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Primary sources are original sources of information including first hand accounts, interviews and oral histories, data, research, artwork, literature, official documents, newspapers and magazines, audio/video recordings or poems.
In history, primary sources are first hand evidence or records of the time: diaries, letters, interviews, speeches, photographs, posters, pamphlets and official records.
Primary sources can be found in secondary sources such as books and articles as well as databases and archives and museums.
To find primary sources held in books or articles:
The best database/s to use depends on your topic area and the type of information you need.
If you’re not sure where to start, begin by exploring a subject area’s recommended databases.
All databases can be searched using keywords and results can be refined using filters. Sign in to access online resources using your UniSQ username and password.
The Early Experiences in Australasia: Primary Sources and Personal Narratives database hold letters, diaries and other primary source materials.
Early English Books Collection of digital facsimile pages of original English works published between 1473 - 1700. Covers many subject areas including English literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, theology, music, fine arts, education, mathematics, and science.
Primary source collections currently available on JSTOR are multidisciplinary and discipline-specific and include select monographs, pamphlets, manuscripts, letters, oral histories, government documents, images, 3D models, spatial data, type specimens, drawings, paintings, and more.
Australian Digital Collections.
Sydney University; Primarily but not exclusively, consists of source texts relating to the humanities - Australian literature and history (webpage for SETIS). Please note that some databases listed at this site are available only to users at the University of Sydney. Also includes a Digital Collections Repository of images, texts, incunabula, manuscripts from around the world including medieval, Asian and early Australiana.
Explore online collections held in Australian archives and museums.
These sites are excellent sources of primary sources, images, historical documents and themed collections. Most can be searched using keywords and results can be refined using filters.
Search for primary source material using the local sources network of historical societies, family history groups, and local studies libraries.
The internet is useful for finding information like:
It's important that you evaluate each source before using them in your assignment, particularly if you are using information you found on the internet.
For internet sources, look at the three letters at the end of the site address: “.edu.au” (education), “.gov.au” (government), “.org.au” (nonprofit), or “.com.au” (commercial). Generally, ".edu.au" and ".gov.au" websites provide credible information. Commercial websites, such as news organisations, can also be good information sources however it is always necessary to evaluate.
See the UniSQ Library Evaluating Research Resources tutorial for step by step evaluation methods.
International archives, galleries, libraries and museums can hold a wide range of primary source material.
British Museum is unique in bringing together under one roof the cultures of the world, spanning continents and oceans. With an Online Collection available providing access to 5 million objects and 2 million records, a British Museum podcast, Blog and YouTube channel broadcasting Events discussing and exploring the diversity and interconnectedness of human cultures.
CORE Aggregator of open access research papers from repositories worldwide.
Finding primary sources online (Harvard University guide) Library research guide for History (Harvard University library guide) This page lists resources for digitised historical primary sources. Resources containing books, archives/manuscripts and mixed collections are included.
HathiTrust Digital Library Home to millions of digitised books, publications and primary source material. Find titles on everything from African History, Economics, and French Literature to Solar Energy, Public Health, and materials published in more than 400 languages. The collection represents all major Library of Congress subjects with the largest collections in Language & Literature, Philosophy, Religion, History, and Social Sciences incorporating early items from 3rd and 4th centuries to more recent publications.
Internet Archive Digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project (Fordham University) This is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly for educational use. Primary sources are available here mainly for use in high-school and university/college courses. It provides information on Byzantine, Islamic, Jewish, Indian, East Asian, and African history, as well as many documents especially relevant to women's history and LGBT studies.
Library of Congress Primary Source Sets contain a wide range of resources for the researcher and the educator. This includes getting started with Primary Sources to develop lessons around primary source materials including Free to Use and Reuse sets.
National Archives (U.S.) The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) contains a selection of documents and materials created by the US Federal government. Those records are preserved and are available for family history, military records or are researching a historical topic.
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections links to repositories and collections across America.
Repositories of Primary Sources While not updated since 2015, this is still an incredible listing of over 5000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar. This is an extensive directory that links to libraries, museums, galleries and collections all over the world, including Asia and the Pacific (Australia), Africa, Latin America, Europe and more.
Trove is a great source for historical newspapers, brochures and maps. Theses and dissertations can be found using the search function and filtering results.
UNESCO Digital Library Provides reports, conference records, and education materials globally.
UK Government Web Archive Contains preserved records of UK central government information published on the web. The Web Archive includes videos, tweets, images and websites dating from 1996 to the present day.
WorldCat Search the World Catalog for primary sources > limit to archival and downloadable
Perseus Digital Library (Tufts) and The Perseus Catalog
Texts in Latin, Greek, Arabic and other ancient languages with translations. It includes the Classics, Renaissance and 19th Century American literature.
