Searching Archives
- Archive GridContains over 3 million records from over 1,000 institutions that cover historic documents. Archive Grid aids in the search of primary sources.
- Library of CongressExplore the Digital Collections.
- National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)U.S. Federal Government website providing access to Federal Government Records and more. Select the Research Our Records option at the top left and, then, Research a Specific Topic.
- Historical Newspapers Online"Website directory of U.S. historical newspapers organized by state. Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania."
- Newspaper Archives/Indexes/MorguesWebsite directory for both international and U.S. news archive resources. Library of Congress.
- NewspaperCat: Catalog of Historical Newspapers"[A] tool that facilitates the discovery of online digitized historical newspaper content from newspapers published in the United States and the Caribbean." George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida
- WorldCatSearch for content available in libraries around the world. It aids in locating printed primary and secondary sources.
Primary Documents Database
- American History 1493-1945 This link opens in a new windowModule 1: Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859
Sources from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, New York. Contains books, diaries, correspondence, newspapers, photographs, military documents, pamphlets, broadsides and other ephemera.
“The majority of the collection is unique manuscript. It is an extensive resource for scholars, educators and students and is considered one of the finest archives for material on the revolutionary, early national, antebellum and civil war eras.”
Module 2: Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945
Includes documents on slavery, the Civil War, and secession. - Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America This link opens in a new windowContains manuscripts, artwork, photographs, rare printed books, and maps related to the historical and personal stories of the colonization of the Americas from early contacts between European settlers and American Indians to the modern era, and told against the backdrop of the 19th century expansion into the Western Frontier right through to the civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century. Sources from the Edward E. Ayer Collection at The Newberry Library, Chicago.
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new windowFull-text, searchable primary documents from the 18th century; over 180,000 titles: books, pamphlets, essays, broadsides and other material in all subject areas, published in the UK and elsewhere. Includes an image gallery.
- Nineteenth Century Collections: Women: Transnational Networks This link opens in a new windowProvides primary source documents, serials, books, manuscripts, diaries, reports, and visuals focusing on issues at the intersection of gender and class from the late-eighteenth century to the era of suffrage in the early-twentieth century, all through a transnational perspective. The collection draws from the Library of Congress, the London School of Economics and Political Science Library, and the Library of the Society of Friends.
- Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new windowThis HeinOnline collection brings together, for the first time, all essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world.
- Amistad Research Center Digital Projects"The Amistad Research Center is committed to collecting, preserving, and providing open access to original materials that reference the social and cultural importance of America's ethnic and racial history, the African Diaspora, human relations, and civil rights."
- Archives of American ArtIncludes all of the Archives of American Art records. Provides access to primary sources that document American visual arts. Sources from the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
- Brown Digital RepositoryProvides access to primary resources produced via the scholarly, instructional, research, and administrative activities at Brown. Providence, RI.
- Calisphere"Calisphere contains hundreds of thousands of primary source materials from libraries, archives, and museums across California."
- Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research"[T]he official repository for the archives of major human rights organizations such as Amnesty International USA, the Committee of Concerned Scientists, Human Rights First, and Human Rights Watch." Columbia University Libraries.
- Civil War Diaries and LettersA collection of diaries and letters from Auburn University, covering both sides of the war; each item is scanned and transcribed.
- Credo, Special Collections and University ArchivesCollections include the "Horace Mann Bond Papers" and "W. E. B. Du Bois Papers." University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
- Digital Collections, Columbia University LibraryOffers access to “photographs, posters, drawings, objects, ephemera, and manuscripts as well as other archival material from Columbia's rare and special collections.” New York, NY.
- Digital Collections, Duke University LibrariesThe digital collections of Duke University Libraries provides access to a growing collection of their archival materials, including both Full Text and Images.
- Digital Collections, Harvard UniversityAccess botanical studies primary resource materials such as, specimen databases, images, and other links.
- Digital Collections, UC Berkeley LibraryIncludes much of US Berkeley Library’s archival materials, as well as “born digital” materials, hosted through Calisphere.
