Research Guides: History: Primary Sources & Archives

Primary Sources

Primary Sources

•Not edited or analyzed

•Direct "witness" of an event or person

•"Raw material" for further analysis

Examples of Primary Sources:

•Letters (including letters to newspapers)

•Blog Commentaries

•Diaries/Journals

•Oral Histories (interviews)

•Documents, such as mission statements of an organization

•Government Documents

•Design Sketches, Drawings

•Political/Activist Pamphlets

•Advertisements

•Company/Organization web sites

•Photos, videos

•Sound recordings (Interviews)

•Maps

Source Databases

The following databases are New School Libraries subscriptions and provide priamry source materials for cultural studies.Selelct them from the Databases A-Z list

Black Thought and Culture (Alexander Street Press) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Contains 1,297 sources with 1,098 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans
The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives This link opens in a new window
The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives, 1960 to 1974 documents the key events, trends, and movements in 1960s America—vividly conveying the zeitgeist of the decade and its effects into the middle of the next. Through letters, diaries, memoirs, and oral histories; accounts from official, radical, and alternative organizations; posters, broadsides, pamphlets, advertisements, and rare materials —125,000 pages of text and 50 hours of video—the collection tells the story of the 60s.
Twentieth Century Advice Literature: North American Guides on Race, Gender, Sex, and the Family This link opens in a new window
Twentieth Century Advice Literature brings together more than 150,000 pages of rare material to provide a reflection on historical American attitudes towards race, citizenship, education, work, sex, gender roles, life cycles, family, and religion.

Finding Primary Sources

Use BobCat to find books, audio and video recordings that contain primary sources such as letters, interviews, oral histories, etc

Use Advanced Search

Use In Subject Sources and combine withyour own keyword(s)

•Other Subject words that help you find primary material:

Oral history, letters, diaries, personal narratives

Government Documents

Start your research with Government Documents by using the Bobst Library Guide to US Government Documents

•The Government Printing Office (GPO) Federal Digital Sysytem provides the most comprehensive online access to current and historic government publications

•NYU's Bobst Library has been a partial US Government documents depository since 1967

•New York Public Library has been a full US Government documents depository since 1884. The documents are located in the SIBL branch of NYPL at 34th Street and Madison Ave. SIBL also houses some NY State and City documents and selected documents from international organizations and foreign countries. See their Research Guide

History

Primary Sources

Source Databases

Finding Primary Sources

Government Documents

Archives

Libraries, Collections, & Academic Services

University Resources

Colleges