Primary Sources

Electronic Resources

Primary Source Collections in Other Libraries & Archives

Some primary sources, such as diaries or letters, are original manuscripts which exist in only one place in the world. Unless these have been microfilmed or digitized, you will have to visit the source to use these. Nearby institutions that contain primary source materials include:

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
http://www.ohs.org/

Multnomah County Public Library - Central Library
801 S.W. 10th Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
http://www.multcolib.org/agcy/cen.html

Northwest Digital Archives
Finding Aids of collections at libraries, museums, and historical centers in the Northwest can be searched through the Northwest Digital Archives database. Though a significant number of finding aids are included, they do not represent the entire holdings of the participating institutions.

Microfilmed or reprinted primary source materials at remote locations may be requested through Interlibrary Loan (although these requests may not always be filled). To locate possible additional sources, you can try WorldCat:

WorldCat
When searching in WorldCat for primary source materials, you can use the same headings you used while searching VIKAT. Another option would be to do a keyword search, but limit your search to Archival Materials.

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)
http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/nucmc.html
This source lists manuscript collections and their locations and is especially useful if you are trying to locate where someone's personal papers are held. The Library has a print copy covering 1959-1992 at Z6620.U5 N3 | 2nd Floor.

Manuscript collections which have been cataloged since 1986 appear in the online searchable NUCMC catalog. There are two parts, the OCLC and the RLG Union Catalog. WorldCat includes the OCLC records, so you may just want to use the RLG Union Catalog.

If you find an item of interest and want to know where it is located, look for the "Control no." toward the end of the full record and note the first four letters of the control number which is the RLG library identifer. You can then search for this identifier in the list of RLG Identifiers.

National Archives & Records Administration Archival Research Catalog
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/arc/index.html
About 40% of the materials in the National Archives have been included in this catalog, although that amount continues to grow. You can limit your search to digital archival material by checking the box in the search screen, or broaden your search to locate more materials. Most microfilmed materials can be borrowed from the NARA. The search below also demonstrates how you can limit to the holdings of the local NARA branch in Seattle.

Other guides to finding archival collections include:

Columbia University: Archives and Manuscript Collections
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eguides/speccol.html

Repositories of Primary Sources
http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html

Locating Primary Sources on the Web

http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/RUSA/

This excellent guide to finding and using primary sources on the Web was designed by the librarians in the History Section of the American Library Association's Reference and User Services division. As well as linking you to key online primary resources, the site provides guidance on how to search for additional resources, judge the quality of those resources, and cite the sources in a bibliography.