LibGuides: * History: Primary Sources

Finding Archival Collections

ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window
ArchiveGrid includes over 7 million records from over 1,400 archival institutions describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more.

Social Networks and Archrival Context (SNAAC)
"SNAC (Social Networks and Archival Context) is a free, online resource that helps users discover biographical and historical information about persons, families, and organizations that created or are documented in historical resources (primary source documents) and their connections to one another. Users can locate archival collections and related resources held at cultural heritage institutions around the world."

Databases with Primary Sources

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Over 1,000,000 images covering art, architecture,fashion and archeology. Software tools support teaching and research.
including: viewing and analyzing images through features such as zooming and panning, saving groups of images online for personal or shared uses, and creating and delivering presentations both online and offline.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
The Gale Primary Sources cross-search interface provides access to millions of pages of content spanning many centuries and geographic regions. Users can explore a wide range of content including monographs, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs, maps, and more.
Readex AllSearch This link opens in a new window
Search across all of our available Readex primary source collections, including African Newspapers, Latin American Newspapers, Archive of Americana, America's Historical Imprints, America's Historical Newspapers, and Caribbean Newspapers.

Accessible Archives This link opens in a new window
Full text of many 18th and 19th century American newspapers and magazines, including North Star and Frederick Douglass’ Paper.
Includes The Liberator, Godey’s Lady’s Book, Frederick Douglass’ newspapers, and many others.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full text - articles, ads, pictures - of New York Times (1851 - 2011) & other major papers. Click "More" link for their names.
Atlanta Constitution (1868 - 1984) Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003) Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988) Baltimore Sun (1837-1992) Boston Globe (1872 - 1985) Chicago Defender (1909-1975) Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1993) Christian Science Monitor (1908 - 2004) Globe and Mail (1844-2014) Irish Times (1859 - 2016) Louisville Courier (1830 - 2000) Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1993) Minneapolis Tribune (1867 - 2001) New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993) New York Times (1851 - 2013) U.S, Northeast Collection (1785 - 2010) Some issues for 1953, 1962-1963, 1965, 1978 were never published due to pressman's strikes. No Sunday issue was published until April 21, 1861. New York Tribune (1841-1962) Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002) South China Morning Post (1903-1998) Times of India (1838-2008) Wall Street Journal (1889 - 2000) Washington Post (1877 - 2000)
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Black Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full text/image for key 20th-century African-American newspapers from Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, New York and Pittsburgh.
Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003) Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988) Chicago Defender (1909-1975) New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993) Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002).
Alt-Press Watch This link opens in a new window
Full text newspapers, magazines and journals of the alternative and independent press.

Women's Periodicals, 1733-1891 (EBSCO)
This collection highlights changing perceptions of womanhood and ideas about the role of women throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries including titles such as The Ladies' Companion, Godey's Lady's Book, Harper's Bazaar, and more!

Chinese Newspapers Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text coverage of 22 Chinese newspapers from 1832-1953.

British History Online This link opens in a new window
A digital library of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland.
Archives Direct This link opens in a new window
Archives Direct is a suite of collections sourced from The National Archives, Kew, the official archive of the United Kingdom. Containing diplomatic correspondence, letters, reports, surveys, material from newspapers, statistical analyses, published pamphlets, ephemera, military papers, profiles of prominent individuals, maps and many other types of document, it consists of the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from the British state’s point of view.

Atla Historical Monographs Collection (EBSCO)
This database contains full-text historical books on religion and theology from the thirteenth through the early 20th century.

* History

Help is Available!

Lara Nicosia (she/her)

Humanities Librarian

Finding Archival Collections

Databases with Primary Sources

Digital Collections

Newspapers and Magazines

Historical Documents and Publications