Library

A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the period being studied. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.  Also included are works created later by an eyewitness or a participant in an event, e.g. memoirs/autobiographies.

Types of primary sources:

• Original documents (including excerpts and translations): diaries, speeches, manuscrips, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records, ancient literature, magazine and newspaper articles.
• Creative works: poetry, drama, novels, printed music, sound recordings, art.
• Relics or artefacts: pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings.
• Statistics and raw data
• Reproductions, facsimiles or replicas of original documents, creative works or artefacts are also acceptable as primary sources.

Examples of primary sources:

• Winston and Clementine; the personal letters of the Churchills
• The Civil War diary of Sarah Morgan
• Allowance for children [microform] 1813
• The Constitution of Canada
• Newspaper article from the time an event occurred
• William Shakespeare's "King Lear"
• Photographic reproduction of Michelangelo's "David"
• A journal article reporting new research or finding

Finding primary sources in the library collection

   1. Original documents can be found by consulting the Archives and Research Collections (ARC) website.
   2. Reproductions can be found by checking the library catalogue.

Use specific words to locate primary sourcees in the Library catalogue, such as: correspondence, sources, diaries, letters, personal naratives. KEYWORD search examples:

• [PERSON’S NAME] and s:correspondence
• [PERSON’S NAME] and s:diaries
• [PERSON’S NAME] and s:letters
• [KEYWORD] and s:sources
   

In the library's electronic and microform collections

The library has many online and microform collections of primary sources, including newspapers.  See the various country-specific Subject Guides for more information.

Centre for Research Libraries

The Center for Research Libraries (CRL)
A great institution to check for historical documents, newspapers, journals, archives and other sources. "The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is a consortium of North American universities, colleges, and independent research libraries. The consortium acquires and preserves newspapers, journals, documents, archives, and other traditional and digital resources for research and teaching and makes them available to member institutions through interlibrary loan and electronic delivery." Carleton University Library is a mermber of CRL.

ARCHIVES:

• Archives in Latin America (LANIC)
• Archives of Ontario
• Archives Nationale (France)
• Archivianet (Library and Archives Canada)
• CBC Digital Archives
• City of Ottawa Archives
• Das Bundesarchiv (Germany)
• National Archives UK
• State Archives
• United Nations Treaty Collection (1946- )
• United States National Archives and Records Administration