What makes a source primary?
Depends on the topic; it can be complicated. Talk specifics with faculty.
Very basic, simplistic definition: What is a primary source?
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Search the Library Catalog for primary sources--both unpublished manuscripts and modern editions in print and online, sometimes in translation, of original primary sources.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 the "advanced search" with the terms for primary sources below as subjects, not keywords.
Library catalog/database terms for primary sources:
Sources means primary sources in a library catalog. It can mean a printed, edited, modern edition of an archival source; or it can mean a collection of excerpted, translated sources which might have the words "reader" or "documents" in the title; or it can mean a book about primary and secondary sources. All are invaluable. The footnotes and bibliography of any of them will lead to more sources.
Personal narratives is a newer library catalog subject term encompassing letters, interviews, oral histories, diaries, journals, etc.
Bibliographies are whole books devoted to a topic, usually a broader topic such as "Vietnam War" or "Early Modern Europe." They are a list of sources, often primary and secondary, generally described and annotated. Extremely helpful for getting a handle on sources and the scholarly literature on a topic.
The following is a selected list of primary source databases that focus on American materials (books, newspapers, images, articles from earlier periods). For a more comprehensive listing, see the History: Primary Sources database page.
More collections, resources, and tips on the Guide to Latin American Primary Sources
The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives is the unit of Catherwood Library that collects, preserves, and makes accessible special collections pertaining to the history of the workplace and labor relations. Materials consist of unique and rich primary sources, including printed and hand-written historical documents dating back to colonial times, historical photographs, rare pamphlets, audio recordings, film, and oral histories.