Q. What is a primary source?

Primary sources are original materials created during the time period being studied, such as: 

• correspondence, speeches, diaries 

• newspaper and magazine articles 

• government documents, documents produced by organizations 

• art, photographs, images, advertisements, movies 

They can also be produced later by eyewitnesses or participants, as in: 

• memoirs 

• oral histories 

You can find primary sources in many places, including the books in our library catalog, our Special Collections & Archives, our history databases, and our historical newspaper collections.

Secondary sources interpret or analyzes an event based on primary literature, such as: 

• books (reference, scholarly, or popular) 

• journal articles