How can I find primary sources?

Answer

Primary sources are original accounts of historical events. Primary sources may include diaries, letters, newspaper articles, speeches, interviews, oral histories, and other sources.

Primary Sources in catalogUSMAI

• [example] Primary sources for the Byzantine / Roman / and other early periods can be found in catalogUSMAI by doing a keyword search on 'byzantine' (or other period) AND 'sources or documents'. This pulls up collections of documents in translation. Using an author, say Thucydides (historian of the Peloponnesian War), is even better. The same search works equally well in Worldcat
  
  
  
• More focused searches can be done using the subject search in the catalog and specific events or periods. The terms 'papers', 'diaries', as well as 'sources or documents' will also produce primary source records.