LibGuides: HIS 3331: History of England: Primary Sources

Primary Source Overview

A primary source is a record of a person, event, or occurrence created by an eyewitness or a participant's version of an event. Primary sources allow researchers to gain better insight into historical figures and events.
Primary sources emphasize the lack of intermediaries between the things or events being studied and reports of those things or events based on the belief that firsthand accounts are more accurate.
Examples of primary sources include diaries, letters, notes from lab experiments, research data, photographs, blogs, e-mails, maps, scrapbooks, Facebook pages, poetry, artwork, birthday cards, office records, and artifacts.

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR offers journals, ebooks, and primary source collections, allowing researchers to retrieve high-resolution scanned images as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated. The resources archived in JSTOR span many disciplines.
Library of Congress Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Comprising more than 9 million items that document U.S. history and culture, the site is organized into more than 100 thematic collections based on their original format, their subject matter, or who first created, assembled, or donated them to the Library. LC's Digital Collections provides free and open access to manuscripts, prints, photographs, posters, maps, sound recordings, motion pictures, books, pamphlets, and sheet music. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. Collections may be browsed individually, searched individually (including full-text searching for many written items), or searched across multiple collections.
National Archives This link opens in a new window
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records.

Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a library of over 70,000 free eBooks. Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online
Digital Bodlein
Discover over a million images of rare books, manuscripts, and other treasures from the Bodleian Libraries and Oxford college libraries.
British History Online
British 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. Some of the content is freely available, while some of the content requires a paid subscription.
David Rumsey Map Collection
Welcome to the David Rumsey Map Collection Database and Blog. The Map Database has many viewers and the Blog has numerous categories. The historical map collection has over 42,000 maps and images online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North American and South American maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia, and Africa are also represented.
The National Archives (UK)
The National Archives is the UK government's official archive, containing over 1,000 years of history. We give detailed guidance to government departments and the public sector on information management and advise others about the care of historical archives.