Citation Resources
The most often used citation style for History is:
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Organize your sources using Zotero.
What are primary sources?
Primary sources are documents or artifacts created by eyewitnesses or participants present at an event. Some examples of primary sources include diaries, letters, newspaper articles, photographs, advertisements, editorials, political cartoons, government documents, legislation, maps, oral histories, interviews, novels, plays, music, and many other things. These items can be found in many of the library's databases and on websites from museums, archives, libraries, and government agencies.
Why should I use primary sources?
- Get first-person accounts from eyewitnesses and participants
- Supports original historical research
- Gives voice to individuals not always included in the historical record
Books written by scholars are a good source of information for many topics. Memoirs, autobiographies, diaries, and similar items give first-person accounts of events and experiences.
Search Belk Library's online system or use the following resources to find primary source books, government documents, reports, and other items.
Be sure to speak with a librarian if you don't find what you need. They will be able to suggest other sources of information to help with your research needs.
Find Primary Source Books:
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new windowHathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world. Includes Primary Source books and documents
- Internet ArchiveInternet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, and more.
- Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg offers over 54,000 free eBooks. Select free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online.
- Google BooksIndex of full-text books
Use these resources to find historical newspaper articles online.
Why You Should Use Them:
- Newspaper articles may be considered a primary source if written at the time an event occurred
- May include eyewitness or firsthand accounts of events
- Frequently include other primary source objects like photographs, editorials, political cartoons, letters to the editor, advertisements, etc.
Find Historical Newspaper Articles:
- Newspaper Archive This link opens in a new windowHistorical newspapers from across the United States and beyond. Obituaries. Photos. Access 575+ million pages. Articles. From the 1700's to 2000's. Great for history and genealogy research.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index This link opens in a new windowAccess to the archives of The New York Times (1851-2019)
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post This link opens in a new windowAccess to the archives of The Washington Post (1877-2007)
- Chronicling America: Historic American NewspapersDigital collection from the Library of Congress that allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1860-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.
- The Times Digital Archive (London) This link opens in a new windowThe Times Digital Archive is an online, full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of the Times, one of the most highly regarded resources for eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century news coverage, with every page of every issue from 1785 to 2012. (Primary Source)
- Financial Times Historical Archives This link opens in a new windowFinancial Times Historical Archive, 1888-2010 delivers the complete run of the London edition of this internationally known daily paper, from its first issue through 2010. Includes advertising and marketing list.
- AAASS Newsnet Archive & CDPSP Archive This link opens in a new windowPrimary source documents of the Russian and Soviet press and the Current Digest of the Russian Press from 1949 to present. Site also includes historical Mexican, Chinese, and Middle Eastern/North African newspapers.
The following is a selective list of library databases that contain primary source content. Many of these databases feature a specific type of content or focus on a particular time period or subject.
Be sure to speak with a librarian if you don't find what you need. They will be able to suggest other sources of information to help your research needs.
Selected Primary Source Databases:
- ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new windowProvides access to detailed archival collection descriptions. It includes descriptions of archival collections held by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies and archives worldwide,
- Archives Unbound This link opens in a new windowPrimary source collection of historical documents that include: Federal Surveillance of African Americans, 1920-1984; Confederate Newspapers: A Collection from Florida Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama and more.
- Congressional Publications This link opens in a new windowFull range of legislative and public policy resources. Includes the Congressional Serial Set. 1789 - present.
- CQ Press Historic Documents This link opens in a new windowPrimary sources covering the most significant political events of the year. 1972-2009.
- U.S. Intelligence on the Middle East, 1945-2009 This link opens in a new windowThis comprehensive document set sheds light on the U.S. intelligence community’s spying and analytic efforts in the Arab world, including the Middle East, the Near East, and North Africa.
- U.S. Serial Set This link opens in a new windowA collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under directive of the Congress. Includes Congressional Hearings. Coverage 1789-present.
- U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978 This link opens in a new windowRecords and briefs brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in the period 1832-1978, primary source for the study American history and the U.S. judicial system.
- Vogue Archive This link opens in a new windowThe Vogue Archive preserves the work of the world's greatest fashion designers, stylists and photographers and is a unique record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the dawn of the modern era to the present day. Covers 1892 to the present.
- Women's Magazine Archive This link opens in a new windowCollection of leading US women's magazines from the late 19th-century to the 2005. Includes: Better Homes & Gardens, Cosmopolitan, Essence, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, Parents, Redbook, Seventeen, Town & Country and more.
Use internet resources as a starting point to find relevant content online from libraries, museums, archives, government agencies, and organizations.
Why You Should Use Them:
- Use to locate reports, statistics, data, newspapers, and primary source content
- Use content produced by government agencies, reputable organizations, museums, archives, and libraries
- Resources may link to additional websites and resources
Be sure to speak with a librarian if you don't find what you need. They will be able to suggest other sources of information to help your research needs.
Find 1970s Timelines:
- 1970s -- History.comProvides links and information about the 1970s from the History Channel.
- WWW-VL: History: USA: 1970-1979Provides links to information and websites arranged chronologically by date.
- America's Best History U.S. Timeline, 1970 - 1979Chronological timeline of the decade.
Find Internet Resources:
- About the Love CanalThis website from the University of Buffalo's Special Collections gathers background information, photos, newspaper articles, and chronologies about the Love Canal disaster.
- American Presidency ProjectIncludes more than 100,000 documents related to the study of the Presidency including public papers, proclamations, addresses, and executive orders.
- American President: A Reference ResourceThe Miller Institute at the University of Virginia provides in-depth information on each president as well as access to oral histories, presidential speeches, and transcriptions of secret White House tapes from Roosevelt to Nixon.
- Carter Presidential Library and MuseumTextual, visual, and audio materials from the presidency of Jimmy Carter that are available to the public.
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) HistoryThis website chronicles the history of the EPA since its establishment in 1970 and includes historical documents and images from events such as Three Mile Island, Love Canal, and Earth Day, etc.
- Ford Presidential Library and MuseumTextual, visual, and audio materials from the presidency of Gerald R. Ford that are available to the public.
- Foreign Relations of the United States"The Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity."
- Nixon Grand Jury RecordsFormer President Richard M. Nixon was "questioned over the period of two days, June 23 and June 24, 1975, and the testimony was taken as part of various investigations being conducted by the January 7, 1974, Grand Jury for the District of Columbia (the 3rd Watergate Grand Jury)."
- Nixon Presidential Library and MuseumTextual, visual, and audio materials from the presidency of Richard M. Nixon that are available to the public.
- Three Mile IslandTextual, visual, and audio documents related to the Three Mile Island accident collected by Dickinson College.
- Vietnam Center and Archive: Digital ResourcesThe Vietnam Archive, housed at Texas Tech University, provides access to more than 400,000 digital items, including documents, manuscripts, audio recordings, images, oral histories, maps, and more.
- Watergate FilesWebsite from the Ford Presidential Library and Museum which chronicles the Watergate scandal.