Libraries

Finding Primary Sources in the NEOS Libraries Catalogue

Type of Primary Source & Use

Example Searches

Example Document & Location

Sources - use to find original documentation in a broad subject area (historical periods, movements, etc.)
Try also Documents in the Title

Library Catalogue Keyword search:
a) history  and Alberta and sources (and select 'subject')

b) reformation 'subject' and documents 'title'

c) (medieval 'subject' or 'middle ages' 'subject') and (sources 'subject' or documents 'title')

a) Alberta Folklore & Local History Collection - FC 3653 A333 - HSS SPCOL

b) Documents in Renaissance and Reformation history - D 113 W37 - HSS Flr 3

c) Readings in Medieval History 
D 113 R42 1998 - HSS Flr 3

Personal Narratives - use with names of individual events, wars, etc. for first hand accounts of the events. Use with persons, families, ethnic groups, etc.
Try also Diaries.

Library Catalogue Keyword search:
a) revolution and France  and 'personal narratives' (and select 'subject')

b) China and diaries (and select 'subject')

a) Blood sisters: The French Revolution in Women's Memory - DC 145 Y16 - HSS Flr 3

b) Letters from Old China: Letters and Diary Entries from 1901 to 1943 -
BX 9883 H35 H199 1989 - HSS Flr 3

Speeches, addresses, essays, papers, lectures, memoirs, correspondence, etc.

NOTE: For works by historical figures, also look for their collected or selected works, which often include speeches, essays, correspondence, etc.

In the Library Catalogue:

a) Do an Author/Browse search and scan for useful entries, ie: King, Martin Luther

b) Do a Words anywhere search for writings from a specific time period:
world war and correspondence (and select 'subject')

a) Examples of Catalogue entries you will see:

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968. King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968. Papers.

b) Letters home, 1944-1946
D 811 W49 1996 - HSS Flr 3

Photographs
Use photographs {su} or pictorial works {su}

Try also picture {ti} or slide {ti}.

NOTE: Also use the AP Photo Archive database for images online.

Library Catalogue Words anywhere search:
a) 'rocky mountains' and photographs (and select 'subject')

b) 'rocky mountains' (and select 'subject')and picture (and select title)

a) High Above the Canadian Rockies
FC 219 H44 1998 folio -
SciTech Flr 4

b) Banff and Lake Louise, Canadian Rockies [picture] - FC 3664 B2 B34 – HSS SPCOL

Maps - Look for prints or facsimiles

Try also atlases.

NOTE: See the U of A Libraries William C. Wonders Map Collection page

Library Catalogue Keyword search:
a) Canada and exploration  and maps (and select 'subject')

b) 'United States' and history and maps (and select 'subject')

See: U of A Libraries William C. Wonders Map Collection

a) Handbook of Arctic and Canadian Exploration -
G 615 H236 1985 - SciTech Circumpolar

b) The Atlas of the Civil War
G 1201 S5 A85 1994 folio -
SciTech Flr1 Map Atlas section

Fairy tales - Look for facsimiles, reprints, and microforms.

Try also sagas.

In the Library Catalogue:
a) Do a Subject/Browse search for fairy tales and scan the entries

b) Do a Words anyhwhere search for fairy tales of a specific country or region:
'fairy tales' and Sweden (and select 'subject')

a) Catalogue entries you will see:
Fairy tales - Adaptations.
Fairy tales -- Arabian Peninsula.
Fairy tales - Illustrations.

b) Swedish Fairy Tales
PT 9535 H69 1895 - HSS Flr 5

Government Documents - proceedings, debates, speeches, etc. of municpal, regional, federal and international government bodies, organizations, agencies, and departments - Consult the Government Information pages on the UA Libraries web page.
Ask for help at the Rutherford Library Service Desk!!  

Finding Primary Sources in Indexes and Online Databases - Canadian Resources

Canadian Periodical Index - indexes Canadian and international journals, magazines, newspapers, etc., covering current affairs, history, politics, etc.

- indexes such publications as Canadian Speeches, Saturday Night, Time (Canadian Edition), etc.

- Search by subject. Look for sources, speeches, addresses, personal narratives, etc.

Citations for articles written 1920-1997:
AI 3 C21 C - HSS Flr 1 Indexes

Citations for articles written 1988-present:
Internet Access
- The full text of some articles is included in the database.

"If Meech Lake fails Canada is finished." Edward Broadbent. Canadian Speeches. December 1989 vol. 3 no 8 p2-7

- To find the article, you would do a Title search for Canadian Speeches in the Library Catalogue.

CIHM Microfiche - Indexes Canadian materials (books, annuals, and periodicals) from 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.

