LibGuides: Gender & LGBTQ Studies: Primary Sources

Primary Sources in-depth

Many primary or historical sources can be found in archival collections, however as first-hand accounts from specific events, primary sources can also be found in a variety of formats and places beyond the archives. For example, primary sources can be:

Letters
Diaries/Journals/Notebooks
Recordings (visual and audio)
Interviews
Speeches
Books and articles (published during the specific time period being examined)
Data as a direct result of an experiment, or observation
Ephemera (pamphlets, buttons, fliers)
Newspapers
Pictures
Television shows, paintings, plays, and other artistic media

If you have to make a research visit, contact the archives and speak with an archivist before you go!

To learn more about using an archive, take a look at the Society of American Archivists (SAA) Guide "Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research."

Primary and Secondary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

A direct source from a particular event; a first-hand account from someone who was involved in an event; a work that was created during the time period studied.
A diary, newspapers from the time an event took place, a personal letter or correspondence.

CHINESE CRUSH FOE IN CHIHKIANG ZONE. (1945, May 11). New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/107140388?accountid=13701

What is a Secondary Source?

Uses primary sources to make an argument or provide an analysis; not from the direct time of the event that it is describing.
Criticisms, commentaries, a document that reviews or interprets a previous event or findings.

The Long Road Home by Ben Shephard
Call Number: D808 .S44 2011
ISBN: 9781400040681
Publication Date: 2011-02-22

Can a Source be Primary and Secondary?

Simply put, yes. For example a documentary about World War II could be used as both a primary or secondary source. It could be used as a primary source if it has first-hand accounts or if you are studying the art of documentary. It could also be used as a secondary source because it uses primary source material to analyze an event.

White light, black rain : the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Steven Okazaki; Takafumi Kawasaki; Steve Condiotti; Masafumi Ichinose; HBO Documentary Films
Call Number: D767.25.H6 W45 DVD
ISBN: 9780783156552
Publication Date: 2007

Not sure if what you are looking at is primary or secondary?

Primary Resources at Sarah Lawrence College & Beyond

Sarah Lawrence College & Beyond
Historical Newspapers

Lesbian Herstory Archives Volunteer-run organization devoted to preserving and digitizing documents, photographs, audio and video materials and accounts of lesbian lives and contributions to culture. Audre Lorde digital audio recordings are included in the digital archives.
Independent Voices : An Open Access Collection of an Alternative Press " Independent Voices chronicles the transformative decades of the 60s, 70s and 80s through the lens of an independent alternative press. Consolidated for the first time, Independent Voices provides over 1,000 titles from the special collections of dozens of libraries. Independent Voices provides easy access to the powerful voices of feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Latinos, gays, lesbians and more. All of the content is copyright cleared with the ultimate transition to open access in 2019 in mind. Access is provided under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial License. Rights to the individual works that make up this collection remain with the original copyrights holder."
Rainbow History Collection of sources documenting LGBT history, arts, and culture in metropolitan Washington D.C. Archives online and catalog records of oral history recordings are accessible online. Some materials are only accessible via Historical Society of Washington D.C.
Out of the Closet, Into the Archives: Researching Sexual Histories 2015 book available in print at SLC library which lists and describes several repositories of gay, lesbian, and transgender primary sources.
LGBT Materials in the New York Public Library (NYPL) Important archives of LGBT history and civil rights struggles with materials dating back to the 1950s. Includes collections such as International Gay Information Center (IGIC), and the Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Gay History Papers and Photographs.

In Sarah Lawrence College Databases:

Women and Social Movements in the US This link opens in a new window A resource for students and scholars of U.S. History and U.S. Womens History. This collection includes 123 document projects and an archives of over 5,100 documents organized around the history of women in social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000. Scope: United States. Dates: 1600 to 2000.

Historical Newspapers via Sarah Lawrence College Library

Early American Newspapers (1690-1876) This link opens in a new window Includes thousands of U.S. historical newspaper titles from all 50 states. Search through news content in individual publications as well as images and advertisements. Scope: United States. Dates: 1690 to 1876.
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window Ethnic NewsWatch contains and searches as one both Ethnic NewsWatch, which is a current collection, and Ethnic NewsWatch: A History, which is an historical collection. Ethnic NewsWatch, the current file, covers 1990 to present and Ethnic NewsWatch: A History, covers 1959-1989. Includes newspapers, magazines, and journals of ethnic, minority, and native presses. Scope: United States and Canada. Dates: 1959 to present.
New York Times, ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Full page and article images with searchable text from 1851-2013. Digital reproductions of every page of the New York Times are available to be searched and researchers can also scan through the front pages, advertisements, editorials, obituaries, and other features of the newspaper. Searches can also be constructed for specific date ranges. Scope: Worldwide. Dates: 1851 to 2013.
Nineteenth Century British Library Newspapers This link opens in a new window Full run of 48 newspapers selected by the British Library including national and regional newspapers, established country and university towns, and industrious areas of the Midlands, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Newspapers which helped lead political or social movements such as Reform, Chartism, and Home Rule are also included. Users can magnify or reduce digitized newspaper images and search through the article text. Scope: Great Britain, Worldwide. Dates: 1800 to 1900.

Additional Historical Newspaper Resources

British Newspaper Archive A searchable archive containing most of the runs of newspapers published in the UK since 1800.
Brooklyn Newspapers from Brooklyn Public Library This freely available web resource contains approximately 147,000 pages of newspaper in various digital formats. Access is either by date of issue or by keyword search.
California Digital Newspaper Collection Search over 60,000 pages of historical newspapers from California from 1863 - 1922
Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers Search by newspaper title, state, date, or keyword to search across hundreds of historic American newspapers from 1836 - 1922. Users also have the option to highlight text, download pages as PDFs and more.
HathiTrust Search across various newspaper collections. Access may vary depending on the partnering institution. Use the advanced search to limit to a specific format.
Internet Archive Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, music, images, TV news, and more.
New York State Historic Newspapers Search through historic newspapers from New York state, dates vary by title.

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Gender & LGBTQ Studies: Primary Sources

Primary Sources in-depth

Primary and Secondary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

A direct source from a particular event; a first-hand account from someone who was involved in an event; a work that was created during the time period studied.

A diary, newspapers from the time an event took place, a personal letter or correspondence.

What is a Secondary Source?

Uses primary sources to make an argument or provide an analysis; not from the direct time of the event that it is describing.

Primary Resources at Sarah Lawrence College & Beyond

Suggest a Resource