Africana Studies  

       Photographs

          Postcards

 Manuscript Collections

Primary sources are the raw material upon which critical, analytic, and historic studies are based. These sources are the evidence left behind by participants or observers. Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to the truth of what actually happened during an historical event or time period.  They present original thinking, report a discovery, or share new information. (Note that the definition of a primary source may vary depending upong the discipline or context.)

Examples include:

• Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all from the time under study)
• Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
• Diaries
• Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail)
• Letters
• Newspaper articles written at the time
• Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial transcript)
• Patents
• Photographs
• Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia
• Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report, treaty, constitution, government document)
• Speeches
• Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls)
• Video recordings (e.g. television programs)
• Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems)

During the fall and spring terms, the library is generally open 24/7.

Please be sure to check the library's web site for vacation, intersession, and holiday hours.