Finding Primary Sources - HST 2050 - History Methods - Senecal (Spring 2025)

Tools for Finding Primary Sources

CATQuest
This resource provides access to a wide variety of research materials from the UVM Libraries. Use it to locate books, articles, government publications, films, music, images, archival materials, and more.
WorldCat
This resource is a searchable database of library collections across the United States, Canada and many other countries. Well over a billion records describe books, multimedia, serials, maps, and other information resources. Materials identified through WorldCat can be ordered through UVM's Interlibrary Loan Service.

Library Catalogs (such as CATQuest or WorldCat) use predefined terms to describe primary sources. Among the most commonly used terms are:

When searching library catalogs (like CATQuest) the following terms can help you to describe time. Place these terms in the SUBJECT line of a search:

ARTstor
Now a subest of JSTOR, this resource provides images of artworks and cultural artifacts of a wide variety of types, including paintings, sculpture, photographs, prints, furniture, textiles, ceramics, and more from around the world. Use the Advanced Search to search by creator, time period, type of work or region of origin.
Early American Imprints, Series I (1639-1800)
This resource contains primary source materials related to American history, literature, culture, and more. Items include digital images of books (hymnals, literature, travelogues, diaries, cookbooks, maps, textbooks, and more), broadsides, and pamphlets published in the United States between 1639 and 1800.
Early English Books Online
This resource provides searchable access to digitized literary and historical works in all subjects printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and British North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere, from 1475-1700.

America's Historical Newspapers (1690-1999)
This full-text collection includes hundreds of American newspapers from all 50 states published between 1690 and 1999 (most coverage is for dates prior to 1924). Papers are presented as full-image PDFs and include news, editorials, advertisements, and more.
Seventeenth-Eighteenth Century Burney Collection Newspapers
This resource provides access to scanned images of newspapers, broadsides, and pamphlets published in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Historical Newspapers
Resources to help you locate historical newspapers from the 17th through the 21st century online and in other formats. Includes newspapers from The United States, Britain, India, Mexico, Latin America, and more.