Douglas D. Schumann Library & Learning Commons: HIST 4300: American Urban History: Primary Sources

What Are Primary Sources?

Primary source materials provide "eyewitness" accounts of a particular person, era, or event that is under study. Such materials may include books, maps, diaries, manuscripts, letters, artwork, contemporary newspaper articles, advertising, photographs, films, and recordings.

Wentworth Find Primary Sources How-To Guide

Schumann Library Sources

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Find high resolution art images from libraries, museums, and private collections
Boston Globe (1872 - 1989) This link opens in a new window
Historical coverage of the Boston Globe from 1872 to 1989 with an additional year of content added annually.

For coverage from 1997 - the present see ProQuest US Newsstream
Films On Demand This link opens in a new window
Offers a vast collection of streaming videos covering the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and current events.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines comprising area studies, arts, business and economics, history. humanities, law, medicine, science and mathematics, and social sciences.

Digital Humanities Repositories

Digital Commonwealth
Explore historical collections from libraries, museums, and archives across Massachusetts
DPLA - Digital Public Library of America
Digital collections of libraries, archives and museums. Includes photos, manuscripts, books, sound recordings, moving images and more.
Hathi Trust
Full text pre-1926 books, journal articles, government publications, and other sources.
Internet Archive
Digital collections from libraries, archives and museums.Includes digital library offering access to books, images, movies, music and more.
NYPL Digital Collections
Drawings, maps, photos, books, videos, audio, and more in the applied sciences, fine and decorative arts, history, performing arts, and social sciences.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian collections from museums, archives, libraries, and research units relating to areas for Art & Design, History & Culture, and Science & Technology. Includes images, videos, audio files, podcasts, blog posts and electronic journals.

Government Resources & Historical Societies

City of Boston Archives
Preserves and makes accessible the permanent and historical records of Boston city government, including Mayoral records, meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, tax records, and photographs.
Digital Commonwealth - Massachusetts Collections Online
Photos and other materials digitized by MA libraries, museums, archives & historical societies.
Historic American Buildings Survey
National Parks Service and LIbrary of Congress document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the US.
Library of Congress - Digital Collections
Digital record of American history and creativity provided by the Library of Congress.
Massachusetts Historical Society Online Collections
Digitized resources organized around a specific topic, such as the American Revolution.
U.S. National Archives (NARA)
This federal agency preserves and makes available U.S. government documents of lasting historical importance.
USA.gov Portal
U.S. official website includes resources from federal, state, and local government agencies.