If you need any assistance please email library@rocky.edu and we'll be happy to help.
Additional Primary Sources
Fortunately for researchers there are a wide variety of wonderful primary sources available on the web.
Books
HathiTrust Digital Library - HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world. Includes Primary Source books and documents
Internet Archive - Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, and more.
Project Gutenberg -Project Gutenberg offers over 54,000 free eBooks. Select free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online.
Google Books - Index of full-text books
US Government Documents
- Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) - The finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive information for historical and current publications as well as direct links to the full document, when available.
- GovInfo - A more user friendly search experience compared to the CGP but also doesn't search as many different sources. Still great!
- The American Presidency Project - Includes more than 100,000 documents related to the study of the Presidency including public papers, proclamations, addresses, and executive orders.
- Library of Congress | Digital Collections - An absolute goldmine of primary sources.
Additional Online Sources
1914-1918 Online International Encyclopedia of the First World War This online encyclopedia of the First World War "is the result of an international collaborative project involving more than 1,000 authors, editors, and partners from over fifty countries."
British History Online Digital library of sources for medieval and modern British history, including county/local, London, and parliamentary history.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project Well-organized collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use.
Official Documents of the United Nations Includes all types of official UN documents since 1993 with older documents continuing to be added. "ODS also provides access to the resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council from 1946 onwards."
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