Finding Primary Sources - HIST 216 - Power to the People - LibGuides at DePauw University Libraries

Using Secondary Sources

Your best way to find primary sources is to use the secondary sources. The researchers who wrote those journal articles, books, and chapters have likely done extensive research. Wikipedia entries sometimes include a goodWhen they mention a source that sounds like a primary source (a letter, a memoir, a video, a news story, a photo, for examples), look at that full citation, and try to find it. How?

Try WorldCat Discovery (the search box on the library home page)
Google! Many things have been digitized and are available online. If you're hoping for an English translation, you'll want to try adding "English" in the search terms.

Newspapers

Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980
- Why search here? You want primary sources by and about Hispanic Americans in the U.S.
- What's included? Over 350 full-text & image newspapers published in Spanish, English, or both, mostly from California, New Mexico, New York, & Texas. 1808-1980.
Global Newsstream
- Why search here? You need contemporary and recent news articles from recognized mainstream national and international major newspapers.
- What's included? Full-text news sources from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia including newspapers, newswires, news journals, television and radio transcripts, blogs, video, podcasts, and digital-only websites from 1980s to present.
- Note: This includes the Indianapolis Star back to 1991 and the Indianapolis Business Journal back to 1985.
New York Times (campus license)
- Why search here? You keep hitting the “you’ve read more than your 5 free articles” message.
- What's included? Access the New York Times daily newspaper on your computer, smartphone or tablet. (Note: this will not work on Kindle readers, only Kindle Fire.) Get the news each day along with other digital-only content via the web or the NYT app. All you need is your @depauw.edu email address to register.
The DePauw Libraries provides access to the New York Times via a campus site license. Anyone with a current DePauw email account can sign up for a NYT account and get access to the paper and archives on web browser and NYT mobile apps. Find out more about how to set up your account (or renew your access) here.

Spanish language collections

Central American Broadsides
This collection features broadsides from the Kenneth Spencer Research Library's William J. Griffith Collection of Guatemala and Central America. Dating from the 1820s to 1922, the broadsides are primarily Guatemalan, with a smaller number from Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Many pertain to national and local politics and include election materials, political manifestos, and government pronouncements.
Latin American Pamphlet Digital Collection
Scarce and unique pamphlets, primarily from Chile, Cuba, Bolivia and Mexico, published during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Digital Archive of Latin American and Caribbean Ephemera
the bulk of the materials currently found in the Digital Archive were originally created around the turn of the 20th century and after, with some originating as recently as within the last year. The formats or genre most commonly included are pamphlets, flyers, leaflets, brochures, posters, stickers, and postcards. These items were originally created by a wide array of social activists, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, political parties, public policy think tanks, and other types of organizations in order to publicize their views, positions, agendas, policies, events, and activities.
Latin American Digital Initiatives Repository
The Latin American Digital Initiatives (LADI) repository is a collaborative project that preserves and provides digital access to unique archival documents from a network of Latin American partners with an emphasis on collections documenting human rights issues and underrepresented communities.