Primary sources can be found using a variety of tools including library catalogs (selected primary sources are reproduced in books written by historians), databases, and search engines. The below databases are great places to start your search, but this is not an exhaustive list and there may be primary sources reproduced in some of your secondary sources. Also remember that primary sources are not just documents but can also be works of art, clothing, buildings, and other public locations created at a particular time.
The full text of hundreds of U.S. newspapers from more than 35 states published by African Americans, dating from 1827 to 1998.
Coverage: 1827-1898
Search and view the full text of hundreds of digitized historical newspapers from 42 states, with titles dating from 1789-1963, provided free by the Library of Congress.
Searchable full text for hundreds of historical newspapers published in Ohio between 1800-2010. Search or browse 19th and 20th century Ohio newspapers and view full-page pdf images.
Coverage: 1800-2010
The full text of hundreds of American magazines, journals, and newspapers published between 1741 and 1900.
Coverage: 1741-1900
The entire contents of the New York Times from 1851 to three years ago.
The Accessible Archives collection within History Commons includes text primary sources from 18th and 19th century America, mainly newspapers, including the Pennsylvania Gazette, the Virginia Gazette, Godey's Lady's Book, Frederick Douglass Paper, a collection of South Carolina Newspapers, and a collection of African American newspapers
The electronic version of of the popular magazine Harper's Weekly from the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, 1857-1871.
An archival research resource comprising the full backfiles of leading women's interest consumer magazines.
A digital archive for the collections of major American research libraries. Includes records for millions of items, many of which can be searched full text.
Thousands of full-text electronic books, particularly classic works of Western literature, and reference books.
A database of thousands of criminal arrest cases of nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers in the United States (e.g., police officers, state troopers, deputy sheriffs) from the years 2005-2018. The database can be searched by crime, location, or victim with a number of filters to facilitate detailed responses. It is a project of BGSU professor Philip M. Stinson, Sr., J.D., Ph.D., and his Police Integrity Research Group.
The Police Crime Database includes summary information on thousands of criminal arrest cases involving individual nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers, each of whom were charged with one or more crimes.
U.S. statistical data dating back to 1790.
Coverage: 1790 to present
You are not, however, limited to digital archives or primary source databases. BGSU is home to many physical archive collection that students have access.
One way to identify books that are primary sources is to look for books written by people who were involved in the event or activity you are researching. When you look at secondary sources, write down the names of people and then look for them as authors.
In the BGSU Libraries Catalog, the OhioLINK Catalog, and WorldCat, books that have been assigned subjects with the subheadings in the list below might be primary sources. However, don’t expect that a book that includes primary sources will always include one of these words or phrases in a subject heading. Also, these subheadings are not used in other databases.
--Diaries
--Correspondence
--Biography
--Sources
--Anecdotes
--Personal narratives
--Interviews
Examples:
The Library of Congress has a great tool for helping you evaluate potential primary sources: