LibGuides: 21H.390: Seminar in Historical Methods: Find Primary Sources

Using the Library Catalog to Find Primary Sources

To find book primary sources, use library catalogs like Barton and WorldCat.

Do subject searches for topic + genre:
- Subheadings such as "correspondence," "sources," "personal narratives," "biography," and "speeches" can point to primary sources.
- Pair these subheadings with keywords or topical subject headings in Barton to identify relevant sources in the MIT Libraries.
- See this table for other possible subheadings.
- For example, do this advanced search to get published collections of primary source documents about the civil rights movement:
  - Keyword = "civil rights" [This will search for that exact phrase]
  - Subject words = sources

Do advanced searches in Barton for relevant subjects and keywords with publication date limits.
- For example, do this advanced search to find books about strikes in the Progressive Era:
  - Keywords = strike*
  - Year from = 1890
  - Year to = 1929

Digital Primary Sources at MIT

Congressional Record
If the riot, strike or conspiracy was debated in Congress, then it should be in the Congressional Record, the official record of congressional debates.
Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970
Large-scale maps of more than 12,000 American towns and cities that show building footprints, building use, addresses, parks, cemeteries, industrial uses & more.
Eighteenth Century Collection Online (ECCO)
Includes every major work in all fields printed in either English or a foreign language in Great Britain during the eighteenth century, as well as many important eighteenth century works from the Americas.
Ethnic NewsWatch (1990-present)
A full-text collection of newspapers, journals and magazines published by ethnic and minority presses.
Historic Documents
Annual publication featuring documents covering the most significant events of the year. Documents include presidential speeches, international agreements, Supreme Court decision, scientific findings, cultural discussions, and other primary sources. 1972 - present.
Historical Statistics of the United States
Compendium of US historical statistics from over 1000 sources, plus scholarly essays. Tables can be viewed in PDF/HTML & downloaded in Excel or CSV.
LexisNexis Academic: Legal Cases
Online access to federal and state cases.
The Nation Archive
Backfile of The Nation magazine back to volume 1, issue 1. Updated monthly 1865 - present.
NewspaperArchive.com
Thousands of newspapers, available in full-page facsimile, with searchable full text. Most are U.S. titles, with some international coverage, and most are fairly small-circulation newspapers. 1759-present.
Oxford African American Studies Center
Over 300 annotated primary sources in black history, from letters to speeches to legal documents, from the 17th century to contemporary documents. Click on "browse" to see the documents by time period or topic.
Proquest Historical Newspapers: Atlanta Constitution
1868-1942
Proquest Historical Newspapers: Boston Globe
1872-1979
Proquest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune
1849-1986
Proquest Historical Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
1881-1986
Proquest Historical Newspapers: New York Times
1851-2006
Proquest Historical Newspapers: Wall Street Journal
1889-1992
Proquest Historical Newspapers: Washington Post
1877-1993
Reader's Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
Indexing and abstracting for many general interest magazines. Great source for historical material on the 20th-century.
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
Archive of data from public opinion surveys. Download data from their catalog or search IPoll, their question-level database of survey results.

Contemporary Newspapers and Periodicals - Online Through MIT

LexisNexis Academic
Full text of many newspapers and periodicals.
Proquest Research Library
Indexes thousands of journals, newspapers and magazines in a broad range of subjects. Many articles are available in full text.

Free Primary Sources on the Internet

American Memory (Library of Congress)
Written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience from the collections of the Library of Congress and
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
This site allows you to search and read newspaper pages from 1900-1910 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Google Book Search
Many thousands of searchable books digitized by Google in collaboration with libraries and publishers.
Making of America (Cornell)
Primary sources in American social history primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction, strongest in education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. A collaboration with the University of Michigan.
Making of America (University of Michigan)
Primary sources in American social history primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction, strongest in education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The book collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books with 19th century imprints. A collaboration with Cornell University.
Time Archive (1923-present)
Back issues of the popular news magazine. (Hint: you can use the free online search to identify articles and then, to see the original article in context, take a look at the print or fiche by requesting it from storage or viewing it in Dewey or Hayden.)

Primary Sources at Nearby Libraries

Archive of Americana: 1639-1980 (Boston Public Library)
Contains unique primary source material relating to nearly every aspect of United States history from over three centuries. You'll need a BPL card or e-card to log in.
Includes:
* American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I (1760-1900)
* America's Historical Newspapers (1690-1922)
* Early American Imprints Series I: Evans (1639-1800)
* Early American Imprints Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker (1801-1819)
Harper's Weekly (1857-1912)
Complete digital editions of Harper's Weekly from 1857-1912. Search by full-text, subject heading, or Thesaurus-based index. Or browse by Table of Contents, theme, or date.
NOTE: Access is only available in person at the BPL.
Harvard Libraries E-Resources
Harvard has a trove of online databases of primary source material, including historical newspapers, government documents, letters and diaries, and much more. With your Harvard Special Borrower card, you can visit Harvard libraries and use these databases on the premises (sorry, you can't use them remotely). Take a look at the list of history databases for anything promising for your primary source research!
Newspapers at Boston Public Library - Copley Square
This page links to lists of BPL historical newspaper holdings on microfilm.
Widener Collection of Newspapers on Microfilm
A database of the newspapers on microfilm at Harvard's Widener Library, searchable by geography and date span. The newspaper microfilm are accessible with a Harvard Special Borrowers Card.

Subject Guide

Ece Turnator

Contact:

Ece (pronounced AJ)
turnator@mit.edu
Hayden Library Consultation Suite 14S - 2nd floor
617.253.4979
Make an appointment with me

21H.390: Seminar in Historical Methods: Find Primary Sources

Using the Library Catalog to Find Primary Sources

Digital Primary Sources at MIT

Contemporary Newspapers and Periodicals - Online Through MIT

Free Primary Sources on the Internet

Primary Sources at Nearby Libraries

Subject Guide

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