How can I find and use library databases that contain digitized primary sources?

From the library homepage, click on See all databases.

Then select Primary Sources from the All Database Types menu.

 
These databases contain digitized primary sources – primary sources that are from collections in libraries, archives, museums, and other places that have been put in digital form.

How do I choose which database to use?

Browse through the list and read the descriptions to find a database that covers the time period, location, and types of sources you’d like to find.

Examples:
African American Newspapers includes one type of primary source – newspapers – published by and for African Americans during the time period 1827-1998.
 
British & Irish Women's Letters and Diaries includes primary sources such as letters and diaries written by women in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the time period 1500-1950.
 
History Vault is broader in scope, including different types of primary sources – letters, papers, government documents, oral histories – covering the U.S. in different time periods.

Learn more

See our History subject guides for finding primary sources by time period and geographic region, including Arizona, the United States, Latin America, the Middle East, Early Modern Europe, Medieval Europe, and Modern Europe.

Learn how to work with primary sources effectively
The U.S. National Archives has document analysis worksheets for working with different types of sources. The Library of Congress also offers several guides for analyzing different types of primary sources.

See also:
How can I find primary sources in UA Libraries Special Collections?
How can I find primary sources using Library Search?
What are primary sources and where can I find them?