Douglas D. Schumann Library & Learning Commons: HIST 4475: History of Design: Primary Sources for Research

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

Find Primary Sources from Large Digital Repositories

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Millions of digital primary source items from U.S. libraries, museums, and archives.
Europeana
Cultural heritage from European museums, galleries, libraries and archives.
Internet Archive
Archives of Boston Public Library's collection of historical Boston planning documents.
Library of Congress
Largest library in the world, with books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its digital collections. Good site for political cartoons.
Library of Congress -Chronicling America
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963.
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.
World Digital Library
This Library of Congress project provides access to cultural treasures and significant historical documents from 193 countries on one site, along with timelines and interactive maps.

Hathi Trust
Full−text books, journals, and government publications in the public domain. Pages may be saved or printed individually.