University of Chicago: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures - West Asia & North Africa
Archaeological records and publications from the Middle East. The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures' comprehensive collections, including artifacts, photographs, excavation records, administrative documents, and publications, serve the public in exhibits and online, as well as being an extremely rich resource for scholars.
Mapping Past Societies (MAPS)
Harvard University. Mapping Past Societies formerly Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Civilizations (DARMC).
MAPS is a geodatabase with visual, geospatial and analytical capabilities. A free digital atlas of past societies, it expands the way the world understands history, allowing us all to make decisions informed by humanity’s past experiences about present issues such as economic development, pandemics, climate change, religious change, migration, and the growth of societies worldwide, all represented in our map layers. Select The Map and zoom out until you see the layers and filters on the top right corner.
Europeana
Cultural heritage collections across European institutions. With access to millions of items from providing institutions across Europe discover artworks, books, music, and videos on art, newspapers, archaeology, fashion, science, sport, and more.
British Library Digital Collections
The British Library Digital Collections have everything from newspapers to sound recordings, patents, prints and drawings, maps, and manuscripts.
Gallica (BNF, France)
Digitised French and European texts, maps, and manuscripts.
Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek
Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek include collections of paintings, books, music, sculptures, films, photographs, files, manuscripts and more: the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (German Digital Library) gives all users access to Germany's digitised cultural and scientific heritage
National Diet Library
The National Diet Library (Japan) requires that all publications published in Japan, including microfilms, CDs, DVDs, maps, and more, collects many domestic publications as the only legal deposit library and holds domestic publications which were published before the legal deposit system was initiated. The NDL owns the largest library collection in Japan.
Digital Silk Road Project (Japan)
Digital Silk Road Project (Japan) is a National Institute of Informatics project creating digital archives of Silk Road cultural heritage. It includes Rare-book archives, historical maps and geodata, including georeferenced Stein and Beijing maps, satellite imagery, Google Earth overlays, photographs and 3D reconstructions (such as the Bamiyan Virtual Museum and Silk Road site panoramas) and specialised databases such as Buddhist cave temples and caravanserais).
Korean History Digital Library
English available. Provides major data on Korean history from ancient times to the present. It includes basic data for the study of ancient Korean history, Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa, as well as epigraphic data and wooden tablet data, are provided, and for the study of the Goryeo Dynasty, the History of Goryeo and Goryeo Sa Jeolyo can be used. The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Seungjeongwon Ilgi, and Byeonsa Deungrok, which are the most basic data for the study of the Joseon Dynasty, are a vast world-class documentary heritage that reflects in detail the king's activities, major discussions, and decisions that formed the basis of the state administration at the time.
China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)
CNKI provides one-stop digital resources including academic journals, dissertations/theses, e-books, newspapers, and conference papers to overseas users in over 100 countries and regions outside China, including more than 1,000 institutions.
AODL
African Online Digital Library (AODL) provides free universal access to cultural heritage materials from and about African countries and communities. It brings together tens of thousands of digitized photographs, videos, archival documents, maps, interviews and oral histories in numerous African languages, many of which are contained in curated thematic galleries and teaching resources.
South African History Online
South African History Online (SAHO) is the largest and most comprehensive online resource on South African and African history and culture.
Trove
Includes newspapers, letters, and grey literature from Australian history. PANDORA Archive and Australian Web Archive are now searchable through Trove. The Australian Web Archive (AWA) formerly PANDORA collects online publications. This includes websites, webpages and other web documents, like PDFs. It usually doesn’t include social media, although certain Twitter accounts can be collected.
Te Ara
The Encyclopedia of New Zealand is a comprehensive guide to the country’s peoples, natural environment, history, culture, economy, institutions and society.
Library of Congress
Library of Congress Digital Collections held by the The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
DPLA
Digital Public Library of America work with a national network of partners to make millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country available to all in a one-stop discovery experience. It holds exhibitions and contains comprehensive Primary Source sets. Also includes teacher guides and lesson plans.
LANIC
Latin American Network Information Center. Archived but accessible. LANIC's mission is to facilitate access to Internet-based information to, from, or on the 42 countries that make up Latin America. The target audience includes people living in Latin America, as well as those around the world who have an interest in this region. Use the Site Map to locate collections including Country and Subject resource guides.
BDPI
The Biblioteca Digital del Patrimonio Iberoamericano (BDPI) is a unified portal (launched Sept 2012) that aggregates metadata from the digital collections of Ibero-American national libraries—covering manuscripts, printed books, press, maps, audio, and more—while directing users to the original items hosted by each institution.
