Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary sources are works created by an individual or group or first hand accounts of events. Secondary sources are a step away from a primary source. These would be interpretations analyses of works created by or events witnessed by others. ​Use the links below to find out more about what constitutes a primary or secondary source.

• Harvard Library: What is a Primary Source?

• Ithaca College Library: Primary and Secondary Sources

• Library of Congress

  • Primary Source Analysis Tool

  • Using Primary Sources

• Purdue OWL: Primary Research

You can find many primary and secondary sources in our online databases. Additionally, these websites have primary sources from American and world history:

• AP Archive: Film and video archive of The Associated Press (AP)

• BYU: EuroDocs

• Digital Public Library of America

• Georgetown University: African Studies & African History: Primary Sources

• Georgetown University: Primary Sources

• Library of Congress: Digital Collections

• Library of Congress: Primary Documents in American History

• National Archives

• The New York Times: On This Day

• Smithsonian Learning Lab

• ​TeachingAmericanHistory.org

• Yale University: Primary Sources at Yale