What are primary sources?
Formats for primary sources
Locating primary sources in Jackson Library
Locating primary sources in other libraries
Newspapers
Periodicals
Internet
Citing primary sources
A primary source in history is any document or material that was recorded during the time of the event or subject matter you are researching.
A variety of materials may be used as primary sources including:
Primary sources may be found in a variety of formats including:
Jackson Library holds a rich collection of primary sources in a variety of formats. It's best to be as specific as possible by searching a particular topic, personal name, or organization in the Library catalog. If you're not exactly sure of your topic, however, a more general keyword search will also identify primary sources. For example, a keyword search greensboro and civil rights will identify government documents and first-hand accounts about the topic as well as published books.
The search women and middle ages and england will bring up collections of writings and documents in addition to secondary sources.
Another tip to find primary sources in the catalog is to search a fairly broad subject area and include the term "sources." For example, the search civil rights and united states and sources or holocaust and sources will list a variety of primary sources on these topics.
To find letters, diaries, autobiographies, and personal papers, search a person's name as an author (not as a subject because that will find materials about them instead of items he/she wrote). For example, an author search on W.E.B Du Bois will provide a list of his writings.
Jackson Library has a rich collection of government documents especially for North Carolina and the United States. More recent government information is available on the web. Older material is accessed through the indexes and finding aids in the Government Information section of the Reference Department on the 1st floor.
Microform sets will often be identified using the techniques discussed above. In addition, Microform Sets in Jackson Library is a useful list of major sets of papers and documents held in Jackson Library.
Jackson Library subscribes to several online databases that provide full text primary source material on a variety of subjects. These databases usually may be searched by subject and other criteria.
A variety of original manuscripts and other primary source material are housed in Jackson Library's Special Collections and Rare Books Division. Of special interest to historians is the Woman's Collection, the Womens Veteran's Collection and the History of Physical Education and Dance Collection. The University Archives and Manuscripts Division includes papers from the University and other manuscript collections.
Primary sources in other libraries in all formats may be identified by searching specific library catalogs. Use the same strategies discussed above about searching Jackson Library's catalog.
Primary sources in other libraries in all formats may also be identified using Worldcat, a database that includes the holdings of libraries from all over the United States and other countries as well. Because this database is so large, it is very important that your search be as specific as possible.
A Worldcat search will identify archives and manuscript collections. In addition, Archives USA is a database that focuses on manuscript collections in libraries and repositories in the United States. More description and information is included in Archives USA than Worldcat.
Materials not held in Jackson Library that are in published form or in microform may usually be borrowed on Interlibrary Loan (ILL) from other libraries. Original manuscripts are not usually loaned. UNCG students and faculty may fill out an online ILL form to request materials.
Newspapers are a useful and convenient source of primary source material. Jackson Library has a large collection of newspapers on microfilm that focuses primarily on North Carolina but includes other areas as well. Some historical newspapers are also available online. See the Newspapers Guide for lists
Jackson Library subscribes to several online historical newspapers:
London Times 1795 - 1985.
New York Times 1854 - present.
Wall Street Journal 1889 - 1989.
Washington Post 1877 - 1989
More recent regional, national and international newspapers (1980's to the present), are also available online.
The State Library of North Carolina has a list of newspapers that are available on microfilm in libraries around the state.
The Library of Congress and the British Library also provide lists of their holdings.
Newspapers for specific cities may be identified in Worldcat using the following strategy:
Another way to identify newspapers is the source Newspapers in Microform located in the Reference Room of Jackson Library.
Newspapers in Microform: United States, 1948-83.
Ref PN 4731 .N490 1948/83Newspapers in Microform. Foreign countries. 1948 - 1983.
Ref PN4731 .N490 Pt.2
A few newspapers are indexed historically:
New York Times Index(es) 1851 - present.
Reference Indexes & Abstracts area - Ref A121 .N44Times (London) Index. 1785 - 1986, 1790-
Reference Indexes & Abstracts area - Ref A121 .T5
Newspapers not available in Jackson Library may usually be borrowed from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan. UNCG students and faculty may fill out an online ILL form to request newspapers on microfilm.
There are few electronic resource that include that provide full text or indexing for periodicals before 1980:
Readers' Guide Retrospective indexes major magazines, 1890 - 1982.
Humanities and Social Science Retrospective indexes periodicals 1907 - 1984
(note: these last two titles may be searched simultaneously. Enter one of the databases and then check off the other one in the list of sources)
American Periodicals Series includes full text of periodicals published between 1740 and 1900.
Periodicals Archive Online includes full text from 400 journals and magazines in the social sciences and humanities.
The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, 1824-1900
(CD-ROM in the Reference Room of Jackson Library)
Print indexes for historical periodicals include:
Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, 1900 -
Reference Indexes & Abstracts area - Ref AI3 .R4Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, 1802-1881
Reference Indexes & Abstracts area - Ref AI3 .P7 1963Nineteenth Century Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, 1890-1899
Reference Indexes & Abstracts area - Ref AI3 .R39Social Sciences and Humanities Index, 1965-1974
Reference Indexes & Abstracts area - Ref AI3 .R49International Index to Periodicals, 1907-1965
Reference Indexes & Abstracts area - Ref AI3 .R49C.R.I.S. Combined Retrospective Index to Journals in History, 1838-1984
Book Stacks - D1 .C180
To see if we own the journal you need to enter the title in Journal Finder which willprovide information on our print and electronic holdings. Periodical articles not available in Jackson Library may usually be obtained from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan. UNCG students and faculty may fill out an online ILL form.
Numerous documents have been digitized and made available on the Web. Many valuable materials may be accessed that way.
Jackson Library subscribes to several databases that provide full text primary source material on a variety of subjects. These databases usually may be searched by subject and other criteria.
Many free web sites also provide primary texts. It is very important to evaluate the site, however, because there is no quality control for materials on the Web. These tips can help you evaluate web sites. Jackson Library's History Resources web page provides a good starting point for finding history sites. The University of Washington's Library has a useful guide for finding primary sources on the web. You may also search your topic using a web search engine.
Most historians use the Turabian style guide for citing sources. This guide is available at the Reference Desk in Jackson Library.
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th ed.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
The following web page provides guidance for citing web sites:
