Primary Sources for Historical Research: A Library Guide

Primary resources are documents or artifacts created by someone with first hand knowledge of the timeframe at hand. Some examples are:

• Letters
• Diaries
• Photographs
• Newspaper articles
• Other examples

• Was the author/creator directly involved in the event/era you are studying?
• Could s/he have had firsthand knowledge of what was going on?
• Have I verified that this item is actually from the time period it says it's from?

When in doubt, ask a librarian.