What are Primary Sources? and where can I find them?
- Primary sources are items that document events as they happen such as speeches, letters, legislation, journals/diaries, interviews, photographs, cartoons, maps and much more. You might think of them as eyewitness accounts or sound bites of an event.
- This website has a nice explanation with examples
- Databases - SIRS Decades and EBSCO's Historical Reference Center are good sources for primary source documents. Look for tabs that allow you to just look at the primary sources.
- Books - Many primary sources can also be found in books in your library. For example, we have a reference set titled American Decades Primary Sources.