Subject Expert
Paul Victor
Contact:
JFK Library
320 Media Lane
Cheney, WA 99004
Office Hours: By appointment.
320 Media Lane
Cheney, WA 99004
Office Hours: By appointment.
509-359-7909
Print Primary Sources
Are you visiting the JFK Library in person and want to look at print primary sources? Then click on the link below.
Useful Words for Finding Primary Sources in Library Catalogs
To find books that reproduce primary sources on your topic, you need to enter the topic (or person) you are researching and one of the following subjects:
Archives, correspondence, diaries, interviews, letters, manuscripts, maps, memoirs, narratives (personal, slave, etc.), photographs, propaganda, sources, speeches.
If you want to find reproductions of important primary sources from U.S. history, then you can do a subject search for United States History Sources in the EWU catalog.
Finding & Understanding Primary Sources
The following Web sites will explain the differences between primary and secondary sources.
Useful Words for Finding Primary Sources in the Library Catalog
To find books that reproduce primary sources on your topic, you need to enter the topic (or person) you are researching and one of the following subjects:
Archives, correspondence, diaries, interviews, letters, manuscripts, maps, memoirs, narratives (personal, slave, etc.), photographs, propaganda, sources, speeches.
If you want to find reproductions of important primary sources from U.S. history, then you can do a subject search for United States History Sources in the EWU catalog.
Another way of finding primary sources written by a specific historical figure is to enter the person's name into one search box and then the term author in another search box (do it as a Subject search). It should return materials that were written by that person.
Databases Containing Primary Sources
- African American Experience This link opens in a new windowScholarly books and encyclopedias, as well as primary source documents for the history and culture of the African American community.
- American Indian Experience This link opens in a new windowScholarly books and encyclopedias, as well as hundreds of primary source documents and photographs for the histories and cultures of the Native American peoples.
- American State Papers 1789-1838 This link opens in a new windowCongressional and Executive Branch reports, complementing the U.S. Congressional Serial Set.
- Artstor This link opens in a new windowImages of art, architecture, photographs and videos from art museums from around the world. Keyword search or browse by collection, type, or geography. Create an individual account to download the images. Downloaded images can be used in the classroom and non-commercial educational use.
- Civil Rights and Social Justice (HeinOnline) This link opens in a new windowPublications covering the expansion of civil rights protections and definitions in the United States. Includes hearings, committee prints, legislative histories, CRS and GAO reports, briefs from landmark Supreme Court cases, and publications from the Commission on Civil Rights.
- Early American Imprints 1639-1800 & 1801-1819 This link opens in a new windowBooks, pamphlets, broadsides and other imprints listed in the renowned bibliographies by Charles Evans (1639-1800) and Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker (1801-1819).
- Latino American Experience This link opens in a new windowPrimary and secondary sources,including biographies, on the history and culture of Latinos living in the United States.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982 (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowIndexing from magazines and a few journals.
- Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law (HeinOnline) This link opens in a new windowMultitude of essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. Access to most content except some scholarly articles.
- U.S. Congressional Serial Set -- 1817-1980 This link opens in a new windowFull-text Congressional reports, documents & journals from 1817 to 1980.
- Women’s Studies Archive (Gale Primary Sources) This link opens in a new windowProvides a history of the social, political, and professional aspects of women's lives and offers a look at the roles, experiences, and achievements of women in society with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. Access to diaries, letters, photographs, news clippings, organizational records, and journals on issues such as societal contributions, social status, and women's movements and more.
Local Resources
- Archives West (formerly the Northwest Digital Archives)Archives West provides access to descriptions of primary sources in the Northwestern United States, including correspondence, diaries, or photographs. Digital reproductions of primary sources are available in some cases.
- Museum of Arts & CultureThe Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture collects art, artifacts and primary source material in three disciplines: Regional History, Fine Art, and American Indian and other cultures. The collections include over 68,000 objects representing fine art and material culture from the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
- Northwest Room (Spokane Public Library)The Spokane Public Library has an extensive Northwest collection which contains over 13,000 items. The collection consists of reference books, maps, directories, periodicals, government documents, and archival materials pertaining to the history, exploration, and settlement of the Pacific Northwest. The Northwest Room offers information on every period from the late 1700's to the present. Scroll down the main Webpage to access their digital collections.
- Spokane Historical (EWU's Public History Program)Spokane Historical is a web and mobile platform for telling stories of Spokane and Eastern Washington. It is a free app available on your Android or iPhone smart phone or tablet. Spokane Historical is a project of the Public History program at Eastern Washington University.
- Washington Digital NewspapersBrings together over 600,000 pages from Washington’s earliest Territorial newspapers to the present day. Freely accessible to the public, this growing collection complements the Washington State Library’s physical collection
- Washington State Archives Digital CollectionsFor the Spokane area, contact the Eastern Regional Branch located on the EWU campus (960 Washington Street, Tel.# (509)235-7508). Collections span the years from the territorial period to the present and include school census records, tax assessment rolls, court dockets and case files, photographs, maps, plats, and engineering drawings. You can also search their historical newspapers [https://www.sos.wa.gov/library/newspapers/newspapers.aspx].
National Resources
- National Archives & Records Administration (NARA)Browse the National Archives by topic.
- 100 Milestone Documents (NARA)The full-text of 100 milestone documents (including some involving international events) compiled by the National Archives that chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965.
International Resources
- Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and DiplomacyA collection of digital primary documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government.
- EuroDocs: Online Sources for European HistoryA collection of open access primary document sources. Links connect users to European primary historical documents that are transcribed, reproduced in facsimile, or translated. In addition you will find video or sound files, maps, photographs or other imagery, databases, and other documentation. The sources cover a broad range of historical happenings (political, economic, social and cultural).
- Internet History Sourcebooks ProjectThe Internet History Sourcebooks Project is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use.