Primary Sources Published in Book Form
- Many resources that could be primary source material have been published in book form. Adding these keywords to a search in either the Local Catalog or Worldcat can be helpful in narrowing down to primary sources: archival materials, correspondence, diaries, interviews, manuscripts, papers, personal narratives, sources.
- For example, see the results you get with this search: Spain "personal narratives" (The quotation marks tell the search engine to look for the two words together.) Many of the results are memoirs of people in the Spanish Civil War.
- If you find a book in Worlcat, and it's not a very old title, most libraries will allow you to borrow the book via our interlibrary loan service.
Digitized Books
- Most of the following databases contain digitized versions of books.
- Most of the individual titles within these databases are also listed in the Local Catalog.
-
African History and Culture Imprints from the LCP, 1540-1921 This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1540-1921
Covers the history of Africa and its diverse people over nearly 400 years and includes more than 1,300 books, pamphlets, almanacs, broadsides and ephemera.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Afro-Americana Imprints, 1535-1922 This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1535-1922
Database of more than 12,000 printed books, pamphlets, and broadsides recording African American history, literature and culture from the early 16th to the early 20th century.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
America's Historical Imprints This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1535-1922
Covering every aspect of American life during the early decades of the United States, this primary source collection provides full text access to over 150,000 early American books, pamphlets and broadsides. This resource includes the Evans Series (1639-1800), Shaw-Shoemaker Series (1801-1819), American Broadsides and Ephemera (1760-1900), Afro-Americana Imprints (1535-1922), African History and Culture (1540-1921), Black Authors (1556-1922), and Caribbean History and Culture (1535-1920).
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
ARTFL This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 13th-20th centuries
American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language (ARTFL) covers classic works of French literature, non-fiction prose, and technical writing from the 13th through the 20th century. Some full text is available.
-
ATLA Historical Monographs: Series 1 This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 13th century-1893
Series 1 provides an archive of religious and theological literature from the late 13th century through 1893. Volumes are in a range of languages, including English, German, French, Aramaic, Arabic, Greek and Hebrew.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online print or video tutorial.
-
ATLA Historical Monographs: Series 2 This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1894-1922
Series 2 provides an archive of religious and theological literature from 1894 through 1922. Topics include the changing landscape of religion in America, the growing interest in non-Western religions at the turn of the century, church life, missionary activity, social movements, and demographics.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online print or video tutorial.
-
Black Authors Imprints from the LCP 1556-1922 This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1556-1922
More than 550 works by authors of African and African American descent, including personal narratives, autobiographies, histories, novels, essays, poems, and more.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window
Contains the non-fiction published works of over 1,000 leading African Americans, including artists, teachers, religious leaders, politicians, entertainers, and more. Resources cover over 250 years of history and include interviews, journal articles, letters, speeches, trial transcripts, and other materials. Includes access to Black Panther, the official newspaper of the Black Panther Party.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Caribbean History and Culture Imprints from the LCP, 1535-1920 This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1535-1920
This resource covers the diverse history of the Caribbean Islands over nearly 400 years. Includes books, pamphlets, almanacs, broadsides and ephemera.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1473-1700
Early English Books Online contains over 140,000 titles listed in Pollard and Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475-1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), the Thomason Tracts (1640-1661), and the Early English Tract Supplement. All titles are full text digital facsimiles from the Early English Books microfilm collection. Highlights of the collection include works by Shakespeare, Malory, Erasmus, Newton, and Galileo.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Early European Books This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1475-1701
Provides access to high-resolution facsimile images of rare printed sources from the origin of printing through the seventeenth century. Early European Books contains significant works by Aristotle, Copernicus, Descartes, Erasmus, Kepler, Luther and Spinoza, alongside ephemeral works such as pamphlets and almanacs. The works encompass all the major fields of human endeavour, including science, medicine, philosophy, theology, literature, history, political science, travel, and exploration.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1701-1800
Provides access to works from history, geography, various social sciences, fine arts, music, art, architecture, medicine, science, technology, literature, language, religion, philosophy, and law. Resources include books, pamphlets, broadsides, and reference works. Significant English-language and foreign-language titles printed in the UK, along with important works from the Americas, are included. ECCO is based on The English Short Title Catalog (ESTC).
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Shared digital repository of millions of library books and journals converted from print resources owned by research institutions around the world. HathiTrust Digital Library does not permit downloading or viewing the full text of books that are still under copyright.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
NOTE: The individual titles in this database are only listed in Discover not the Local Catalog. -
Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 16th-20th centuries
Four centuries of history, from early contact to the modern era, are featured in this resource. Coverage includes peoples of North and Central America and materials include manuscripts, illustrations, newspapers, books, photos and maps. This resource is also cross-searchable with the American West database.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
London Low Life This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 18th-20th centuries
A digital collection of full-text and color images of rare books, ephemera, maps, posters, slag dictionaries, children's chapbooks, street cries, playbills, cartoons, and other materials relating to the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century Victorian London. This database also includes a chronology, interactive map, essays, visual galleries, and exhibitions. Topics covered include the underworld, religion, women and gender, politics, popular music, urban topography, slang, working-class culture, prostitution, the Temperance Movement, and police and criminality.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises, 1800-1926 This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1800-1926
From one of the most important periods of legal development, this archive is a comprehensive full text collection of Anglo-American legal treatises. It allows for full text searching of more than 21,000 works from casebooks, local practice manuals, form books, works for lay readers, pamphlets, letters, speeches and more - all separated into 99 subject areas.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Making Of Modern Law: Trials 1600-1926 This link opens in a new window
Contains works pertaining to the United States, Britain, Ireland, Canada, as well as English-language titles about trials in other jurisdictions, such as France. Resources include published trial transcripts, popular printed accounts of sensational trials for murder, unofficially published trial documents, official records of legislative proceedings, administrative proceedings, arbitration sessions, and books and pamphlets about specific trials. Topics include adultery, commercial law, constitutional law, dueling, elections, impeachment, international law, land, military offenses, murder, sexuality, slavery, torts, treason, and wills.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Making of the Modern World This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1450-1850
The Making of the Modern World, Part I: The Goldsmiths'-Kress Collection covers the expansion of world trade, the Industrial Revolution, and the development of modern capitalism. Resources include rare books and primary source materials covering a variety of subjects, including commerce, finance, social conditions, politics, trade and transport.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Access to full text resources covering a variety of topics from the 19th century, including British politics and society, diplomatic and cultural exchange between Asia and the West, British theatre and music, and European literature from the Corvey Collection. Content is drawn from the world's preeminent libraries and archives and includes monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, maps, photographs, maps, manuscripts, and ephemera.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
NOTE: History Sleuth students: The British Politics and Society unit includes more than 400 documents on the "Jack the Ripper" killings. Scroll down to the "Whitechapel Murders Papers."
-
Overland Journeys: Travels in the West This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1800-1880
A collection of monographs from the Travels in the West and Southwest and Plains & Rockies microfilm collections.
-
Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926 This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1500-1926
Sabin Americana contains works about the Americas published throughout the world from 1500 to the early 1900's. Resources include books, pamphlets, serials, and other documents that provide original accounts of exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, and military actions.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.
-
Women & Social Movements in the United States This link opens in a new window
Coverage: 1600-2000
This database provides access to historical analysis and documents related to women and social movements in the United States. It also includes a dictionary of social movements and organizations and a chronology of U.S. Women's history. Resources include book, film, and website reviews, archival documents, and teaching tools.
For more information about using this resource, view the publisher's online tutorial.