Here's a great definition from the American Library Association (formatting added):'Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include:. letters,. manuscripts,. diaries,. journals,. newspapers,.
speeches,. interviews,. memoirs,. documents produced by government agencies such as Congress or the Office of the President,. photographs,.
The library catalog is always a start. Also, try the Encyclopedia Britannica - not as a source but as a way to find sources. I'm sure there is a huge article on 'Africa' in the 'Macropedia' part of the Britannica - the part that has the long, detailed articles, not the short ones.
audio recordings,. moving pictures or video recordings,. research data,.
and objects or artifacts such as works of art or ancient roads, buildings, tools, and weapons.These sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research.' 'Calendars' are lists, abstracts, or summaries of official documents. These transcripts and extended abstracts of material in the Public Record Office cover topics such as land grants, slave trade, piracy, agriculture, boundary disputes, fisheries, and foreign relations with the French, Spanish, Dutch, and Native Americans. Through British History Online. World of trucks download. 'Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies, 1574-1739' is also available in the Performing Arts and Media department as a CD-ROM.