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Primary Source Databases
- America's Historical Newspapers, 1690-1900 This link opens in a new windowOver 959 early American historical newspapers, with strong coverage in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Indiana papers include the Indiana State Journal (1846-1899) and American Nonconformist (1892-1896), and Brookville Enquirer (1819-1820).
- American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Includes thousands of American periodicals from 1691 to 1877.
- Digital Collections (from the Library of Congress) This link opens in a new windowAn amazing resource with digital versions of photographs, maps, books, pamphlets, music and more. Especially useful for the study of American history, but impressive coverage of other regions as well.
- Digital Public Library of America This link opens in a new windowIncludes over 40 million images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the US. Rich primary sources!
- Harper's Weekly This link opens in a new windowFull-text of America's leading 19th century illustrated newspaper: 1857-77
- HeinOnline Civil Rights and Social Justice This link opens in a new window• Comprised of more than 650 titles from the United States Commission on Civil Rights
• Nearly 1,000 congressional hearings
• Learn the process that went into passing civil rights legislation and their various evolving pieces with our curated list of nearly 50 legislative histories
• Discover nearly 1,400 books, reports, and publications on a variety of civil rights issues - HeinOnline Government, Politics & Law This link opens in a new windowIncludes the full content of the Congressional Record since 1873, 3000 law journals, U.S. Reports back to 1754, constitutions for every country in the world, classic books from the 18th & 19th centuries (including significant works on Women and the Law and Religion and the Law), all United States Treaties, and more.
- History Reference Center This link opens in a new windowFull text of reference books, magazines, journals, and primary source documents in U.S. and world history.
- Making of America @ Cornell This link opens in a new windowPrimary sources related to development of the U.S. infrastructure and American social history including books (100) and journals (22) from 1840 to 1900. The collection is particularly strong in representing the main magazines of the era, such as Atlantic Monthly (1857 - 1901) and Scientific American (1846 - 1869).
- Making of America @ Michigan This link opens in a new windowPrimary sources related to development of the U.S. infrastructure and American social history including books (10,000) and journals (13) from 1850 to 1900. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowIncludes Supreme Court Decisions dating to 1790, as well as current news, law cases and reviews, and company financial information.
Wabash College and Indiana history
- Hovey Letters This link opens in a new windowNearly 400 letters written between 1822 and 1876 that document the life of Edmund O. Hovey as student, Presbyterian minister, and educator. They also provide accounts of events in the early history of Wabash College, pioneer life in frontier Indiana, Presbyterian thought and missionary activity, the personal concerns of early 19th century Americans, and the Hovey family history. Edited by Metadata Librarian Brian McCafferty
- Hovey Scrapbook This link opens in a new windowCollection of ephemera related to the earliest decades of Wabash College. It was assembled by Edmund O. Hovey, a founder and the first professor of sciences at Wabash, and consists of letters, memoranda, annual catalogues, programs of College events, and newspaper clippings covering the period from 1832 to 1876.Edited by Metadata Librarian Brian McCafferty
- Hoosier State Chronicles This link opens in a new windowOnline access to high quality digital images of almost 300 of Indiana's historic newspapers.
- Indiana MemoryPortal to primary sources in Indiana libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions
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Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it (a participant or observer). Primary sources do not have to be used in their original form. They may be reproduced electronically, printed or published later and still be considered primary sources. Examples:
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Online Primary Sources by Area
- World Digital LibrarySearch over 19,000 items about 193 countries between 8000 BCE and 2000.
- Digital Libraries from RechtshistorieRich listing of digital libraries (and archives, via the link at the top) listed by continent, then country. Focused on legal history but collections extend beyond this.
- Links to open access Latin American primary sources from NYUNYU Libraries compiled an extensive list of Latin American primary sources. Any link with the orange open access button
can be freely accessed. - Internet History SourcebookExtensive collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts from around the world. Ranges from ancient to modern history. Latin American documents may be found within the Modern History sourcebook.
- Listening to Puerto RicoOral histories from Puerto Ricans who survived hurricane Maria in 2017.
- European History Primary SourcesCollection of scholarly websites offering digitized primary sources on European history
- EuropeanaMillions of books, music, artworks and more from thousands of European libraries, archives, and museums.
- Avalon ProjectLegal documents and other primary sources from Europe and the Americas ranging from 4000 B.C. to present times.
- Euro DocsA comprehensive list of primary documents from nearly every European country.
- British History OnlineBritish History Online is a digital library of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, with a primary focus on the period between 1300 and 1800. Not all resources are available without subscribing.
- World Digital LibrarySearch over 19,000 items about 193 countries between 8000 BCE and 2000.
