SDCC Library: History: Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Key Terms to Try for Ebooks and Articles

In general, search using one or two nouns, combined by AND or OR.
Do more than one search, using different words that cover the same concept.
If you find too much information, take out a word. If you don't find enough, add one.
Use an asterisk (*) to search for variations on a word. For example, searching for student* will bring up records on student and students.
For more information, see Develop a topic

These are only a few examples of history-related terms found using the SDCCD Books+ tab. For ebooks, limit Availability (in the left-hand column) to Available online.

For articles, use more specific terms. For history databases, go the the A-Z Databases page and use the upper left-hand filter for History, Politics and Government.

history AND "primary sources" -- the quotes, "" searches for a phrase so the words are together
"primary sources" AND wom?n - the question mark, ?, allows for a one-letter substitution, so here it searches for "woman" and "women."
history AND autobiograph* -the asterisk, * searches for autobiography and autobiographies, or anything that begins with the letters before the asterisk.
letters AND....
interview AND....
speeches AND....

Recommended Web Sites

Here are just a few of the many primary sources websites:

Finding Primary Sources (Library of Congress)
Library of Congress: Digital Collections
“The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world….The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.”- About the Library
Chronicling America: All Digitized Newspapers
It includes various newspapers with dates varying from the 1800s to the early 1900s.
From the Library of Congress.
Digital Public Library of America
Online exhibits and primary sources (often photographs).
“Discover 40,664,440 images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States.” - homepage
“Make millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country available.” The Digital Public Library of America is a registered non-profit - About Us page
Smithsonian: History and Culture
“The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 19 museums and the National Zoo.” - About the Smithsonian.
World History Sources
From the About Page: “World History Sources reflects three approaches central to current world history scholarship: an emphasis on comparative issues rather than civilizations in isolation; a focus on contacts among different societies and the economic, social, and cultural consequences of those contacts; and an attentiveness to “global” forces that transcend individual societies or even societies in mutual contact—forces such as technology diffusion, migration, disease transmission, extension and realignments of trade routes, or missionary outreach.”
From The Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University.
Eyewitness To History
“By Ibis Communications, Inc. a digital publisher of educational programming.”
Euro Docs: Online Sources for European History
EuroDocs Creator: Richard Hacken, European Studies Librarian,
Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Perseus Digital Library
Primary and secondary sources
Greek and Roman, some 19th America and more. From Tufts University.