Useful Tips
Browse footnotes and bibliographies of books, encyclopedias, and articles for information about primary sources.
Search the Library Catalog for primary sources--both unpublished manuscripts and modern editions in print and online, sometimes in translation, of original primary sources. Use keywords such as:
- sources
- diaries
- personal narratives
- interviews
- letters
- correspondence
What is Microfilm?
When you can't find published primary sources, you may be able to get ahold of electronic or microfilm copies
Much archival primary source material has been filmed over the years, but using it will take some getting used to. Ask for help with microfilm, microfiche, or microcards at a reference desk!
Using Microfilm
A sense of what it is and how you use it
Archival Collections
Find an archival collection:
World-Wide Directory of Repositories holding Archives of Literature & Art
SNAC: Social Networks and Archival Context
(see how SNAC represents someone like Andy Warhol through archival collections by looking at how he shows up in archival collections)
Video & Film
- Look for art-related video and film footage in the Kanopy Streaming collection.
- Films in the Internet Archive
- Databases and other platforms for delivering streaming video
- And use this Cornell Library guide for other streaming resources
Electronic resources
This is just a sampling of the many, many primary resources available in electronic form.
Try the "history: primary sources" section of the Cornell library databases list.
- Archives of American Art Research Collections125+ of the collections have been scanned, most others are available to borrow on microfilm; Oral History Interviews - descriptions and transcripts;
Image Gallery (digitized photos, sketches & documents)
- Accessible archivesA site devoted to primary source material in American history. Information archived is from leading historical periodicals and books, and includes eyewitness accounts of historical events, vivid descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, commerce as seen through advertisements, and genealogical records. Databases are encyclopedic in scope and allow full Boolean, group, name, string, and truncated searches. Transcribed individual entries are complete with full bibliographic citations and are organized chronologically. Titles will continue to be added covering important topics and time periods for scholars and students of all academic levels.
Library of Congress Digital CollectionsProvides information on, and access to, the digitized version of the Library of Congress primary-source collections on American history and culture, including photographs, documents, sound recordings, and motion pictures. Broad topics covered include: agriculture, arts and architecture, history, performing arts, social sciences, etc. Particular collections include: African-American perspectives, Alexander Graham Bell papers, Baseball cards, Civil War photographs, Early motion pictures, and Voices from the Dust Bowl.
- American PeriodicalsAmerican Periodicals includes two full text resources: American Periodicals Series Online (APS Online) and American Periodicals from the Center for Research Libraries. Both contain digitized images of American special interest and general magazines, labor and trade publications, scientific and literary journals, and photographic periodicals, as well as other historically significant titles, from the 19th century through the dawn of the 20th century. Because the database contains digitized images of periodical pages, researchers can see all of the original typography, drawings, graphic elements, and article layouts exactly as they were originally published.
- Hathi Trust Digital LibraryAs a digital repository for the nation's great research libraries, HathiTrust brings together the immense collections of partner institutions. It was initially conceived as a collaboration of the thirteen universities of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the University of California system, and the University of Virginia to establish a repository for those universities to archive and share their digitized collections, and quickly expanded to include additional partners with fast growing treasure of digitized collections.
Internet Archive (archive.org)"The Internet Archive "was founded [in 1996] to build an 'Internet library,' with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format," such as Internet sites and other cultural digital artifacts (i.e. movies, interviews, images, etc.). Using the Internet Archive's "Wayback Machine," users can look at their own Web site and track how it has evolved. Plug-ins are made available as needed. "Special Wayback Collections" provide a sense of how events such as September 11, 2001, were recorded digitally. This site is appropriate for anyone doing research on the history of the Internet and for those who want to see how the Internet has changed over the years." "Best Free Reference Web Sites 2002." RUSA Quarterly, Fall 2002; reviewed Feb. 19, 2002.
Oxford African American studies centerComprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture. 300+ primary sources, commentaries, maps, charts, tables, biographies, encyclopedias...
- Black Studies CenterBlack Studies Center combines invaluable resources for research and teaching in Black studies: Schomburg studies on the Black experience, International index of Black periodicals (IIBP), The Chicago defender, ProQuest dissertations for Black studies, and Black literature index. This fully cross-searchable gateway to Black studies includes scholarly essays, recent periodicals, historical newspaper articles, and much more.
- Artists' Papers RegisterRegister of the papers of artists, designers and craftspeople held in publicly accessible collections in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Primary Sources in Detail
Much more detail on finding primary sources in primary source databases.
Electronic resources: Historical Journal Articles
- JSTORJSTOR is a fully-searchable database containing the back issues of several hundred scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, mathematics, music, ecology and botany, business, and other fields. It includes the following collections: Arts & sciences I, II and III, General science, Ecology and botany, Business, Language and literature.
- Nineteenth Century Masterfile19th century masterfile/Poole's is a reference service for scholars, bibliographers, and students of the Nineteenth Century. It is a scholarly tool for mining the riches of this extraordinary period. A continually expanding resource for the study of Nineteenth-Century cultural and intellectual life.
- ProQuest Historical NewspapersThis database offers full-text and full-image articles for newspapers dating back to the 19th century. For most titles, the collection includes digital reproductions of every page from every issue, cover to cover, in downloadable PDF files. The database is an ongoing project.
Historical International News
International News Services
- Keesing's World News Archive.Coverage note: Online full text coverage 1940 to date; online indexing, 1931- .
Keesing's World News Archive is the web-based version of Keesing's Record of World Events (1987- , Olin stacks + D 410 .K26) and Keesing's Contemporary Archives (1940-1986, Olin stacks + D 410 .K26). It is an authoritative monthly digest of worldwide political, diplomatic and economic affairs.
International Newspapers
- Times digital archive, 1785-2006Offers online, full-text access to the Times of London from 1785 through 2006. This is the longest run of indexing and access available for any newspaper.
Examples of Major International Newspapers with Separate Print Indexes
- Times, London. London: Times Newspapers Ltd.
(Olin stacks AI 21 .T58; see also the online index in Times Digital Archive above) The Annual Index began, with much more detailed entries, in 1906, the title changing to the Official Index in 1914. The Times of London is located in the microfilm area, B Level, Olin Library (Film 308). - Le Monde. Paris: Le Monde, indexed 1944/1945-1951, 1958, 1965-1968, and 1985- .
(Olin stacks AI 21 .M741 +) Le Monde (Film 481) has been published since 1944. It continues a newspaper called Temps (Film 2663), which began publication in 1861. A searchable full-text version of Le Monde is also available in the Electronic Text Center strating in 1995; ask at Olin Reference.
Other Indexes to International Newspapers
Note: Asian newspapers and indexes to Asian newspapers are kept in the Severinghaus Reading Room in Kroch Library.
Discovering International Newspaper Holdings Outside Cornell
ICON: International Coalition on Newspapers: Titles Preserved through ICON. Bibliographic information only. List of international newspapers preserved on microfilm. Linked CRL catalog includes specific holdings. Titles available from CRL via ILL. ICON's searchable union list of international newspapers; good historical data with preservation status and holdings information.