Research Guides: HIST 301: Historian's Craft (Petty, Fall 2024): Published Books as Primary Sources

Books are Primary Sources too!

Don't forget that published books -- autobiographies, records, novels, anything written during your time period -- are primary sources too!

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.

Internet Archive
A great resource for finding digitized books, videos, and sound recordings
Library Catalog
A database that lists items owned at the College of William & Mary's libraries (Swem, Law, and branch libraries), plus the Colonial Williamsburg Rockefeller Library and Richard Bland College Library in Petersburg, Virginia (an affiliate of W&M).
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.