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Primary Sources

Primary Sources

"A primary source gives the words of the witnesses or the first recorders of an event. Primary sources include manuscripts, archives, letters, diaries, and speeches.... Secondary sources are 'descriptions of the event derived from and based on primary sources'. The line between primary and secondary sources is often indistinct, for example, a single document may be a primary source on some matter and a secondary source on others."
     Helen J. Poulton, The Historian's Handbook. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972, p.175-76.

Using Primary Sources on the Web
Free Website: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources/index.cfm
This guide is a useful introduction to finding and using primary sources for research. Provided by the Reference & User Services Association - History Section of the American Library Association.

"Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, memoirs, documents produced by government agencies such as Congress or the Office of the President, photographs, audio recordings, moving pictures or video recordings, research data, and objects or artifacts such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons. These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research."
     RUSA. (2003). "What are Primary Sources?" In Using Primary Sources on the Web.

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Finding Primary Sources in the UTSA Library

UTSA has both originals of primary sources and copies which have been republished in books.
These materials can be found in:

• UTSA Archives
• UTSA Special Collections
• UTSA Library General Collection

UCAT, UTSA Library Online Catalog

Use the Guided Keyword search tab in UCAT to find primary sources about a person or event.
Search using some of the keywords that describe your subject in combination with one or more of the following terms:

Examples:

women texas diaries

Civil War 1861-1865 sources

Search Tip: Truncation
A search term can be shortened by using a ? as a truncation symbol. This allows one search to retrieve singular or plural forms, different spellings of a word or name, or different forms of a word. However, this may widen your search too much so use it carefully.

For example: bibliograph? will retrieve: bibliographer, bibliography, bibliographies, etc. index? will retrieve: index, indexes, indexer

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Finding Primary Sources in Other Libraries

Catalogs & Directories

Use catalogs and directories to find collections and repositories.

• Use a catalog to search a collection by subject or keyword.
• Use a directory to locate specific libraries or archives.

Archival collections are not always cataloged, so also visit websites of libraries and archives that you think might have collections to see if they list their holdings.

Catalogs

Center for Research Libraries (CRL) (UTSA subscription)
Includes approximately 500,000 bibliographic records for monographs, newspapers, serials, archival materials in microform, microform sets, and title analytics. It does not include foreign dissertations, college catalogs, U.S. State documents, and textbooks. Items available for interlibrary loan for faculty, staff and students.

NUCMC
Free Website: http://lcweb.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/nucmc.html
This is database of archives and manuscript collections in the United States. The Library of Congress collects the entries for this database from repositories ranging from small historical societies to large universities.

WorldCat (UTSA subscription)
Contains more than 44 million bibliographic records describing materials (books, journals, films, manuscripts, scores, computer files, etc.) held by libraries around the world. More than 400 languages are represented. Provides links to library holdings. Updated daily.

Directories

Archon
Free Website: http://WWW.hmc.gov.uk/archon/
This directory provides access to information on all repositories in the United Kingdom and all those repositories throughout the world which have collections of manuscripts which are noted on the British National Register of Archives.

Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
Free Website: http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/
The online catalog of National Archives and Records Administration's nationwide holdings in the Washington, DC area, Regional Archives and Presidential Libraries.

Repositories of Primary Sources
Free Website: http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html
A listing of nearly 3000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar.

State Libraries
Free Website: http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/library/statelib.html
Developed by the American Library Association and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, this site links to state libraries, state library agencies, state library networks, or state library commissions across the United States.

Women & Gender Project - Other Women's Collections
http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Archives/WomenGender/links.html
A guide to over 100 web pages of archives, libraries, and other repositories that have holdings of primary source materials by or about women. This site is maintained by the UTSA Archives.

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Finding Primary Sources Online

Some websites provide access to online versions of primary sources. These may be digitized images, facsimiles, or full-text. It is advisable to closely evaluate these sites to ensure that you can authenticate the documents. Some reliable sites for finding primary documents online include:

American Memory Historical Collections
Free Website: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/amhome.html
The Library of Congress National Digital Library Project. Selected items that are unique Americana and of great value to students, researchers, and educators. The "selection is based on cultural and educational value, expected demand...and the ability of current technology to capture the content."

Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
Free Website: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp
Includes pre-18th century to 21st century documents.

Electronic Text Collections
Free Website: http://history.hanover.edu/etexts.html
This site provides links to hundreds of e-text and archive projects, and includes general indexes of e-texts. This site includes both primary and secondary sources. Hosted by the History Department at Hanover College, Indiana.

Making of America
Free Website: http://moa.umdl.umich.edu/
This collaborative project from the University of Michigan and Cornell University contains "Primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 8,500 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints."

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Research Resources in San Antonio

UTSA Library Subject Guide General History (includes information about primary sources available at the UTSA Library)

UTSA Library Subject Guide San Antonio History

UTSA Library Subject Guide San Antonio Area Government Information

UTSA Library Archives & Special Collections http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Archives/ 2.12.09