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Reading: Primary Sources

Welcome to Primary Sources for Reading!

This guide provides both digital primary source items and primary source collections and databases for you to use to connect to the books in your Reading class. Take time to explore the primary sources listed for your book and learn how to critically think about the sources you'll encounter. 

 

Research Primary Sources On Your Own 

To continue exploring primary sources, check out the Primary Source Databases at PellissippiThere is also a multitude of open access primary sources to dive into online: 

Library of Congress Digital Collections Searches across and provides access to the more than 300 digital collections created by the Library of Congress. Includes photos, prints, drawings, maps, books, manuscripts, audio recordings, films, notated music, newspapers, and archived websites.

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science.

New York Public Library Digital Collections: Explore 914,279 items digitized from The New York Public Library's collections. This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.

Internet Archive: Searchable portal to a huge range of archival collections from hundreds of institutions. Browse the top collections to gain an ideas of the scope.

National Archives Catalog Locate records, and limited digitized materials, from the National Archives. Search and then choose "Available Online" to find digitized materials.

University of Tennessee Libraries Digital Collections  Provides access to images, books, artworks, manuscripts, musical scores, videos, and oral histories.

TAMIS The Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS) is a regional archive dedicated to collecting, preserving and providing access to the moving image and recorded sound heritage of our region.  A part of the Knox County Tennessee Public Library.