Primary Sources: Home

What are primary sources? 

•        Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. 

•        These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research.

Where can you find primary sources?

•        Government agencies and archives

•        Historical societies and museums

•        Libraries

•        In your own home through interviews and family papers

•        On the web

Here is a website that will help you learn more about using primary sources:

Primary Sources on the Web: Finding, Evaluating, Using (Librarian page)

http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/primarysources