- Digital Collections, University of Washington LibrariesOffers access primary source materials associated with the arts and humanities. Including access to digital resources associated with the Labor Archives of Washington and the Mountains and Mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest collection. Seattle, WA.
- Digital Collections, Yale University LibraryContains a wide variety of digital primary source materials, including the Henry Kissinger Papers, the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Digital Collections, and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Digital Collections. New Haven, CT.
- Early Americas Digital ArchiveGateway to primary source material “written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820.” Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH), University of Maryland, College Park.
- First World War Digital Poetry Archive"An online repository of over 7000 items of text, images, audio, and video for teaching, learning, and research. The heart of the archive consists of collections of highly valued primary material from major poets of the period, including Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg, Robert Graves, Vera Brittain, and Edward Thomas." University of Oxford.
- Internet Archive: University of Massachusetts Amherst LibrariesCollection of books digitized by the Internet Archive for UMass, Amherst. Primary documents include vital records, historical directories, gazetteers, and histories of Massachusetts towns and regions.
- Library Catalog Digital CollectionsCornell University Library
- Library of CongressExplore the Digital Collections.
- Massachusetts Digital Commonwealth"Digital Commonwealth is a Web portal and fee-based repository service for online cultural heritage materials held by Massachusetts libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives."
- National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)U.S. Federal Government website providing access to Federal Government Records and more. Select the Research Our Records option at the top left and, then, Research a Specific Topic.
- The Newberry Publications and Digital ResourcesThe Newberry is a "world-renowned independent research library in Chicago."
- New York Public Library Digital Collections180,000 digitized photos, postcards, maps, and other images freely available online and in the public domain. The NYPL has made the decision to treat these public-domain images as public intellectual property that can be reused by members of the public in any way they want. (For the New York Public Library’s Press Release on promoting transformative use of their materials, click here.)
- New York State Archives: Digital CollectionsCollections and images from the New York State Archives, NYS Museum, NYS Library.
- Princeton University Digital LibraryPrinceton, NJ.
- Rare Books & Manuscripts Department CollectionBoston Public Library.
- September 11 Digital ArchiveRoy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, George Mason University and American Social History Project, City University of New York Graduate Center.
- State Library of Massachusetts Digital CollectionsThe State Library of Massachusetts supports the research and information needs of government, libraries, and people through innovative services and access to a comprehensive repository of state documents and other historical items.
- ULS Digital CollectionsAn array of primary source materials covering both the humanities and the sciences from the University Library System (ULS), University of Pittsburgh.
- Vietnam Center and Archive"[C]ollects and preserves the documentary record of the Vietnam War, and supports and encourages research and education regarding all aspects of the American Vietnam Experience." Texas Tech University.
Search for Books
Additional Online Primary Sources
Presidential Libraries
Current and Historic Newspapers (See Newspaper guide)
Videos
- Academic Video Online (AVON) This link opens in a new windowComprehensive video subscription that delivers over 84,000 titles spanning the widest range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more.
- Click on Log in through your library and enter your Emmanuel username and password to access the complete films.
- Films available in Academic Video Online (AVON) include limited public performance rights, which includes permission for classroom showings, as well as public screenings, as long as no admission is being charged. Classroom showings include using conferencing platforms, such as Zoom. Public screenings include virtual events for the Emmanuel community.
- C-SPANA collection of government hearing, speeches and ceremonies from around the world with a particular emphasis on the United States. Also included are C-SPAn produced documentaries.
- Internet Archive: Moving Image Archive"[C]ontains digital movies uploaded by Archive users which range from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts."
- Feature Film Collection of more than 3,900 films in the public domain, searchable by title, topic, genre, publication date
- LibriVox Free Audiobook Collection of more than 8,700 audio books, searchable
- Live Music Archive, more than 147,000 items browsable by year, artist, publication date
- Old Time Radio, more than 2,400 historical radio programs, searchable by title, topic, date
- Open VaultAccess material created by WGBH for television and radio.