| Where to Start |
| Primary Resources in the Proctor Library |
| Journal Articles |
| Websites |
| Cite Your Sources |
Frequently college papers can be written without consulting primary resources, but sometimes this is simply not possible. This quick little guide should help you find some of the primary sources you need.
- Conduct a search in the Library Catalog to see if the Proctor Library has the source you need. See more under Primary Resources in the Proctor Library.
- You might find some primary resources in a database; particularly if you are looking for articles by the author you are discussing in your paper. See Journal Articles to learn more.
- In this day and age of electronics many libraries and organizations are digitalizing primary resources. To see a list of some sites go to Websites.
- Visit Citing Your Sources to find out where you can get information on how to site all the wonderful primary resources you have found.
- If you would like more information about primary resources you may like reading Princeton University Library's Primary Sources: A Guide for History Majors resource page.
Archives can be a great place to find primary resources. In the Fall of 2007 the Flagler College Archives started to be organized by the Library's first archivist, Christine Wysocki, cwysocki@flagler.edu. Ms Wysocki is in the process of discovering, organizing, and providing access to the archives. If you anticipate needing anything in the archives she would like several days notice before visiting the archives so she can locate the specific item you need. She would like to let you know too that there are some "gems" from the archives on disply in the display cabinets on the first floor at the back of the lobby by the stairs. Enjoy!
Some of the resources in the archives that she already knows are available are invoices from the Flagler hotel chain from pre-college days, brochures for the Ponce de Leon Hotel and other Flagler hotels in Florida, as well as one interview with a worker from the Florida East Coast Railroad extension into the Florida Keys. The entire collection of Flagler College yearbooks is also housed in the College Archives. Additionally, there are two dissertations Florida's First Spanish Renaissance Revival by Rafael Crespo, and Two Gilded Age Hotels: The History, Restoration, and Adaptive Use of the Tampa Bay and Ponce de Leon Hotels by Anna Castillo; neither are Flagler College gradutes.
Unindexed and pilled in boxes are a wealth of articles and brochures advertising the college put out by the Office of Public Relations - presumably over the years. Being unindexed and undocumented the extent and coverage of this collection can not yet be determined and Ms Wysocki recommends using one of the Library's databases to find information about the College's history.
The following is a list of examples of the types of "primary" resources in the Proctor Library. All would in fact be considered facsimilies since the original document(s) are either very rare, in an unknown location, or for those items that were originally oral - non-existant.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain -- PS1306.A1 1977
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Ben Franklin -- E302.6.F7 A2 1984
Beowulf -- available through netLibrary
Best Loved Songs of the American People -- M1629.A388 B5 1975
The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock, VHS -- PN1997.B5287 1985
The Civil Wars, Julius Caesar -- PA6238.B2 1966
The Complete Works of Michelangelo, Michelangelo -- Quatro ND623.B9 S34 1967
The Constitution/The Declaration of Independence -- JK14 1948
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostovesky -- PG3326.P7 1953
Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, Galileo Galilei -- QB36.G2 A25 1957
The Great Charter (The Magna Carta) -- JN145.F55 1965
The Holy Bible, The Catholic Bible Douay-Rheims Version -- BS180 1941
The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version -- BS180 1959
Kon-Tiki, Thor Heyderdahl -- G530.T463 1950, 910.4 H61ko 1970
Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches, Sir Winston Churchill -- DA566.9.C5 A5 2003
The Odyssey, Homer -- PA4025.A5 M74 1995 v.1-2
The Orgin of Species, Charles Darwin -- available through netLibrary
The Republic, Plato -- PA3612.P6 1914 v.5-6
The Verrine Orations, Vol. 1-2, Cicero -- PA6156.C5 1968 v.7-8
The Vinland Sagas: The Norse Discovery of America -- PT7281.G7 E53 1965, 973.13 G734v 1966
These are good databases to possibly find primary resources. Databases are clearhouses for journal articles and most articles will be secondary resources rather than primary resources; however try other databases if you do not find what you are looking for here or ask a librarian at the reference desk for help.
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Art Museum Image Gallery
An online collection of high-quality, digital documentation of works of art from around the world. Works from major European, American, and Canadian artists in the collections of member museums are included. Cultures and time periods represented range from contemporary art, Native American and Inuit art, to ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian works, along with Japanese and Chinese works. The database includes numerous multimedia files. Art Museum Image Gallery documents over 90,000 works of art. -
CQ Weekly
CQ Weekly is useful for accessing current news and analysis on Congress and major public policy issues. It is also useful for tracking votes and legislation in Congress, locating recent Congressional documents and related material in full-text, and learning more about members of Congress and the legislative process. -
Issues & Controversy
Provides up-to-date, in-depth and objective information on approximately 600 current topics, combining objective analysis and clear explanations of opposing points of view. Chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, bibliographies and contact information augment the balanced coverage of current and historical events. -
LexisNexis Academic
Provides access to thousands of news, business, legal, and medical publications and information sources, including: newspapers, newsletters, magazines, trade journals, wire services, and broadcast transcripts. The legal component of the database includes comprehensive, current legal information. This consists of federal and state case law, statues, secondary sources such as law reviews, and state legal materials. -
Proquest Newspapers
Contains The New York Times from 1999 to the present and 500 national and international newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal from 1984 to the present and 13 Florida newspapers. -
Westlaw
Comprehensive online database providing current (updated every twenty-four hours) law and legal information. Over 13,000 databases are offered. "WestNews" is an excellent starting point for news and business information. You can search using "natural language" and then advance to using more formal legal-based terminologies. This database is located on a single computer in the Research Lab. A Reference Librarian will be happy to assist you in locating and using this valuable legal resource.
This is just a sampling as there are many websites with facsimilies of various primary resources.
Chronicling America: Historical American Newspapers -- newspapers from various states are available full-text for 1900-1910, while holdings information for many more newspapers are available for 1690-present
Footnote.com -- various U.S. documents (letters, photos, pension records, Pennsylvania Archives, etc.) available online, much of this site is freely available, but detailed information or images are only via membership
Hansard -- this website contains transcriptions of debates from the United Kingdom House of Commons and House of Lords
The Library of Congress: American Memory -- rather than provide links to all the exciting primary resources available through this site take some time to explore it on your own. Everything from the 1930's WPA work to documents by the Founding Fathers, and anything else Americana in between and beyond is included on this site.
Making of America -- from Cornell University Library's, this site focuses on primary sources from the Antebellum to Reconstruction period of American History
Primary Sources at Yale -- despite the name of this webpage the site actually provides a very nice explanation of all the different kinds of primary resources
Small Town Papers: Newspaper Archives -- 250 newspapers from small communities available online
Southeast Asia Visions: A Collection of Historic Travel Narratives -- from Cornell University Library's, this site provides some full-text access to some of the Cornell holdings
Using Primary Sources on the Web -- from the University of Washington Libraries, this site explains and gives examples of sites that provide access to primary documents online
Veterans History Project: A Project of the American Folklore Center at the Library of Congress
WorldVitalRecords.com -- this is a genealogical website with both free and member access to documents such as marriage, birth, death, land records, census's, newspaper articles, etc.
The Chicago Manual of Style -- Ready Ref Z253.U69 2003
Citation Styles -- from Long Island University
Citing Sources -- from the Duke University Libraries
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers -- Ready Ref LB2369.G52 2003
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association -- Ready REF BF76.7.P83 2001
If your professor is requiring a different style guide, see Resources for Writing to learn if the Proctor Library has the guide you need.
Need more help finding resources? Email me at kowens@flagler.edu or visit the Library's Reference Desk.
Last Updated: July 16, 2008