Research Guides: English Research Guide: Locating Primary Sources

Original Creative Texts

Drama Online This link opens in a new window
Drama productions, playtexts, audio plays, and scholarly books, introducing new writers alongside the most iconic names in playwriting history.
African American Poetry 1750-1900 This link opens in a new window
Nearly 3,000 poems written by African-American poets in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
American Poetry This link opens in a new window
Contains over 40,000 poems by more than 200 poets, written between 1650 and 1920.
English Poetry (600-1900) This link opens in a new window
Drawn from nearly 4,500 printed sources, more than 1,250 poets are represented.
Faber Poetry Library This link opens in a new window
A collection of some of the most influential poets of the twentieth century. Contains 140 volumes by 50 poets.
Twentieth-Century African American Poetry This link opens in a new window
Modern and contemporary African American poetry, featuring almost 9,000 poems by 62 of the most important African American poets of the last century.
Twentieth-Century American Poetry This link opens in a new window
50,000 poems drawn from 750 volumes by over 300 poets, including biographical information on each poet.
Twentieth-Century English Poetry This link opens in a new window
More than 600 volumes of poetry by 283 poets from 1900 to 2000.
Literature in Context This link opens in a new window
Search by title: Understanding.
Primary source material, collateral readings, and commentary that helps students understand the historical, social, and cultural milieu associated with major literary works.

Newspapers

Databases by Type: Newspaper
Browse all our newspaper databases.

Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Digital facsimile images for hundreds of 19th century U.S. newspapers.
African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Provides primary sources for such diverse disciplines as cultural, literary, and social history, ethnic studies, and more.
America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Includes more than 1,000 U.S. historical newspapers published between 1690 and 1922, including titles from all 50 states.
British Library Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Delivers a wide range of local and regional voices to reflect the social, political, and cultural events of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.

North Carolina Historical Newspaper Collection

ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Offers full text and full image articles for 13 large American daily newspapers and two daily British newspapers.

Films

Alexander Street Collections This link opens in a new window
Online collections and videos for scholarly research, teaching, and learning. Includes American History in Video, Counseling and Therapy in Video, Dance in Video, and Music Online.
Films On Demand This link opens in a new window
Provides over 21,000 high quality streaming videos on a wide variety of topics, including award-winning documentaries, interviews, and instructional and vocational training videos.
Kanopy This link opens in a new window
Click red button to Visit the App State Collection and then Log in to App State.
Kanopy provides educational streaming access to over 27,000 documentaries and critically acclaimed films.

Special Collections and Archives

Appalachian State University Digital Collections This link opens in a new window
Rare and historic material digitized by Appalachian State University Libraries.

African American Archives This link opens in a new window
African American Archives provides over one million pages of original historical documents pertaining to the African American experience.
American Broadsides and Ephemera This link opens in a new window
Primary source materials printed between 1760 and 1900 that range from contemporary accounts of the Civil War to theatre programs and menus.
Archive of Americana This link opens in a new window
Now part of Readex AllSearch.
Features over 1,375 newspaper titles from all 50 states, more than 100,000 books, broadsides and pamphlets, and much more.
Women's Studies Archive: Women’s Issues and Identities This link opens in a new window
Presents primary source materials covering the social, political, and professional aspects of women's lives and offers a look at the roles, experiences, and achievements of women in society.

Library Guides

English Research Guide: Locating Primary Sources

Locating Primary Sources

Original Creative Texts

Newspapers

Films

Special Collections and Archives