Research Guides: HIST 301: The Historians Craft (Dressler, Fall 2024): Using WorldCat to find Primary Sources

Finding Primary Sources in the Catalog

Use The main library catalog to find primary sources by limiting to publication date or using the subject headings below.

WorldCat This link opens in a new window
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Materials held by thousands of libraries in the US and abroad. Books, websites, computer programs, films, slides, journals, magazines, papers, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, newspapers, sound recordings, videotapes, etc. Coverage: Before 1000BC-present.

Use Subject Terms to find historic materials in the collection. NOTE: DO NOT LIMIT PUBLICATION DATE RANGE FOR THESE SEARCHES

Unofficial terms that are not Library of Congress official terms but may be helpful

Using the Subject Heading SOURCES or FACSIMILES or EARLY WORKS or MANUSCRIPTS you can find printed collections of translated primary sources.

You can also use the Subject Headings above to find reprinted translations of historic documents on your topic.

Example:

WorldCat This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Materials held by thousands of libraries in the US and abroad. Books, websites, computer programs, films, slides, journals, magazines, papers, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, newspapers, sound recordings, videotapes, etc. Coverage: Before 1000BC-present.

If you see a book or microfilm of interest, order it via ILL.
You should also look up the title to see if it's electronically accessible via:

HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
HathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository and highly functional access platform. HathiTrust provides long-term preservation and access services to digitized content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house member institution initiatives. Items in the public domain are in full-view for everyone and items held in copyright are searchable.

Google Books
You can also try Google Books, a full-text database of books based on holdings in several major research libraries. Books under copyright will be available only in brief, snippet view.
Internet Archive
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"This library contains over a million digital movies uploaded by Archive users which range from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts. Many of these videos are available for free download."