LibGuides: LBS 3600- Interdisciplinary Approaches to Culture and Society: Finding Primary Sources

Finding Primary Sources

...is never easy. How you go about it depends on your topic. It's a good idea to ask for personal help from a professor or librarian; they may recommend a specialized resource for your research. Here are some search tricks you can try:

Search in O ne Search for books or publications that contain primary sources. Conduct an Advanced Search for...
- The topic of your research AND a type of primary source, for instance...
- American Indian Education AND federal boarding schools AND government policy
- World War, 1914-1918 AND diaries
  Nisei AND oral histories
  civil rights AND interviews
  nutritionAND case studies
- Items published during the time period you're researching by limiting the dates of publication, for instance...
  Search the key terms Soviet Union and limit to works published between 1950 and 1960 to retrieve Cold War documents
- Government documents related to your topic by limiting the type of resource, for instance...
  Search the key term voting rights and limit to "Resource Type: Government Documents"
- Creative works such as novels, poems, or photographs related to your topic, for instance...
  slavery AND fiction or novel
  Industrial Revolution AND art
Search in a historical database for periodical articles published during the time period you're researching, such as...
- Historical Newspapers - Los Angeles Times (1881-1987)
- Historical Newspapers - New York Times (1851 - 2007)
Search in digital collections hosted on the World Wide Web. Find a collection focussed on the era, region, or topic that you're researching and see what you can find! Scroll through the list of digital collections compiled by the Cal State LA Librarian, Holly Yu.

Finding Interviews in News Databases

You can limit your search in many news databases by document type to interview to search for this type of primary source.

Finding Images

ArtStor Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Provides over 1.6 million digital images with new image collections added several times a year. It covers many time periods and subjects including architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, design, anthropology, ethnographic and women's studies, as well as many other forms of visual culture.
The database can be searched by Keyword, Creator, Title, Location, Repository, Subject, Material, Style or Period, Work Type, Culture, Description, Technique, and Number.
NYPL Digital Gallery This link opens in a new window
Offers digital images of drawings, illuminated manuscripts, maps, photographs, posters, prints, rare illustrated books, and more.
Encompassing the subject strengths of the vast collections of the Research Libraries, these materials represent the applied sciences, fine and decorative arts, history, performing arts, and social sciences.

Google Books

Google Books

Google Books offers free full-text access to many out-of-copyright e-books. This includes archival and primary source materials. The easiest way to search for these titles is to use the advanced search page and select full view.

Autobiographies vs. Biographies

Use the advanced search in One Search and search by author/contributor to find autobiographies/ memoirs/ photograph collections/ poetry (primary source) by musicians vs. searching the musician's name as a subject to find biographical information (secondary source). You may have to broaden your search to CSU collections if you are not coming up with many titles at our library. You can then request the title you need using CSU+.

Finding Documentaries

Kanopy Videos This link opens in a new window
Beginning April 15, 2024, Android 7.1.1 will be the earliest supported Android OS for Kanopy mobile use. Users will be prompted to update if necessary starting on that date.
Kanopy is an online video streaming service. Videos and/or clips can be embedded into Moodle and you can also create playlists.
Information about Viewing Kanopy Videos on Mobile Devices
The Kanopy films can be viewed on your iPhones, iPads, and Android phones and tablets using Apps.
• Download the app for iPhone or iPad from the Apple App Store, or download the app for Android phones and tablets from the Google Play Store. To use the app, you'll need a Kanopy account associated with Cal State LA.
If you already have a Kanopy account, the account you created on the Kanopy web page via the Library Databases page, you can directly select Log In when you first open the app.

If you don't have a Kanopy account yet, following downloading the app, select “Get Started,” select the Find University link as shown below, and then follow the steps to create your Kanopy account.

• Type in California State University, Los Angeles.
• Select our campus name, and click Next to get to the campus login page.
• Log in using MyCalStateLA ID and password. Please note when you type in your ID, please don’t include @calstatela.edu.
• To create your account, you need to use your Cal State LA email address, but you can use a different password for your Kanopy account.
• Once you have created your Kanopy account, you can then login to Kanopy app on your phone or tablet.
For help creating a Kanopy account on your iPhone or iPad, go to iPhone Help Page.
For help creating a Kanopy account on your Android phone or tablet, go to Android Help Page.

Refine your search by subject to documentary

Library Databases with Primary Sources

Use the A-Z databases list to find databases with primary sources by subject:

University Library

LBS 3600- Interdisciplinary Approaches to Culture and Society