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Primary Sources: Home

What's in this Guide?

As you browse through the rest of this guide, you'll find examples of the many types of primary sources as well as how to find them!

The sources in this guide can be found in our library as well as online and in other libraries around the U.S.

What are Primary Sources?

Primary sources are first-hand accounts of a topic or event from people who had a direct connection with it. 

Types of primary sources:

  • Original Research
  • Speeches, Diaries, Letters, Interviews
  • Newspaper reports (from reporters who were at the event)
  • Datasets & survey data (such as census reports)
  • Photographs, videos, audio captured during an event
  • Texts of laws
  • Artifacts
  • Minutes from a meeting
  • Original work of Art
  • Government documents (such as the original text of the Declaration of Independence)

Primary vs. Secondary