LibGuides: Primary Sources: About: Finding

Where do I find primary sources?

Primary Sources can be found in many places such as: libraries, archives, museums, websites, and private collections.

Primary source materials are often reprinted in published collections such as the Milestone Documents series from Salem Press.

Many primary source materials have been digitized and made available on the internet, giving you access to materials that were previously only available by taking a trip to the organization that held the item.

Check the bibliography/works cited pages of a secondary source to see what primary source materials were used.

This libguide has been designed to help you find some of the primary source materials available in Trible Library as well as world wide. It is a small fraction of what is available.

Are you having trouble locating a primary source for your paper? Please ask for help.

The online catalog is a search engine of the print and media resources owned by the library.
Suggested terms to look for include - diary, diaries, letters, papers, documents, documentary correspondence.

KEYWORD SEARCHING

Keyword Search - civil war diary
Click the link to see a list of results
Keyword Search - Lincoln letters
As you see in this one - you don't always get what you expect. It picks up the word Lincoln anywhere, including Lincoln, Nebraska or other people who also have that last name. Some things to help with this might be adding the first name Abraham, using the word correspondence, or trying a subject search

SUBJECT SEARCHING

Search by Subject for specific people or events, then scan the results for keywords such as correspondence, sources, personal narratives, speeches, pamphlets, etc.

Subject Search - United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
If you scan through the list you will see sub-headings such as: African Americans Sources, Causes Sources, Causes Speeches In Congress, Correspondence, Personal Narratives Confederate, etc.

Tip: Subject searches for people should be formatted as last name first name (with or without a comma)

Subject Search - Lincoln Abraham
You can see a subheading for Correspondence - you will have fewer sources than in the keyword search and it the results are more specifically focused. A disadvantage would be if there wasn't a subject at all for a book or if correspondence wasn't added as a subheading, you might miss some titles. Depending on your needs you may find doing a keyword search more helpful.

AUTHOR SEARCHING

Search for specific people that you are aware of that were involved in the event, knew the person, or for the person himself as an author

Not everything a person writes is necessarily a primary source - you are writing a paper, but it wouldn't be considered a primary source, so you would still need to look through the results and evaluate the source.

Tip: Author searches should be formatted as last name first name (with or without a comma)

Author Search - Lincoln Abraham
Click the link to see a list of results
Author Search - Jackson Thomas (Stonewall)
You will notice this is a fairly common name, but none of the entries are actual for Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. However, there is an entry for Jackson, Thomas J., Mrs., 1831-1915 - his wife. Click on that entry and you will find a collection of his letters. So, sometimes it is helpful to be curious - if it turned out this wasn't his wife, it would only take a few seconds to figure it out after clicking her name.