Primary sources can be both the object of study in research as well as evidence to give context or support for an argument. Below are some suggestions on databases and places where you can locate different types of primary sources. While these offer some specific locations, many of our databases have primary sources, in addition to secondary sources, in them as well.
Contains over 40,000 poems by more than 200 poets, covering the Colonial period to the early twentieth century.
Drawn from over 1,200 printed sources, the bibliographic basis of American Poetry is the Bibliography of American Literature (Yale University Press, 1955-1991). Coverage: 1600-1900
Drawn from nearly 4,500 printed sources, more than 1,250 poets are represented. The bibliographic source for English Poetry is the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (Cambridge University Press, 1969-72).
English Poetry contains over 165,000 poems essentially comprising the complete English poetic canon from 600-1900.
The Faber Poetry Library contains 140 volumes by 50 poets.
A collection of some of the most influential poets of the twentieth century. The Faber list spans the seventy-year history of this major publishing house, and includes the poetry of James Joyce, Siegfried Sassoon, T.S. Eliot, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Seamus Heaney, and others.
A collection of modern and contemporary African American poetry, featuring almost 9,000 poems by 62 of the most important African American poets of the last century, including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde and Rita Dove.
Coverage begins with the key writers of the early decades (James Weldon Johnson, Georgia Douglas Camp Johnson, Claude McKay), continues with major figures of the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Arna Bontemps and Sterling Brown) and the Black Arts movement of the 1960s (Imamu Amiri Baraka, Etheridge Knight, Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez), and concludes with a considerable body of writing of the 1980s and 1990s, including major figures such as Ai, Rita Dove and Yusef Komunyakaa alongside young writers who have gained recognition through national poetry awards or inclusion within leading print anthologies.
Provides access to 50,000 poems drawn from 750 volumes by over 300 poets, including biographical information on each poet.
Major movements of the century are represented, including the Black Mountain school of Charles Olson and Robert Duncan, the Deep Image poetry of Robert Bly and James Wright, underground literature by the Beat poets, the influential feminist works of Adrienne Rich, and the works by the confessional poets. Many contemporary writers of the 1980s and 1990s are also included, such as Sharon Olds, Louise Glück, Joy Harjo and Thomas Lynch.
A collection of more than 600 volumes of poetry by 283 poets from 1900 to the present day, including W.B. Yeats, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, Wilfred Owen, Thom Gunn, Fleur Adcock, Paul Muldoon, Tony Harrison, Benjamin Zephaniah and Carol Ann Duffy.
From modernist experiment to post-modern playfulness, from Georgian convention to free-verse confession, and from Edwardian poetry of empire to post-imperial diversity, the collection embraces vital contrasts and continuities. The extraordinary diversity of the century's early decades are given full representation: Edwardian and Georgian writers such Robert Bridges, A.E. Housman, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, Charlotte Mew and John Masefield can be searched alongside the revolutionary modernist writings of W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Ford Madox Ford, John Rodker, D.H. Lawrence, Hugh MacDiarmid and Basil Bunting and the war poetry of Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg, David Jones, Robert Graves and Laurence Binyon.
Titles in the series: The Adventures of Huck Finn; Black Boy; Catcher in the Rye; The Crucible; Death of a Salesman; The Great Gatsby; Hamlet; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; Julius Caesar; Literature of World War II; Lord of the Flies; Macbeth; Of Mice and Men; The Red Pony; The Pearl; Othello; Pride and Prejudice; Romeo and Juliet; The Scarlet Letter; Their Eyes Were Watching God; Things Fall Apart; and To Kill a Mockingbird.
This is part of the ABC-CLIO eBook Collection. The Literature in Context series is a collection of primary source material, collateral readings, and commentary that helps students understand the historical, social, and cultural milieu associated with major literary works.
British Library Newspapers delivers a wide range of local and regional voices to reflect the social, political, and cultural events of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries.
Alexander Street Press is a publisher of online collections and videos for scholarly research, teaching, and learning.
Collections include American History in Video, Counseling and Therapy in Video, Dance in Video, and Music Online (classical, jazz, opera, popular music, world music). Provides access to over 480,000 music albums (nearly 6 million tracks) and more than 10,500 videos.
This collection provides over 41,000 high quality streaming video on a wide-variety of topics. Subjects covered include business & economics, health & medicine, humanities & social sciences, and science & mathematics, as well as travel and fitness programming, home and how-to videos, and popular music performances. The videos include Oscar, Emmy and Peabody award winning documentaries plus interviews, instructional and vocational training videos, historical speeches and newsreels.
Features include: Captioning and cross-searchable interactive transcripts on all titles; iPad, PC, Mac, and Android friendly; Public performance rights; Citations in MLA, CMS, and APA formats; ability to embed persistent and authenticated video clips into course management systems such as Blackboard and Moodle; an Create and share personalized playlists using segments from multiple videos.
These collections consist of rare and historic material and are made available through the efforts of Belk Library and the departments of Special Collections, Web Services, and University Archives.
The collections include the Beulah C. Campbell Collection, the Lumbee Indians: an Annotated Bibliography, and Documenting Appalachia, which consists of the Abrams Folksong Collection, the Greer Folksong Collection, Appalachian State Historical Photograph Collection, and Appalachian Ethnicity Resources.
African American Archives provides over one million pages of original historical documents pertaining to the African American experience.
The earliest materials in this collection come from Essential Records Concerning Slavery and Emancipation from the Danish West Indies (1672-1917). There are several other slavery-related collections, including letters, account books, annual reports, and news clippings. Other collections include civil war records, Military Intelligence Division (MID) files relating to "Negro Subversion," Southern Claims Commission records, Court Slave Records for DC, and much more. Files contain detailed narrative accounts of subjects' activities and include information about families, occupations, and general activities.
Offers fully searchable facsimile images of approximately 15,000 broadsides printed between 1820 and 1900 and 15,000 pieces of ephemera printed between 1760 and 1900.
The digital American Broadsides and Ephemera is a comprehensive historical collection of primary source materials that range from contemporary accounts of the Civil War, unusual occurrences and natural disasters, to official government proclamations, tax bills and town meeting reports. Ephemera includes clipper ship sailing cards, early trade cards, bill heads, theater and music programs, stock certificates, menus, and invitations documenting civic, political and private celebrations. Coverage: 1760-1900
The Archive of Americana features over 1,375 newspaper titles from all 50 states, more than 100,000 books, broadsides and pamphlets, essential collections of U.S. government publications and more from the following collections: Early American Imprints: Series I: Evans, 1639-1800; Early American Imprints: Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819; American Broadsides and Ephemera; America's Historical Newspapers; American State Papers, 1789-1838; and U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980.
The digital Archive of Americana is a comprehensive historical collection of primary source materials that offer opportunities for students and scholars to make original discoveries and new findings on nearly every aspect of United States history, culture and daily life across three centuries. Coverage: 1639-1980
This archive presents 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.
Pulling from a wide range of primary sources, including manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, and more, they provide a close look at some of the pioneers of women's history, a deep dive into the issues that have affected women, and the many contributions they have made to society. Within the archive can be found fascinating historical records from Europe, North and South America, Africa, India, East Asia, and the Pacific Rim with content in English, French, German, and Dutch.