- Internet History SourcebookExtensive collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts from around the world. Ranges from ancient to modern history.
- World Digital LibrarySearch over 19,000 items about 193 countries between 8000 BCE and 2000.
- Digital Libraries from RechtshistorieRich listing of digital libraries (and archives, via the link at the top) listed by continent, then country. Focused on legal history but collections extend beyond this.
- Asia for EducatorsIncludes Primary Sources translated into English (Columbia University)
- Internet East Asia History SourcebookIncludes images and primary sources translated into English (Fordham University)
- Internet History SourcebookExtensive collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts from around the world. Ranges from ancient to modern history.
- The British Library, endangered archives programmeThe sun never set on the British Empire, so resources from around the globe can be found in the British Library's Digital Collections, particularly in the endangered archives programme section.
- Ling long women's magazineIncludes full text of a popular women's magazine, published in Shanghai from 1931 to 1937 (Columbia University)
- The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam ArchiveThe mission of the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University is to support and encourage research and education regarding all aspects of the American Vietnam experience; promoting a greater understanding of this experience and the peoples and cultures of Southeast Asia.
It offers an archive section, with a guide to more than 350,000 documents housed at the center; a virtual archive, with over 605,000 pages of scanned documents, including photographs, moving images, and computer images; and an Oral History Project. Obviously, the site includes a variety of points of view, but, fortunately, has no specific political agenda about the war.
- World Digital LibrarySearch over 19,000 items about 193 countries between 8000 BCE and 2000.
- Digital Libraries from RechtshistorieRich listing of digital libraries (and archives, via the link at the top) listed by continent, then country. Focused on legal history but collections extend beyond this.
- The British Library, endangered archives programmeThe sun never set on the British Empire, so resources from around the globe can be found in the British Library's Digital Collections, particularly in the endangered archives programme section.
- American JourneysPrimary sources of American explorers from Columbus to Lewis and Clark.
- American MastersUnreleased interviews filmed for past American Masters documentaries. Searchable and browsable, including transcripts.
- American Presidency ProjectMore than 67,000 records pertaining to U.S. presidents, including speeches, papers, and documents.
- Black Metropolis Research Consortium Archives PortalOnline gateway to information about archival collections highlighting Black experiences in Chicago and beyond.
- Documenting the American SouthPrimary sources on Southern history, literature, and culture from University of North Carolina
- Listening to Puerto RicoOral histories from Puerto Ricans who survived hurricane Maria in 2017.
- National Archives CatalogComprehensive source for historical documents and photographs
- Native American Primary ResourcesFrom University of Washington--organized by region.
- Newspaper NavigatorA tool to search visual content from Chronicling America, the Library of Congress’s collection of 16 million newspaper pages, based on machine learning.
- Researching AmericaGuide to primary sources from National Archives
- Steve Morse One-Step WebpagesExcellent compilation of links to immigration and census records, plus resources for dealing with calendars, maps, foreign alphabets, etc.
- University of Virginia, Uncle Tom's Cabin and American CultureComprehensive source of abolition movement with numerous publications and pamphlets.
- Veteran's History ProjectThe Veterans History Project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans
- The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam ArchiveThe mission of the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University is to support and encourage research and education regarding all aspects of the American Vietnam experience; promoting a greater understanding of this experience and the peoples and cultures of Southeast Asia.
It offers an archive section, with a guide to more than 350,000 documents housed at the center; a virtual archive, with over 605,000 pages of scanned documents, including photographs, moving images, and computer images; and an Oral History Project. Obviously, the site includes a variety of points of view, but, fortunately, has no specific political agenda about the war.
- Archives of African American Music and Culture at Indiana UniversityThe collections highlight popular, religious, and classical music, with genres ranging from blues and gospel to R&B and contemporary hip hop.
- Indiana ArchivesSearch the collections at the Indiana State Archives, including African American History, Civil War Records, historical photographs and more.
- Indiana Magazine of HistoryPublished continuously since 1905, the Indiana Magazine of History is one of the nation's oldest historical journals
- Indiana MemoryPortal to primary sources in Indiana libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions
- Lilly Library at IU BloomingtonRare books, manuscripts, and special collections
- Primary Sources in Archives & Special Collections at PurdueIncludes archival materials at Purdue and beyond
Finding Archives and sources on your own
- ArchiveGridArchiveGrid includes over 7 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more.
PROTIP: narrow your search results to those that have links to digital content by adding " has_links:1" to your search.
To find material on your own, try adding the keywords "digital collections" or "digital library" to your web search to find digital collections related to your topic.
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(765) 361-6100
Crawfordsville, IN 47933
(765) 361-6100