What is a primary source?
There's no one thing, but for historians, it's generally something that was created at the time of the event. Try searching using terms like: biography [also use for autobiographies], newspapers, "personal papers" [use for archival material], correspondence [use for letters], personal diaries, photographs, videos, interviews, pamphlets, artwork, sources [a common one!], and many other types of things!
Newspapers
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ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
Full-text and full-image articles for major newspapers from the United States (including Historical Black Newspapers); plus Le Monde, the Jerusalem Post, South China Morning Post (1903-2001) and the Times of India. Each paper is available from its first issue through about 2013 (depending on the paper). Earliest papers start in 1851. -
Readex AllSearch This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
Search across all of Carleton's Readex collections at once. Includes historical newspapers, government documents, books, ephemera, and the like. -
Documenting White Supremacy and Its Opponents in the 1920s This link opens in a new window
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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Digital CollectionsResources that document the fate of victims, survivors, rescuers, liberators, and others. The collection contains millions of documents, artifacts, photos, films, books, and testimonies. It also includes the Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database.
Government Documents
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Readex AllSearch This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
Search across all of Carleton's Readex collections at once. Includes historical newspapers, government documents, books, ephemera, and the like. -
ProQuest History Vault This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
Fully searchable, digitized archival collections having to do with American history. Carleton has collections available on topics that include: American Politics and Society; Civil Rights and the Black Freedom Struggle; International Relations and Military Conflicts. Browse full contents.
Contains extensive collections on WWI, WWII, US Military Intelligence Reports, US Diplomatic Post Records, British Foreign Office Correspondence, and OSS Intelligence and Research Reports. -
Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
A comprehensive set of declassified government documents, 1942-current.
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United Nations (UN) Digital Library [new interface]Contains full text of all UN documents from 1993-present; plus some older digitized documents from 1946-1993. Some older items are metadata only.
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Confidential Print: Africa, 1834-1966 This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
A collection of documents generated by the UK Foreign and Colonial Offices in countries and regions of Africa. Covers 1834 - 1966. -
Confidential Print: Latin America, 1833-1969 This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
A collection of documents generated by the UK Foreign and Colonial Offices in countries and regions of Latin America. Covers 1833 - 1969. -
Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969 This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
A collection of documents generated by the UK Foreign and Colonial Offices in countries and regions of the Middle East including Afghanistan, Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Persia, Sudan, Suez Canal, Syria, and Turkey. Covers 1812 - 1969.
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Foreign Relations of the United States (State.gov)From the State Dept. Historian, documents from Lincoln through Bill Clinton (1861-2001).
Large Primary Source Collections
Most -- but not all! -- content in these databases is primary sources.
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DPLA: Digital Public Library of America This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations, subject indexing, and transcripts)
Aggregates millions of digital items from major libraries and collections across the country, including Carleton College. -
HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and the full text)
HathiTrust is a partnership of major research institutions and libraries working to ensure that the cultural record is preserved and digitally accessible. A major source of digitized books and other documents. Some of the collection if available for free to all, and additional content is available to Carleton faculty, staff, and students.
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Internet archiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library. Its purposes include offering permanent access to current and historical web content.
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Europeana This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and subject indexing)
A large collections with artworks, artifacts, books, videos and sounds from across Europe. -
Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and subject indexing)
Contains texts, sound recordings, still and moving images, maps, and sheet music from the Library of Congress that document American History.
NOTE: The Library of Congress has migrated all collections from the American Memory Project into this new platform. -
Carleton College Archives Database This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and subject indexing)
Search all known records of archival photographs, documents, and artifacts at Carleton College, many of which are available in digitized form. -
Carleton College Oral Histories This link opens in a new window(Searches through citations and subject indexing)
Includes recorded interviews with Carleton faculty, alumni, staff and others covering their individual experiences at Carleton. 1971-2014
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American Archive of Public BroadcastingHistoric programs of publicly funded radio and television across America. Includes video of Watergate hearings, raw interview footage form Ken Burns documentaries, and many other political speeches and interviews.