- Search by keyword or by subject. Look for sources, personal narratives, correspondence, photographs, maps

Location of Database:
Internet Access

Location of Microfilm Documents:
FC 02 0202-0205 - HSS Flr 2 Micro

Murray, James. Report of the state of the Government of Quebec in Canada by General James Murray. CIHM/ICMH Microfiche series no. 74382

- to find this document, go to the 2^nd floor Micro Collection in Rutherford Library and find it on microfiche at the call number
FC 02 0202-0205

Early Canadiana Online - online collection of documents on Canadian history from the first European contact to the late 19th century

- Search by subject or by keyword. Look for sources, personal narratives, diaries, correspondence, photographs, etc.

Location of Database:
Internet Access

Location of Documents: Fulltext online

Spry, Irene M. The Papers o f the Palliser Expedition, 1857-1860. Toronto : Champlain Society, 1968.

- All resources are available online. Just click on the link to the document.

Peel Bibliography - indexes pre-1953 books and pamphlets relating to the Prairie Provinces, the discovery and settlement of the West

- Search by subject. Look for photographs, personal narratives, etc.

Bliss, J.M. (Ed.). Canadian history in documents, 1763-1966.

To find this item, you would look up the title in the NEOS Libraries Catalogue.

An Index to Saturday Night (1887-1937) - indexes Saturday Night, a Canadian magazine of politics and contemporary events

- Search by subject. Look for personal narratives, correspondence, etc.

Location of Index:
AP 5 S2512 1987 - HSS Flr1 Reference

NOTE: Issues from 1938 on are indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index
(1920-1997: AI 3 C21 C - HSS Flr 1 Indexes
1988-2001: online)

Location of Saturday Night magazine:
AP 5 S25 - HSS Flr 2 Micro

"Realities of the Conflict: Letters from a Canadian Officer at the Front." V28. Ja 2, 1915, p2.

- To find this document, you would go to the 2nd floor Micro Collection in Rutherford Library and find the microfilmed magazine at AP 5 S25

Canadian Illustrated News Montreal (1869-1883) - Canadian news stories

- Search by subject. Look for personal narratives, correspondence, etc.

Location of Index:
AP 5 C223 - HSS Flr1 Reference

Location of Magazine:
FC 02 0203 no. 41014 - HSS Flr 2 Micro

Illustrations available online Canadian Illustrated News: Images in the News, 1869-1883(National Library of Canada)

"1872: Editorial on Fifth Anniversary of Dominion Day" VI:6.

- to find this document, you would go to the 2nd floor Micro Collection in Rutherford Library and find the magazine on microfiche at FC 02 0203 no. 41014

Finding Primary Sources in Indexes and Online Databases – International Resources

Poole's Plus - online database that indexes 19^th century journals, books, newspapers, and government documents from all over the world

- Search by keyword or by subject. Look for personal narratives, photographs, correspondence, sources, etc.

Location of Database:
Internet Access

Hourst, Lieutenant. "French enterprise in Africa: the personal narrative of Lieut. Hourst of his exploration of the Niger," tr. by Mrs. A. Bell. Athenaeum 1 (March 4, 1899):267-8.

- to find this article, do a Title search in the Library Catalogue for the journal Athenaeum

Cumulated Magazine Subject Index (1907-1949) - indexes articles from Canadian, American, and UK magazines, covering art, history, literature, folklore, religion, etc.

- Search by subject. Look for personal narratives, correspondence, etc.

C.S.S. Higham. "17^th Century Accounts of a Colonial Governor's Agent." Am Hist. R. 28: 263-85 Ja. 1923.

- to find this article, do a Title search in the Library Catalogue for the magazine American Historical Review

Internet History Sourcebook Project (ed. Paul Halsall, Fordham University) - includes Ancient History Sourcebook, Medieval Sourcebook, Medieval Legal Sourcebook, Modern History Sourcebook, etc.

- follow the links to the relevant directory

Location of Database:
Internet Access
- African History Sourcebook
- Ancient History Sourcebook
- Medieval Sourcebook
- Medieval Legal Sourcebook
- Modern History Sourcebook
- Jewish History Sourcebook
- Women's History Sourcebook
- etc.

Guibert de Nogent (d.1124): Autobiography. Medieval Sourcebook.

- the full text of this document is available online

- look up any texts that are cited in the NEOS Libraries Catalogue

Historical Newspapers Online - indexes The Times (UK) and The New York Times

- Search by keyword or by main heading. Look for narratives, correspondence, etc.

Location of Database:
Internet Access

Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals (1837-1901) - indexes British periodicals of the time

- Search by subject or keyword. Look for narratives, autobiography, etc.

Ask at the Service Desk

"Autobiography of Alexandre Dumas [pere]." Bentley's Miscellany. 32 (1852): 471.

- to find this article, do a Title search in the Library Catalogue for Bentley's Miscellany