LibGuides: Critical Race & Ethnic Studies 110 (Myers): Primary Sources

Major Primary Source Collections

Find more by Googling your topic and stick "primary sources" at the end of your search. There are many collections available online for free.

Example: working women factory "primary sources"

You can also Google "primary sources" and LibGuides to find library research guides that have listed links to a variety of primary source collections. Many academic libraries use a tool called LibGuides made by Springshare to create guides, including the one for your class.

Example: working class women "primary sources" libguides

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) This link opens in a new window
An aggregated search across digital collections from libraries, archives, and museums in the United States as well as curated exhibitions and primary source sets developed for classroom use.
Calisphere This link opens in a new window
Access to unique and historically important digital collections: over two million photographs, documents, letters, artwork, diaries, oral histories, films, advertisements, musical recordings, and more.
Online Archive of California This link opens in a new window
A website providing free public access to detailed descriptions of primary source collections (manuscripts, historic photos, etc.) maintained by libraries, archives, and museums throughout California.

Internet Archive
Internet Archive collects published works and make them available in digital formats. We are building a public library that can serve anyone in the world with access to the Internet. https://archive.org/ This also includes the Wayback Machine which allows users to search, browse, and access snapshots of the internet archived through its database since 2001. Internet Archive has also created GifCities, the GeoCities Animated GIF Search Engine https://gifcities.org/
Library of Congress
Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps, and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Their digital collections span a wide variety of subjects and formats –including tweets!
National Archives Records Administration (NARA)
The National Archives Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by NARA forever. NARA has online exhibits that cover a wide variety of topics and formats that document our history. https://www.archives.gov/exhibits NARA has also put together a list of digital collections as well as subject-oriented virtual collections. https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/virtual-library.html#m1

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