Primary sources are the documents or artifacts that are first-hand accounts and that you can use as evidence to support your research. They are often created during the time period that is being studied, but can also be produced later by eyewitnesses or other participants (oral histories, memoirs are examples). You can find primary sources in their original format in an archive or reproduced in a variety of ways in databases, books, or on microfilm. Types of primary sources include: correspondence, diaries, newspapers, government documents, and art.
The resources below will help you find primary sources including books, pamphlets, letters, & more. Please check the Historical/Primary Sources page to find a complete list of primary sources available through FSU Libraries.
The Dictionary of Old English (DOE) defines the vocabulary of the first six centuries (600–1150 A.D.) of the English language, using today's most advanced technology. The DOE complements the Middle English Dictionary (which covers the period 1100–1500 A.D.) and the Oxford English Dictionary (which documents the development of the English language to the present), the three together providing a full description of the vocabulary of English. The Dictionary of Irish Biography, a collaborative project between Cambridge University Press and the Royal Irish Academy, is the most comprehensive and authoritative biographical dictionary yet published for Ireland. It contains 9,014 signed biographical articles which describe and assess the careers of subjects in all fields of endeavor, including politics, law, religion, literature, journalism, architecture, painting, music, the stage, science, medicine, engineering, entertainment and sport.
Abbreviation: doe
Vendor: University of Toronto
Subjects: English, Linguistics, Literature
Type: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries, Historical / Primary Sources
The Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus is an online database consisting of at least one copy of every surviving Old English text. In some cases, more than one copy is included, if it is significant because of dialect or date. As such, the DOE Web Corpus represents over three million words of Old English and fewer than a million words of Latin, or almost five times the collected works of Shakespeare. The Web Corpus is compiled as part of the Dictionary of Old English project at the University of Toronto.
Abbreviation: doecorpus
Vendor: University of Toronto
Subjects: English, Literature
Type: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries, Historical / Primary Sources
Tutorial by Nicole Guenther Discenza (A medievalist in the English Department at the University of South Florida. This channel features videos I've made for my students and other parties interested in Old English, Middle English, and History of the English Language.)
Abbreviation: mideng
Vendor: University of Michigan Library
Subjects: Bibliography, English, History, Literature
Type: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries, Open Access
The Nineteenth Century Collections Online includes Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange; British Politics and Society; British Theatre, Music, Literature: High and Popular Culture; Children's Literature and Childhood; European Literature, 1790–1840: The Corvey Collection; Europe and Africa, Colonialism and Culture; Mapping the World: Maps and Travel Literature; Photography: The World Through the Lens; Religion, Reform, and Society; Science, Technology, and Medicine, 1780–1925; Science, Technology, and Medicine, 1780–1925, Part II; Women: Transnational Networks.
Abbreviation: ncco
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1780–1925
Subjects: Art History, History, Literature, Religion
Type: E-Book Collections, Historical / Primary Sources
The resources below will help you find primary sources including books, pamphlets, letters, & more. Please check the Historical/Primary Sources page to find a complete list of primary sources available through FSU Libraries.
Theatre from Alexander Street features performances of works by American, European, Asian, and other worldwide dramatists from the past several centuries. In addition to performances, Theatre also features dozens of documentaries and interviews about theatre, discussing the history of theatre, acting methods, pioneering dramatists and actors. Major reference materials, together with records to plays, people, theatres, productions, and production companies are included.
FSU has access to the following collections: Asian American Drama, Black Drama: Second Edition, Black Drama: Third Edition, BroadwayHD Collection, Contemporary World Drama, Drama Texts Collection, Latin American Drama, National Theatre Collection, North American Indian Drama: Second Edition, North American Women's Drama, North American Women's Drama: Second Edition, Theatre in Context Collection, Theatre in Video: Volume I, Theatre in Video: Volume II, Twentieth Century North American Drama: Second Edition.
