A Brief Guide for Locating Primary Literary Sources:
Primary sources are excellent resources that provide context, historical background and critical insight for use in analyzing an author or his/her work. They can include, but are not limited to, autobiographies, personal correspondence, interviews, speeches, film footage, legal records and oral histories. Depending upon your topic and assignment these primary sources may concern the work, the author in question, a period in literature or the conditions or events during which the work was created. Possible sources for these materials, both online and physical locations:
- Literary Societies: Is there a society or organization devoted to your topic? If so, check to see if there is a corresponding website. These sites often house digital archives or provide links to primary sources. Many societies also have a physical location such as a museum or library.
- Special Collections: Academic institutions or public libraries affiliated with a particular author frequently feature special collections devoted to said author or his/her writing. Target libraries or schools in the author's hometown or region first.
- Scholarly Websites: Universities, publications or literary societies may have websites relevant to your topic that contain primary sources.
- The Courthouse Archive: If you have access, legal records and official documents are considered primary sources. Many government/legal documents may also be available online.
- The Work: If references, quotations and analysis are derived from the work itself it is considered a primary source. Similarly, other works used for comparison or context are primary sources.
- Dissertations and Theses: These original research materials are sometimes primary sources themselves and often may be useful in indentifying primary resources.
