What are Primary Sources?
A primary source is a document or even a physical object, such as a Native American basket, which was written or created during a particular time period. These first-hand sources can provide insight into that time period or event, sometimes by bringing a sense of immediacy. Primary sources are:
Documents or objects created by its originator
From the viewpoint of a participant or observer
Not in interpreted or translated form
Examples:
The library has many sources with primary sources documents or about primary documents. You can use ONESEARCH to locate both online and print materials. By clicking on the Advanced Search option, you can add more subject terms to narrow your search. Below are some examples of print books on primary sources in the library's collection:
The Antebellum Era: primary documents on events from 1820 to 1860 by 
The Civil War: Primary documents on events from 1860 to 1865 by 
The Early Republic: Primary documents on events from 1799 to 1820 by 
The Great Depression and New Deal by 
The Progressive Era: primary documents on events from 1890 to 1914 by 
The Radical Reader: a documentary history of the American radical tradition by 
The Reconstruction Era: primary documents on events from 1865 to 1877 by 
The Revolutionary Era: primary documents on events from 1776 to 1800 by 
Understanding U. S. Military Conflicts Through Primary Sources by 
Voices of the American Indian Experience by 
Women's Rights by 
World War I ; primary documents on events from 1914 to 1919 by 
The American Nation by 
America's Gilded Age: an eyewitness history by The Early Republic by 
The Great American Mosaic by 
Martin Luther King, Jr. , Malcolm X and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and '60s by 
Milestone Documents in African American History by 
This was Andersonville : the true story of Andersonville Military Prison as told in the personal recollections of John McElroy, sometime private, Co. L, 16th Illinois Cavalry by 
The library has the New York Times from 1851 on microfilm. You can capture the mood of the past through New York Times articles covering the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The library has the New York Times microfilm from 9/1851-12/1865, 1/1913-12/2003. You can retrieve some of the articles through the online NYT archives, but you will have to subscribe for full access at New York Times Archives. However, by using the online archives to search for subjects, you locate the dates and pages of interesting articles that you can then find on microfilm. Ask a librarian at the Reference desk on the first floor for assistance with the microfilms.
The library also has the Los Angeles Times on microfilm from 1/1970-12/2003. The Los Angeles Times Archives is available online with a free 7 day trial, but afterwards, you need to subscribe.