Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. Primary sources can include:
UNM Libraries has over 50 databases/search engines that are focused on primary sources. You can browse through these via the UNM Libraries homepage tab labeled DATABASES and then clicking on the TYPE dropdown and choosing ARCHIVES & PRIMARY SOURCES.
Newspaper articles written at the time of an event are considered primary sources. UNM has access to over 62 subscription online news databases. to browse all of them, visit our Newspapers/News database list. TItles on this list include: African American Newspapers 1827-1998, American Indian Newspapers, American Race Relations 1941-1996, Apartheid: Global Perspectives 1946-1996, Civil War Era, Ethnic Newswatch, Global Newsstream, HIspanic American Newspapers 1808-1980, Late Qing and Republican Era Chinese Newspapers, New York TImes, and MANY MORE!
Documents and data created at the time of an event (think of congressional testimony, legislative reports and documented daily chamber and committee activities, or surveys conducted at the time) are also considered primary source documents. To learn more about accessing government documents, visit the guides below and click on the GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS, DATA, or NEWS tabs....also check fr NGO/IGO reports from groups like UNHCR -- if they were written during an event, they could be a primary source.
The following Library of Congress Subject Terms can be combined with keywords like "source," "document," "letters," "diaries" to identify printed primary sources in the library. There are many others. Consult your librarian to learn more.
Many university libraries host print and online archives with primary sources (e.g,. letters, diaries, interviews, posters or photographs) related to historical events. One way to identify archives is to search GOOGLE with a search string something like: site:edu cuban revolution archive (note that the site:edu tells Goolge to look for univerity websites) to see if there is anything digitized or to see who has big collections. Then you could then contact those archives to see if they have suggestions.
Visit these other UNM Libraries research guides related to archives with primary sources:
Below are examples of archives related to the trans-atlantic slave trade:
Primary source material such as letters, diaries, newspapers, maps and photographs, sound recordings of personal accounts of events, and streaming historic films. Subjects include American national and local history, African American history, world history, performing arts, government, law & politics, art & architecture, and extensive collection of New Mexico and Western materials. Coverage: 1580-current.