Table of Contents
In the Arts and Humanities
If it's linked, it's a free online database. If not, check to see if the patron's library has a subscription.
News and Newpapers
Canadian Newsstand - BCIT, CAM, CAP, CNC, DC, ECIAD, JIBC, KUC, LC, MUC, NIC, NLC, NWCC, OC, RRU, SC, SFU, TRU, TWU, UCFV, UBC, UNBC, UVic, VCC, YC
Proquest Historical Newspapers - SFU, UBC
The Globe and Mail: Canada's Heritage from 1844 - CAM, DC, KUC, NLC, OC, UCFV, UBC
LexisNexis - SFU, UBC, UNBC
CBC Archives
History
In the First Person
Project Gutenberg - all free and out of copyright - some non-fiction.
Universal Digital Library - all free - most entries are out of copyright.
Proquest Historical Newspapers - SFU, UBC
eHRAF - SFU, TWU, UCFV, UBC, UNBC, UVic
The WWI Document Archive
Duke Digital Collections
Harvard Library Digital Collections
Yale University Library Digital Collections
Historical Photographs
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
Library of Congress Photostream on Flickr
Canadian History
Early Canadiana Online
Canadian Heritage Galleries
The Globe and Mail: Canada's Heritage from 1844 - CAM, DC, KUC, NLC, OC, UCFV, UBC
Canada In the Making Primary Sources
Canadian Pamphlets and Broadsides Collection
Canadian History: Historical Photographs
British Columbia Historical Photographs Online
City of Vancouver: Scanned Photographs
Canadian Heritage Galleries
Images Canada
Virtual Museum Canada
American History
Digital Collections and Content Federated Search - Institute of Museum and Library Services.
AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History
Library of Congress: American Memory
Cornell University Library: Making of America
University of Michigan: Making of America
National Archives and Records Administration
North American Slave Narratives
New York Public Library Digital Collections
University of Washington: History: United States
University of Washington: History: African American
University of Washington: History: Native American
University of Washington: History: Pacific Northwest
Alabama Mosaic
Alaska's Digital Archives
Calisphere (California History).
Indiana Historical Society Digital Images
American History: Historical Photographs
Arizona State Archives Photograph Collections
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection Database
Wisconsin Historical Society Historical Images and Museum Collections
European History
The Avalon Project - 18th - 21st C.
EuroDocs (Western Europe)
Medieval Manuscripts - Free Library of Philadelphia
Internet Ancient History Sourcebook - Ancient Mesopotamia to Early Christian Era.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook - End of Roman Empire to Reformation in Europe.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook - Reformation in Europe to 20th C.
World History
African History
University of Washington: History: Asia
University of Washington: History: Latin America
University of Washington: History: Africa
Library of Congress International Collections
Fine Arts
ArtStor
Theatre Ephemera
Database of Virtual Art
American Memory
Literature
Project Gutenberg
Early English Books Online
Complete Works of Shakespeare
Sacred Texts Online
Library of Congress: American Memory
Political Science
LexisNexis: (newspapers, treaties, public opinion polls) - SFU, UBC, UNBC
LEGISInfo
Official Documents of the UN
Canada In the Making: Primary Sources
Statistics
BC Stats - BCIT, CAM, CNC, COTR, DC, JIBC, KUC, LC, MUC, NIC, NLC, NWCC, OC, RRU, SC, SFU, TRU, TWU, UCFV, UBC, UNBC, UVic, VCC
CANSIM
See the Sources for Statistics wiki page.
Citations for Primary Source Documents and Images
Guide to Finding and Using Online Images from SFU Library.
In the Sciences and Social Sciences
Most science, health, and social science databases contain large numbers of primary source documents. In fact, primary source documents usually outnumber secondary sources in these databases.
If you want to search for only primary sources, there are three main strategies to try:
1. Limit to primary sources
Most databases have a "limit search" or "refine search" option. Usually, you will be presented with the opportunity to limit by Document/Publication/Article Type. Try limiting to things that have the words: experiment(al), trial, empirical, study, or research.
Pros: It's quick.
Cons: You won't get all of the primary sources available.
2. Remove the Review articles
Most databases have a "limit search" or "refine search" option. You can almost always limit to Review articles (sometimes called Literature Review articles), and/or Systematic Review articles. Once you have selected the Review articles, use the Boolean NOT operator to remove the Review articles from your search.
Pros: It's quick.
Cons: You won't have removed all of the non-primary sources from your list of search results. You will still need to evaluate the remaining search results (see below).
3. Evaluate the articles
It's relatively easy to determine if an article is a primary source. If you have the full text of the article, look for a "Methods" or "Materials and Methods" section. Read this section to determine whether an experiment or study was performed. If there no Methods section, you can be pretty sure that it's not a primary source.
If you don't have the full text of the article, read the abstract. Usually you can tell from the abstract whether the article is reporting on an experiment/study, or whether it is reviewing the literature.
Pros: It's accurate and comprehensive.
Cons: It takes time.
Guides to Finding Primary Source Documents
Arts & Humanities
Primary Sources from UBC Library.
Primary Sources for the Humanities from SFU Library.
Primary Sources in History from Douglas College Library.
Primary Sources Guide from Boatwright Memorial Library - University of Richmond.
Sciences
Primary Sources in the Sciences from Douglas College Library.
Primary Sources in Science/Engineering from Camosun College Library.
Guide to Finding Primary Sources/Sciences from UBC LIbrary Wiki.
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