LibGuides: SSW 210 Social Welfare: Original Source Documents

Original (or "Primary") Source Documents in Historical Research

(Watch through 4:00.)

Types of original source documents you can expect to find:

Court cases
Legislative documents
Newspaper articles
Letters
Speeches (called "addresses" back in ye olden times)
Books (written by key people of the movement, or observers contemporary to it)
Advertisements
Pamphlets
Diaries
Autobiographies
Oral histories
Interviews (recorded or transcribed)
Organizational reports
Photographs or drawings
Posters
Articles written by a person who was involved (this is more of a "modern" type of source for social work; expect to see these written only in the last 50 years or so)

Library Resources

WorldCat Discovery This link opens in a new window
Discovery is a one-search tool that will find books, ebooks, DVDs, and articles from our collection AND beyond it. Some full text materials will also have a direct link in Discovery. Also use it to place interlibrary loan requests!

Social Movement Videos
Some of these videos and video clips would be "primary sources." You can filter by "Content Type." Interviews with key people; news footage and news reels that were aired when the events were taking place; archival footage; and speeches or addresses may fit the bill.

Online Archives

HathiTrust
"A collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world," the Hathi Trust is a rich resource of copyright-free historical texts.
Digital Public Library of America
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.
Digital Public Library of America - Social Movements
These primary source collections can provide topic inspiration and give your research a kickstart.
Internet Archive
Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg offers free digital copies of out-of-copyright books and pamphlets.
Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center
"This website represents an effort to aid the research process by bringing together, in digital format, a variety of resources that are physically preserved in various locations around the country. Through these resources, we seek to increase knowledge and understanding of the school and its complex legacy..."

Newspapers

Chronicling America
Coverage: 1789-1925. Nationwide papers made available through the Library of Congress.
Brooklyn Newsstand
Coverage: 1841-1955. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn Life and Activities of Long Island Society, and Brooklyn Life. From the Brooklyn Public Library.
California Digital Newspaper Collection
Coverage: 1846-present. Dozens of California (state) newspapers covering various date ranges.
Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection
Coverage: 1859-2007. Dozens of publications from throughout Colorado, available in various date ranges.
Historical African American Newspapers
Coverage: 1827-1990's. This is a collection of links to individual newspapers available online; some are only available to that college's students.
Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection
Coverage: 1831-2011. Newspapers published throughout Illinois, available in a variety of date ranges.
Google News Archive
Make sure to click the "Search Archive" button instead of the one that searches the general web!

Legal Cases

Legal Sources in Google Scholar

Look underneath the search bar and change the selection from "Articles" to "Case Law". Depending on your search, you may be able to further limit your results to federal or state cases.

Google Scholar
Search for scholarly materials online using the friendly Google search box. Many articles may be available through Reeves; check Full Text Finder to find out if we subscribe. Interlibrary loan is available for items not in our holdings.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
News, business, and legal sources, including company dossiers and U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790. (Formerly LexisNexis)