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:
- 19th Century US Newspaper Archive This link opens in a new windowAccess to 1.7 million pages of primary source newspaper content from the 19th century.
- Accessible Archives This link opens in a new windowA collection of primary source materials reflecting broad views across American history and culture, including Civil War materials and early African American newspapers.
- America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowAmerican newspapers published across three centuries. Includes thousands of titles from all 50 states. Historic newspapers 1690- recent past.
- 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)
Find Additional Historical Newspapers:
Use these resources to find historical magazine articles.
Why You Should Use Them:
- Magazine 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, letters to the editor, advertisements, etc.
- Depict cultural/societal norms, values, and fashion styles
Find Historical Magazine Articles:
- Accessible Archives This link opens in a new windowA collection of primary source materials reflecting broad views across American history and culture, including Civil War materials and early African American newspapers.
- Reader's Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new windowIndexes general-interest American magazines. Covers 1892-1983. Some content will be online in other databases. Use Journal Finder to check for full text access.
- 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.
- Google MagazinesLinks to English language magazines digitized by Google including Ebony, Jet, and Life Magazine.
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:
- American Slavery: A Composite Autobiography This link opens in a new windowCollection of autobiographies of former slaves in the United States.
- 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.
- European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750 This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive guide to printed records about the Americas written in Europe before 1750.
- North American Women's Letters & Diaries This link opens in a new windowPublished letters and diaries depicting the personal experiences of hundreds of women. Colonial times to 1950.
- 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.
Find Data and Historical Statistics:
- Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new windowThese are statistics from the US Census and Statistical Abstracts from 1790 to 1990 or later. This includes the population census, which includes information on housing, economic conditions and much more.
- Statista This link opens in a new windowStatistics, studies and reports from over 18,000 sources. Includes data from businesses, government departments, market research concerns or associations 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 Internet Sources:
- African-American OdysseyDigital resources available from the Library of Congress that highlight its African-American collections.
- American Presidency ProjectIncludes more than 100,000 documents related to the study of the Presidency including public papers, proclamations, addresses, and executive orders.
- American Social History OnlineProvides access to 362 distributed digital library collections related to 19th and 20th century social history.
- Digital Collections. Library of CongressHistorical collections from the Library of Congress
- Digital History: Using New Technologies to Enhance Teaching and ResearchExtensive collection of materials, including timelines, texts and primary sources, compiled by the University of Houston and its partners.
- Digital Media RepositoryProvides access to many digitized primary resources found in the University Libraries at Ball State University.
- Discovering American Women's History OnlineDatabase maintained at Middle Tennessee University that "provides access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States."
- Documenting the American SouthProvides Internet access to fourteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs related to southern history, literature, and culture.
- 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."
- Indigenous Digital Archive Treaties ExplorerSearchable collection of 374 digitized treaties between the Native nations and the U.S. government from the U.S. National Archives. Database can be searched or browsed by treaty, cession, tribe, or place.
- Making of America"Making of America (MoA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology."
- National Security ArchiveLocated at George Washington University, the Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
- Oral Histories of the American SouthOne of the collections from "Documenting the American South" provided by the University of NC at Chapel Hill. It consists of transcripts and audio-recordings of 500 oral history interviews on topics such as civil rights, women's issues, and politics.
- NCpediaOnline encyclopedia of North Carolina's resources, history, people, and culture.
- Women Working, 1800-1930This collection of digital dccuments from Harvard University focuses on women's roles in the United States economy.