VGCC Library Services: History: Primary Sources: Home

Primary and Secondary Sources

A primary source is first-hand information (for example, a personal account of the civil rights movement).

A secondary source is one that examines information based on primary sources (for example, a book that compiles and analyzes the experiences of people who lived through the civil rights movement).

To learn more about the difference between primary sources and secondary sources try the following link.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources (American University)

Primary Sources

Woman in library reading a large book while two men examine a globe.

"Donnell Library. Lady reading in lobby." by New York Public Library is licensed under CC CC0 1.0

Many primary sources are available online. Please see the following lists for primary source repositories that cover world, American, regional, and local history.

World History

The Avalon Project
Hosted by Yale Law School, this site contains documents related to legal history from the ancient world through the present. It may be helpful for both world history and American history courses.
British Library Digital Collections
Contains diverse primary sources, including manuscripts, art, and even audio recordings. The sources on this site tend to have a British and European focus.
Cambridge Digital Library
This site provided by the University of Cambridge University Library contains several online collections relating many different aspects of global history.
Digital Bodleian Libraries
This site contains multiple online collections from the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford. Most of the collections focus on European and Asian history across many centuries.
Epistolae: Medieval Women's Letters
Hosted by Columbia University, this site has transcripts of letters written by women living in medieval Europe. The letters have been translated into English.
Exploring the Early Americas: Pre-Contact America
This Library of Congress page contains collections of photographs of artifacts that pre-date the arrival of Europeans in the Americas and may be useful for either American or world history courses.
General History of the Things of New Spain/The Florentine Codex
Created by a Franciscan missionary in the 1500s, this source recorded aspects of Aztec life and culture that pre-dated the arrival of Europeans in the Americas and may be useful for both world history and American history courses.
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
This site from Fordham University contains primary sources from the ancient world through the modern era with a global focus.
Metropolitan Museum of Art Online Collection
Contains images of art and artifacts from the ancient world through the present. This site has a global focus and might be useful for world history or U.S. history.
Pre-Columbian Collection
This collection consists of photos of artifacts created by Pre-Columbian societies and may be useful for either a world history course or and American history course.
Selection of Ancient Egyptian Artifacts
Provided by the University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology, this site contains photographs of ancient Egyptian artifacts.
Tokyo National Museum e-Museum
Contains artifacts from Japanese history from the ancient world forward.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Personal Histories
Contains video and transcripts of interviews with Holocaust survivors. Some of these accounts are strictly European in focus but others have an American connection, addressing topics like U.S. forces liberating camps or survivors moving to the United States.
USC Pacific Asia Museum
Contains artifacts from many different Asian societies from the 600s AD through the contemporary era.

American History

Black Life in America This link opens in a new window
The experience and impact of African Americans as recorded by the news media.

Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets
Thematic sets of primary sources from throughout American history. This site contains documents, art/illustrations, and even photographs of artifacts from the past.

Hispanic Life in America This link opens in a new window
The experience and impact of Hispanic Americans as recorded by the news media, 1704 to today.

History Matters
Contains primary sources on diverse topics from throughout U.S. history.
Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
This site has a searchable database of all journal entries from the Corps of Discovery.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
The Library of Congress has many diverse primary sources related to American history from the colonial era through the present.
National Archives DocsTeach
Though aimed at teachers, this site contains many online primary sources related to all periods of U.S. history and grouped by era.
New York Public Library Digital Collections
Contains a wide range of primary sources (documents as well as images) from many different periods of U.S. history. Sources are grouped by thematic collections.

North American Women's Letters and Diaries This link opens in a new window
Women's writings from the Colonial period to 1950. Includes writings by Abigail Adams, Louisa May Alcott, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Dorothea L. Dix, Julia Ward Howe, and more.

Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive
Contains court records, letters, diaries, and sermons tied to the Salem Witchcraft Trials.
Women Veterans Historical Project (UNCG Digital Collections)
Contains sources on the experiences of women veterans from WWI through the present.

Regional & Local History

American Slave: A Composite Autobiography
Life histories of former slaves compiled from 4,000 interviews with ex-slaves.
Documenting the American South
Site created by UNC-Chapel Hill’s University Library that contains many online sources tied to the history of the South spanning back to the colonial era.

Historic North Carolina Newspaper Collection This link opens in a new window
3.5 million pages of digitized content from over 1,000 NC county newspapers.

North Carolina Newspapers (DigitalNC)
Contains searchable scans of North Carolina community newspapers, mainly from the twentieth century. You may find the Advanced Search feature more helpful in navigating this site.
PRIDE! of the Community (UNCG Digital Collections)
Contains sources relating to LGBTQ history in North Carolina – this one is more local in focus

Sanborn Maps North Carolina This link opens in a new window
Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970, provides access to large-scale maps of North Carolina towns and cities.