OWHL Guides: Scholars Research Toolkit: Primary Sources

Primary Sources at the OWHL

Primary Source Databases

American History, 1493-1945
This unique collection documents American History from the earliest settlers to the mid-twentieth century. It is sourced from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the finest archives available for the study of American History.
ARTSTOR
A digital library of over two million images from some of the world's leading museums, archives, scholars, and artists.
Black Life In America
This news database offers comprehensive coverage of the African American experience from the early 18th century to the present day, sourced from more than 19,000 American and global news sources, including over 400 current and historical Black publications. It is an easy-to-use online resource.
Gale Primary Sources
Search across 19th Century US Newspapers, Liberty Magazine Historical Archives (1924-50), Smithsonian Collections, The Illustrated London News Historical Archive (1842-2003) and The Times Digital Archive (1785-2009).
Gale Primary Sources Smithsonian Collections Online
This resource combines rare nineteenth and twentieth century archival materials on such topics as World’s Fairs and trade literature and is paired with modern Smithsonian Magazine and Air & Space Magazine backfiles to present unique and comprehensive insight into history, science, nature, the arts, innovation, technology, and world culture.

News Periodicals (Current & Historical)
A guide to finding newspapers in through the OWHL and online, with emphasis on historical newspapers and digitized historical newspapers.

Print Resources

Search the catalog below using keywords that relate to your topic. Try a very short phrase or a single word (ex. Lavender Scare) to capture your topic and add words like documents, sources, letters, papers, etc. to find books with primary sources.

Phillips Academy Archives & Special Collections

Primary Source Websites & Online Collections

Primary Source Examples

Examples of primary sources include, but are not limited to:

Artifacts [e.g. furniture or clothing, all from the time under study]
Audio recordings [e.g. radio programs]
Diaries
Internet communications on email, listservs, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms
Interviews [e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail]
Newspaper articles written at the time
Original official documents [e.g., birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial transcript]
Patents
Personal correspondence [e.g., letters]
Photographs
Proceedings of meetings, conferences and symposia
Records of organizations, government agencies [e.g. annual report, treaty, constitution, government document]
Speeches
Survey Research [e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls]
Transcripts of radio and television programs
Video recordings
Works of art, architecture, literature, and music [e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems]

Important Note!

No source is inherently primary or secondary. How you classify a source (a newspaper article for example) entirely depends on whether it provides you with analysis or direct evidence of an historical event, time period, or issue. YOU are the context that matters. If you are unsure about whether a source is primary or secondary (especially if you need a certain number of each for your assignment), check with a librarian or your instructor.