Research Guides: History Research Guide: Books

Finding primary sources in books

Here are several strategies you can use to find books that can be used as primary sources:

1) Use the bibliographies in your secondary sources to identify primary sources such as published memoirs or letters. Search the library's online catalog by the title or author to find the source..

2) Library catalogers assign specific terms to certain types of primary sources. You can use these terms to quickly identify books that contain primary sources on your topic. Some of these terms are:

personal narratives
diaries
correspondence
interviews
sources (when used with a subject)
archives (when used with a person)

3) Use an author search to find books written by people who were key participants in the events you are researching.

4) Using these strategies, search the library's catalog.

5) Extend your search beyond our library by using Worldcat and interlibrary loan.

A Selection of Reference Books Containing Primary Sources

Books that appear here as clickable links are available online as ebooks. Books with a call number are located in the Reference Area on the first floor of Bell Library.

American Decades: Primary Sources by Cynthia Rose
Call Number: Ref E 169.1 .A471977 2004 (10 vols.)
More than 2000 primary sources on 20th century American history and culture. They go beyond typical speeches, government documents, and literary works to include screenplays, scrapbooks, CD liner notes, and dozens of other types of materials. NOTE: We have online access to an older edition of this title.
The American Nation: Primary Sources by Bruce Frohnen
Call Number: Ref E 173.A747 2008
More than 130 of the “most critical” selections of public writings from the Civil War until World War II. This collection contains minimal editorial commentary.
Milestone Documents in American History by Paul Finkelman; Bruce A Lesh
Call Number: Ref E 173.M62 2008 (4 vols.)
Contains primary source documents from 1763 to 2003. In addition to the document text, the editors have included overviews, explanations, and analyses of the documents to help place them in historical context. The corresponding website http://www.milestonedocuments.com/ features free and premium content.
Milestone documents in African American history by Nix, Echol Lee, editor.; Nix, Keturah C., editor.
Publication Date: 2017
This title covers iconic primary documents from the 1600s to the present. Each entry offers the full text of the document as well as an in-depth, analytical essay that places the document in its historical context. Among the sources included are important legislative documents such as the Reconstruction era amendments; critical Supreme Court decisions; and iconic speeches and writings by leaders such as Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama.
The Columbia Documentary History of Race & Ethnicity in America by Ronald H Bayor
Call Number: Ref E 184 .A1 C57 2004
Each of the chronologically arranged chapters contains a summary essay, an annotated bibliography, as well as public and private primary source documents dating from the 17th century to the present day.
Historic Documents by Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
Call Number: Ref E 839.5 .H57 (multiple vols.)
Published by Congressional Quarterly since 1972, this annual series presents public affairs through selected primary source documents such as speeches, government reports, treaties, court decisions, and presidential statements. Arranged chronologically, the entries have introductions that put issues and events into context.
The Indian Removals by George Gibson; United States. War Dept. Subsistence Dept.
Call Number: Ref E 93.U979 1974 (5 vols.)
Correspondence on the subject of the emigration of Indians, between the 30th November, 1831, and 27th December, 1833, also known as Document 512 of the U.S. Senate, 23d Congress, 1st session.
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States by Office of the Federal Register
Call Number: Ref J 80 .A283 (multiple vols.)
This is a resource “containing the public messages, speeches, and statements of the President” issued by the Office of the Press Secretary, compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register. It continues Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789-1908. Included are papers from Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush.
American Women Speak by Mary Ellen Snodgrass
ISBN: 9781440837845
Publication Date: 2016-10-24
This A-to-Z compendium explores more than 150 American women activists from colonial times to the present, examining their backgrounds and the focus of their activism, and provides examples of their speeches.
Reading the Twentieth Century: Documents in American History by Donald W. Whisenhunt
ISBN: 1282496603
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
The focus of Reading the Twentieth Century is on the role of the United States in the world in the twentieth century, after the nation became a major world player. Readings include public documents, memoirs, and media comments, many of which have never been published before.

Books as primary sources

Books that can be used as primary sources might include:

books written during the period for your topic (i.e., during the Russian Revolution)
books written by participants
published collections of correspondence and other personal writings
memoirs
collections of primary source material

Some primary source books may be available as ebooks as well.

History Research Guide:Books

Finding primary sources in books

A Selection of Reference Books Containing Primary Sources

Books as primary sources