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History

A primary source is direct evidence of a topic, person, place or event. Think of a primary source as a first-hand account or eyewitness testimony recorded close to the time of the topic or event you are researching. Oral histories, even though recorded later, may also be primary sources. Other types of primary sources may include newspaper & magazine accounts of events, letters, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, maps, legal documents and court cases, films and newsreels. 

Use Knox Primo to Find Primary Sources

There are three primary methods to identify published primary sources using Knox Primo (or any library catalog).

  • Specific terms mark a book as being primary source material. Use any of the following terms as search terms in your searches.
correspondence letters
papers journals
diaries personal narratives

   Search example:  civil war and (personal narratives or diaries)

  • Get familiar enough with your topic to know the principle individuals involved and then search the catalog using the names of these individuals as authors.
  • Specify that the word "sources" must be in the subject headings field--use the Advanced Search option. The term "sources" is indicative of official documents, and may also be used to refer to collections of personal papers. To find documents about slavery, search using the terms "slavery" and "sources" (no quotes) and select the "Subject Words" index from the drop-down list:

Artstor

Artstor is a database of images of art work, art objects, cultural objects and architecture contributed by museums, archives and libraries from all over the world. 

You can search Artstor by keyword for images related to your topic. See the Artstor guide and training videos on YouTube for help.