Research Guides: Primary Sources Guide: Historical Research

What Am I Looking For? Where Do I Find It?

Primary Sources for History might include:

Newspaper, magazine articles
Personal documents (diaries, letters, personal blog or website, tweet or post)
Memoirs
Interviews or speeches
Photographs
News footage, radio programs
Books and pamphlets
Posters and advertisements
Historic census data
City maps and directories
Legislation, reports
Recipes and cookbooks
Items or artifacts

Many of these sources are available online. Here are some good starting points:

Google News Canada
Search for Canadian news stories on Google.
Google Books
Books to preview or read for free.
HathiTrust
A partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world.
Internet Archive
This library contains digital movies uploaded by Archive users which range from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts. Many of these videos are available for free download.
YouTube

Visit an Archives

Many sources are available online, but you can gain new insights if you view an original historic document in person. Visit an archive if you wish to access