History: Primary/Secondary Sources

Primary Source - a one-of-a-kind item that contains first-hand information.  Examples:

• Letters

• Diaries

• Photographs

• Interviews

• Video/film footage

• Artwork

• Literature

• Music

• Autobiographies

• Original research

Secondary Source - an item that interprets, describes, or evaluates a primary source, or is based upon a primary source. 

Examples:

• Books

• Articles

• Biographies

• Reviews

• The paper you are writing for your history course

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These titles in the American Eras: Primary Sources series may be helpful:

These titles from the Credo Reference database may be useful:

These sites may help you locate primary sources:

• Finding Primary Sources on the Web (created by Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association)

• Digital Collections of the Library of Congress

• America's Historical Documents (National Archives)

• U.S. History and Historical Documents (usa.gov)

• Primary Documents in American History (Library of Congress)

• The New York Public Library Digital Collections

• Getty Search Gateway (The J. Paul Getty Trust)