Find Primary Sources - HIST 4635 - Senior Seminar - SWANSON - Library Guides at Georgia Southern University

What is a Primary Source?

A primary source is generally defined as document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. Depending on your research topic and perspective, primary sources can include:

Original Documents (autobiographies, personal correspondence and diaries, speeches and oral histories, newspapers, government documents, audio and video recordings, photographs, and maps)
Creative Works (Art, drama, poetry, music, novels)
Relics or Artifacts

[Nelson Mandela at north London Home of Oliver Tambo, 1962. Photograph: Michael Peto, University of Dundee, The Peto Collection]

Suggested Library Databases

Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window
Historical records, photos, stories, newspapers and magazines for genealogy research (more...).
Civil Rights Digital Library This link opens in a new window
American Civil Rights Movement; images; movies; articles (more...).
Digital Library of Georgia This link opens in a new window
Georgia history and culture through digitized books, primary sources, photos, and video (more...).
EEBO: Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
eBooks, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America,1473-1700 (more...).
Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Primary sources, images, maps, American history (more...).
Women's Studies Manuscript Collections from the Schlesinger Library: Voting Rights, National Politics, and Reproductive Rights This link opens in a new window
Women's history, primary sources (more...).

Additional Archival Databases
Additional Historical Newspaper Databases

U.S. Digital Collections

Local Collections

Georgia Southern University Special Collections Lane Library’s special collections includes the university archives of the Armstrong Campus and the Florence Powell Minis Room Collection. The university archives documents Armstrong’s history and served as a resource for Janet Stone’s scholarly history, From the Mansion to the University: A History of Armstrong Atlantic State University 1935-2010. Endowed by the Minis family of Savannah, the Minis Room houses books about Savannah and the Coastal region, including works by Savannah authors. The Special Collection are open for research by appointment and we are always happy to introduce students to these collections, which include Alumni donations and feature student work. The online guide to the Special Collections is a good starting point, with links to digitized collections, such as The ‘Geechee yearbook (1937-1995), The Inkwell, Armstrong’s student newspaper and more. Also, contact the special collections librarian to arrange a visit to the Special Collections, for research or a class. See Special Collections at the Lane Library (Armstrong Campus) The Zach S. Henderson Library’s Special Collections was founded in the 1970’s. Housed within the department are rare books, manuscript collections, and artifacts relating to the history of the Statesboro region and Georgia Southern University. Special Collections has materials documenting the Civil War, World War II, southern railroads, early businesses, and local genealogy. Popular collections include: the Okefenokee Swamp Collection, the Bulloch County Historical Society Collection, and the Lucile Hodges Collection. Also available for research are the Marvin S. Pittman Collection and the Charles Holmes Herty Collection, to name only a few. See Special Collections at the Henderson Library (Statesboro Campus)
Georgia Historical Society As a non-university research and educational institution, the Georgia Historical Society has collected, preserved, and shared some of the most important documents, rare books, maps, photographs, and artifacts that tell the story of our state’s journey through time. The cornerstones of the collection are Hodgson Hall, the National Historic Landmark building that serves as the GHS Research Center, and the impressive group of manuscripts, rare books, and archival materials housed in the adjacent Abrahams Archival Annex. The collection includes more than 4 million manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, 30,000 architectural drawings, 15,000 books, and thousands of maps, newspapers, portraits, and artifacts. The papers of many influential Georgians, including Griffin Bell, Vince Dooley, Benjamin Hawkins, Helen Dortch Longstreet, Juliette Gordon Low, and Bernie Marcus, are held in the society’s collections. Perhaps the most significant document in the collection is an original draft copy of the U.S. Constitution that belonged to Abraham Baldwin, a Georgia delegate to the national constitutional convention of 1787.
City of Savannah: Municipal Archives & Records Management The Municipal Archives & Records Management division: Collects, manages preserves and makes accessible records documenting the City of Savannah's history Administers the records management program and the City Records Center to increase the efficiency of City agencies Shares the City's history with City employees, citizens and visitors through outreach activities
Catholic Diocese of Savannah: Archives & Records Department The mission of the Archives & Records Department is to administer the Archives & Records program which manages records created by the Diocese of Savannah; to serve as the institutional repository for records of historical and enduring value; and to promote an understanding of the Catholic Church, her history, and her heritage in South Georgia. The department is erected in accordance with Canon 482.
Savannah State University Special Collections Special Collections at Asa H. Gordon Library has been established to collect, organize, describe, preserve, and make available University materials of permanent institutional and historical value. Special Collections will further encourage the dissemination of knowledge pertaining to the origins of programs and goals of the University by providing facilities for the retention, preservation, servicing, and research of Savannah State University documents. In addition, Special Collections will serve as a research source for the study of the University’s history by members of the University community and the scholarly community at large.

Digital Library of Georgia This link opens in a new window
Georgia history and culture through digitized books, primary sources, photos, and video (more...).
Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive This link opens in a new window
Georgia historical newspapers (more...).
Georgia Department of Archives & History This link opens in a new window
Georgia Department of Archives & History website (more...).

Presidential Libraries

Presidential Libraries are repositories for the papers, records and historical materials of the Presidents. The Presidential Libraries work to ensure that these irreplaceable items are preserved and made available for the widest possible use by researchers.

Helpful Links

Published v. Unpublished Primary Sources

Unpublished primary sources are original documents and objects created by individuals but not formally published. Unpublished materials are typically found in archives, libraries, and museums. While researching unpublished materials often requires a physical visit, many make them available online.

Published primary Sources include a wide-range of publications, including first-person accounts, memoirs, diaries, letters, newspapers, statistical reports, government documents, court records, photographs, and more. Some of these materials were not published at the time of their creation but have subsequently been published in a collected volume (e.g. The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance: A Sourcebook)

Find published sources by using Library Catalogs, Research Guides, and published bibliographies. To find primary sources in catalogs try using the following strategies:

Search by publication date to find sources published during the time period
Use advanced search options to restrict material type
Include the following subjects in your search: Correspondence, Letters, Sources, Diaries, Personal Narratives, Interviews, or Speeches

European Digital Collections

British History Online (University of London)
EuroDocs (BYU)
Europeana (European Union)
European History Online (EGO)
Internet History Sourcebooks Project (Fordham)
The Labyrinth (Georgetown)
LacusCurtius (Univ. of Chicago)
Oxford Digital Library
Additional Collections (British) HIST 4235 - Tudor and Stuart Britain LibGuide

HIST 4635 - Senior Seminar - SWANSON: Find Primary Sources