Thinking about Primary Sources
A primary source is an original source of information, written or created during the time period under study. Primary sources may include:
- Original documents like diaries, manuscripts, photographs, film footage, newspaper articles, speeches, and official records
- Creative works like novels, poetry, music or artifacts like furniture, clothing, buildings
Contrast these with secondary sources, which interpret and analyze primary sources. Secondary sources are generally written after the fact.
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Finding Primary Sources
Finding primary sources can be tricky. Here are some ways to search for them:
1. Search a primary source database.
2. Use library catalogs to find primary sources published in books.
3. Use the bibliographies of secondary sources.
4. Search for manuscript and archival materials.
5. Search an index (not full-text, but sometimes the best for the topic).
Digitized Primary Sources
- SIUSA - Sistema Informativo Unificato per le Soprintendenze ArchivisticheOnline union catalog for Italian private and public archives. Several dozen finding aids for collections covering all aspects of Italian culture.
- EuropeanaResources of digitized images and texts from European archives, museums, and libraries.
Digital Libraries:
Published Primary Sources
Use these search terms- in addition to your keywords- in order to identify published primary sources at the library:
- Archives
- Interviews
- Correspondence
- Description and travel
- Diaries
- Manuscripts
- Oral Histories
- Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.
- Personal narratives
- Pictorial Works
- Speeches
- Sources
These search terms are especially powerful if you place them in the "subject" field in the HoyaSearch advanced search option.