Get Help 24/7
Contact Us
Book an Appointment - Need help finding sources for your paper?
Chat with a librarian at SCU and other Jesuit institutions 24/7.
Email Your Question - Answered by a librarian within 48 hours.
By Telephone - 408-554-5020 during regular hours
Contact Your Subject Librarian
Primary Sources in Translation
What Are Primary Sources:
"Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, memoirs, documents produced by government agencies such as Congress or the Office of the President, photographs, audio recordings, moving pictures or video recordings, research data, and objects or artifacts such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons. These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research."
(American Library Association, Reference and User Services, History Section)
Primary Sources
- ARTstor This link opens in a new windowNow included on the JSTOR platform. This database provides more than 2.5 million high-quality digital images for educational and research use, related to art, architecture, and many other disciplines.
- Britannica Academic This link opens in a new windowThis database combines the Encyclopedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, and primary sources from reputable websites chosen by Britannica editors. Creating an account allows for saving articles, media, etc. for later viewing, as well as resource packs that help keep research organized. Updated daily.
- Black Freedom Struggle in the United States This link opens in a new windowThis database provides primary sources including historical newspaper articles, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence, among other documents related to Black Freedom from 1790 to 2000s.
- National ArchivesThe National Archives and 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 us forever.
Those valuable records are preserved and are available to you, whether you want to see if they contain clues about your family’s history, need to prove a veteran’s military service, or are researching a historical topic that interests you. - The Wars for Viet Nam: 1945 to 1975– Vassar College – An overview of the war and numerous official documents.
- The Whole World Was Watching: an oral history of 1968– Brown University – An oral history project that features recollections of events and issues in 1968.