 Do you need primary sources for a history essay, and are not sure just what they are or where to find them? Primary sources are records or objects that were created by participants or observers of an event. They include such items as diaries, letters, manuscripts and newspaper accounts. They also include maps, speeches, photos and videos. These items are the raw materials that historians use to analyze the past. Secondary sources are created by historians who describe, analyze or interpret primary sources. Where are primary sources located? Sometimes a single copy of a primary source may only exist in a personal collection. Other times, large collections of primary sources exist in university or national archives. If you wanted, for example, to view primary sources related to the development of the Avro Arrow, you would need to consult the print documents held at Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. But luckily, many sources are reproduced in printer digital format. The library owns many books that are collections of primary sources. You can find these books by searching for your subject in combination with one of the following terms. Sources, documents, interviews, personal narratives and more. For example, a search for the Vietnam War and personal narratives and limited to just books, retrieves many primary source texts. The library also owns digitized collections of primary sources. Our digitized news stories can be found in the section on news articles. You can search for your topic in newspapers such as The Globe and Mail, The Illustrated London News, The New York Times, The Times of London and The Toronto Star. The articles go back as far as the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, databases of themed collections can be found in the history subject guide. Choose the primary sources link. Black Thought and Culture in British and Irish women's letters and diaries are just some of the many databases that contain a treasure trove of primary sources. Many archives, libraries and other organizations are digitizing their archival collections and making them freely available on the internet and findable through Google. See, for example, the Internet Archive. Laurier has its own archives located on the first floor of the Waterloo Campus Library. The archives can be found under Research. So if, for example, you were looking for the history of Kitchener Waterloo, you will find many documents and artifacts by visiting the archives. If you have any questions, just ask us at library.wlu.ca slash help slash ask us. Let us know whether or not this video was helpful. Go to library.wlu.ca slash video feedback to give us feedback and help us improve.