A primary source is an information source that describes or depicts a historical period, event, person, or people and that was created around the time of the period, event, or person's life, and/or by someone with firsthand knowledge of the subjects.
Primary sources can take many forms. They can be letters, postcards, telegrams, diaries, journals, newspaper and magazine articles, government documents, business and organization records, photos, posters, pamphlets, handbills, and more.
These databases contain primary sources of various forms. Hover over the "i" icons or click the "more" links to find out what they contain. They are also characterized by different search interfaces with different filters and options. As you use them, take a moment before you begin searching to see how the search page and its options are organized.
These collections of primary resources are available on the open web. Many of them are digitized archival collections associated with libraries or other educational institutions. They represent a variety of user interfaces; as you use them, take a moment to examine how the collection is organized and what browsing and/or searching options are available.
Primary sources are sometimes collected and published in book format, e.g. a collection of letters by a noteworthy person or their journals. You can search for such collections by adding one or more special terms to your searches.
Most research resources have an advanced search option that includes menus next to the boxes where type your search terms. They often show a default option like "all fields" or "keyword." To add the terms above to a search for books, type one of them in a search box and change the adjacent menu to "subject," "subjects," or "subject terms," as the case may be.
There are two places to search for books at Ball State University Libraries.