Primary vs Secondary Sources
Primary Sources provide direct or first-hand evidence about an event, object, person or work of art.
- Usually contemporary to the events and people described
- May be written and non-written
- Examples include:
- diaries
- works of art and literature
- speeches
- audio and video recordings
- photographs and posters
- newspaper ads and stories
- laws and legislative hearings
- plant and animal specimens
- original research studies
Secondary Sources lack the immediacy of a primary record.
- Produced sometime after an event happened
- Contain information that has been interpreted, analyzed or processed
- Often based on primary sources
- Examples:
- history textbooks
- interpretive journal articles
- book reviews
Primary Source Indexes
- ARCHIVEGRIDArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.
- Worldcat.org
This link opens in a new window
WorldCat is a database of more than 1 billion records of books and other materials held in more than 10,000 academic, public, special and national libraries around the world. You can use the Advanced Search option to limit your search to “Archival Materials.”
Online Primary Sources
Primary Sources for Art
- Women Artists Archives National DirectoryProvides a directory of primary source material about any U.S. woman visual artist active after 1945.
- Goldsmiths University of London Special Collections GuideIncludes information about artists in the United Kingdong. Scroll down to find the "Art" section and look for the Women's Art Library (MAKE) collection and the Women of Colour Index 1985-1995 (WOCI).
- Women Artists Archive MiamiFeatures digitized archival materials about eight artists who worked in the Miami, FL area.
- Smithsonian Archives of American Art Dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary sources that document the history of the visual arts in America. Holdings include more than 20 million letters, diaries and scrapbooks of artists, dealers, and collectors; manuscripts of critics and scholars; business and financial records of museums, galleries, schools, and associations; photographs of art world figures and events; sketches and sketchbooks; rare printed material; film, audio and video recordings; and the largest collection of oral histories anywhere on the subject of art.
- The National Archives (UK) This guide covers records related to art and artists for the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. It focuses on how to find central government records held by The National Archives but also lists other useful archives.
Primary Sources for Gender Studies
- Defining Gender, 1450-1910 Searchable full-text of advice literature covering household management, education, leisure, shoppping, sexuality, consumption and sport.
- This link opens in a new window
- Black Women Writers Black Women Writers presents 100,000 pages of literature and essays on feminist issues, written by authors from Africa and the African diaspora. Facing both sexism and racism, Black women needed to create their own identities and movements. The collection documents that effort, presenting the woman’s perspective on the diversity and development of Black people generally, and in particular the works document the evolution of Black feminism.
- This link opens in a new window
- Everyday Life & Women in America Provides access to primary source material from the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History, Duke University and The New York Public Library. Includes monographs, pamphlets, periodicals and broadsides addressing 19th and early 20th century political, social and gender issues, religion, race, education, employment, marriage, sexuality, home and family life, health, and pastimes.
- This link opens in a new window