Abbreviation: nato
Vendor: Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company
Subjects: Literature, Theatre
Type: E-Book Collections, Encyclopedias & Dictionaries, Historical / Primary Sources, Images, Indexes / Catalogs, Music Scores, Streaming Audio, Streaming Video
A unique archive of almost every play submitted for license between 1737 and 1824, and hundreds of documents that provide social context for the plays, featuring: John Larpent Collection of Plays from the Huntington Library; Supplementary documents including Anna Larpent Diaries; The London Stage, 1660–1800; and A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660–1800.
Abbreviation: eighcd
Vendor: Adam Matthew Digital Ltd
Coverage: 1660–1824
Subjects: Literature, Theatre
Type: Historical / Primary Sources
History Commons provides diverse primary sources from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century, reflecting broad views across American history and culture, including African American life, Women’s Suffrage, American County Histories, Colonial America, the Civil War, America in World War I, and much more. The databases allow access to the rich store of materials—eyewitness accounts of historical events, vivid descriptions of daily life, editorial observations, and commerce as seen through advertisements—from over 200 years of leading books, newspapers, and periodicals then current.
Abbreviation: aacarc
Vendor: Coherent Digital
Subjects: African-American Studies, History, Women's and Gender Studies
Type: Newspapers and Newswires
The resources below may be helpful in finding primary sources including historical newspapers, letters, and more. Please check out the Historical/Primary Sources page to find an A-Z listing of primary sources offered by FSU Libraries.
Indigenous Newspapers in North America aims to present a diverse and robust collection of print journalism from Indigenous peoples of the United States and Canada over more than 9,000 individual editions from 1828–2016.
Abbreviation: aminews
Vendor: Adam Matthew Digital Ltd
Coverage: 1828–2016
Subjects: Anthropology, Cultural Heritage, History
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires
British Library Newspapers, Part I and II (1800–1900) include regional and local newspaper titles that illuminate diverse and distinct regional attitudes, cultures, and vernaculars, providing an alternative viewpoint to the London-centric national press. Parts III (1741-1950), IV (1732-1950), and V (1746-1950) add even more regional and local depth, encompassing powerful provincial news journals, local interest publications, and specialist titles. Part VI Ireland (1783-1950) provides the Irish perspective, a counterpoint to the major U.K. daily newspapers. Part VII Southeast Asia (1806–1977) adds rare English-language newspapers published in present-day Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.
FSU Libraries has access to parts one through six of the British Library Newspapers collection.
Abbreviation: britln
Vendor: Gale
Coverage: 1732–1950
Subjects: History
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires
Titles:
Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC)-1873-2009
The Daily News Leader (Staunton, VA)-1912-2011
The Daily News-Journal (Murfreesboro, TN)-TBD
Daily Press (Newport News, VA)-1898-2001
The Daily Times (Salisbury, MD)-1913-2011
Florida Today (Brevard County, FL)-1969-2006
The Jackson Sun (Jackson, TN)-TBD
The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville, TN)-TBD
Miami News (Miami, FL)-1904-1988
The News-Press (Fort Meyers, FL)-1911-2010
Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL)-1892-2001
Palm Beach Daily News (Palm Beach, FL)-1976-2011
Palm Beach Post (Palm Beach, FL)-1916-2004
Pensacola News Journal (Pensacola, FL)-1956-2011
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)-1925-2000
Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, FL)-1913-2008
The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, FL)-1895-2016
Abbreviation: usshist
Vendor: ProQuest
Subjects: Communication, History
Type: Historical / Primary Sources, Newspapers and Newswires
The resources below may be helpful in finding primary sources including historical newspapers, letters, and more. Please check out the Historical/Primary Sources page to find an A-Z listing of primary sources offered by FSU Libraries.
Sourced from the archive of The Worshipful Company of Stationers & Newspaper Makers, located at Stationers Hall in the City of London, Literary Print Culture: The Stationers Company Archive, 1554–2007, allows access to a vast and unique collection of primary source documents. The collection is widely regarded as one of the most important primary sources for studying the history of the book as well as publishing history, the history of copyright and the workings of an early London Livery Company. Explore the variety of documents to uncover the story of the role the Stationers Company played in the history of the book trade.
Abbreviation: amlpc
Vendor: Adam Matthew Digital Ltd
Coverage: 1554–2007
Subjects: History, Literature
Type: Government Publications, Historical / Primary Sources, Images
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