LibGuides: History Resources: Primary Sources in History

What are primary sources for history?

In history, primary sources are documents or artifacts created by a witness to, or participant in, an event. They can include:

Diaries
Letters / correspondence
Interviews
Speeches
Oral histories
Government documents
Newspapers (local content, advertising)
Data
Artifacts (art, photos, posters, music)
Maps
Some audio / video content

Find Books

Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
Search for books, music, videos and more! Over 3.2 million items in libraries throughout the State of Alaska.

Use the Egan Library catalog to find books / ebooks that contain primary sources. Add keywords like these to your search terms:

interviews
letters
correspondence
personal narratives
oral history
eyewitness
memoirs
photographs

Find Primary Sources in Databases

Egan Library has several databases that contain primary sources, listed below. Check out our News and Newspapers Research Guide for additional links to news sources, which can be primary sources for history.

Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Search our Gale Primary Source collections, including Sabin Americana, U.S. Declassified Documents, and American Historical Periodicals.
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints is a rich resource for debaters and includes over 20,000 pro/con viewpoints, approximately 19,000 reference articles, interactive maps, infographics, and more. View tutorial:
A category on the National Debate Topic provides quick and easy access to content on frequently studied and discussed issues. Periodical content covers current events, news and commentary, economics, environmental issues, political science, and more.
Alaska's Digital Archives This link opens in a new window
Presents a wealth of historical photographs, albums, oral histories, moving images, maps, documents, physical objects, and other materials from libraries, museums and archives throughout the state.
Project Jukebox This link opens in a new window
Project Jukebox provides access to audio and video recordings, transcripts, maps, historic photographs and films from across Alaska.
govinfo This link opens in a new window
Provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications This link opens in a new window
The CGP is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive information for historical and current publications as well as direct links to the full document, when available.
Users can search by authoring agency, title, subject, and general keywords, or click on "Advanced Search" for more options.

Credible Web Resources for Primary Sources

Alaskan Primary Sources
Collection of links to primary sources by topic relevant to Alaska and Alaskan history, assembled by the Alaska State Library.
Primary Sources for United States History
Research guide from the American Library Association's Reference and User Services Association. Includes resources for Colonial, Revolution to Antebellum, Civil War, Reconstruction to WWI, WWI to WWII, WWII, and Post WWII
Primary Sources for Canadian History
Primary Sources for European History
Primary Sources for Latin American History
Primary Sources - East Asia History
Research guide from Washington State University. Links without a lock icon are accessible to anyone.
Primary Sources - South Asia History
Research guide from Washington State University. Links without a lock icon are accessible to anyone.
Primary Sources - Southeast Asia History
Research guide from Washington State University. Links without a lock icon are accessible to anyone.
Library of Congress Full Digital Collections
US National Archives Online Collections
US National Archives Special Topics Collections
New York Public Library Digital Collections