Primary+Sources

=** What is a Primary Source? ** =

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//A **primary source** is the closest we can come to experiencing what actually happened in a historic time period or during a particular past event. It may be an official document, like a treaty; a record of conditions at the time, like a map or a census; it may be a work of art or an artifact, like a portrait or building; or the observations and opinions of a participant in an event or those of an observer during that time. It may or may not be informed by the outcome: a memoir usually has knowledge of the outcome; a letter often does not. And in some cases, a primary source contains a decidedly biased viewpoint.//

Finding books of primary sources can be relatively simple, if you take advantage of **Subject Headings** in library catalogs. Like Dewey numbers, they are the same in most libraries. Below is a table of Library of Congress Subject Heading words and phrases that will identify primary sources.
 * Where are Primary Sources hidden **** ? **

group || opinion || groups, topics || Collections of contemporary sources assembled later for research || topics || Statistics ||
 * **Catalog Subject Heading** || **Combined with** || **Describes** ||
 * Biography || Person’s name, topics, countries || Biographies AND Autobiographies ||
 * Caricatures and cartoons || Topics or countries || Collections of cartoons ||
 * Correspondence || Person’s name or group || Letters to and/or from the person or
 * Diaries || Person’s name || Diaries ||
 * Interviews || Person’s name || Transcripts of interview(s) or conversation(s) ||
 * Maps || Countries, regions, etc. || Individual maps or collections of maps ||
 * Personal narratives || Events, names of wars || Memoirs, personal accounts ||
 * Pictorial works || People, topics, events, objects || Photographic or picture books ||
 * Public opinion || Topics, places, people, groups || Historical research on public
 * Sources || Countries or regions, people,
 * Speeches || People, events, groups || Transcripts of speeches ||
 * Statistics || Countries or regions, groups,
 * Treaties || Countries, groups || Texts of treaties ||

Ø **//Maps//** combined with **//Countries, regions, etc.//** Ex. **//Europe, Eastern – Historical geography – Maps.//**
 * How does the Subject Heading look in the catalog? **

Ø **//Correspondence//** combined with **//Person’s name or group//** Ex. **//Galilei, Galileo, 1564-1642 – Correspondence.//**

Ø **//Sources//** combined with **//Countries or regions, people, groups, topics//** Ex. **//Women – France – Paris – History - Sources.//**