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FINDING PRIMARY RESOURCES
Definition: A primary source is a document or record that allows the researcher to get as close as possible to the historical event or period being studied. (Definition courtesy UC Berkeley Library ) It is usually a product of the historical era or environment that you are researching. For example, if you are studying the Mexican Revolution, articles published in magazines or newspapers at that time, diaries, personal accounts, and government records would all be considered primary sources. Records of organizations and movements and speeches are other examples of primary sources. Literary texts and manuscripts, music sound recordings, photographs, film and video can also serve as primary sources for certain topics.
Primary sources may be published (government documents, newspapers, journals and magazines) or unpublished (manuscripts, letters etc). Both published and unpublished sources may be in their original form, or they might be reproduced in books, or as microfilm or microfiche, or in digital versions. Many digitized materials are available online and reprinted books and microfilm/fiche may be available via Inter-library loan. Fragile, rare, and original copies of sources generally do not circulate beyond the libraries or archives where they are held.
Strategies for helping you locate primary sources:
Library Catalogs:
CLIO – Columbia University Libraries’ Online Catalog
Online Catalog for Columbia, Barnard, and Union Theological Seminary Libraries. Many primary sources are cataloged as part of library collections. Use the library catalog to explore what’s available at Columbia. In addition to searching known titles and/or authors, you can limit your search by dates, and/or by microform format.
See CLIO HELP for guidance on limiting searches and working with more complex keyword searches.
See also CLIO's help guide to Archives and Manuscripts
WorldCat
WorldCat contains information on books and other published and archival materials held in libraries throughout the United States and in selected libraries abroad. Invaluable tool for searching for books beyond Columbia, and for verifying bibliographic information. An excellent resource for locating material held at other libraries. While rare and archival materials in their original form usually don’t circulate, microfilmed or reprinted materials may be readily accessible through Interlibrary loan.
Specialized Guides:
Guide to Latin America & Iberian Microform Collections
Guide to material held at Columbia Libraries. Focuses on collections of documents (i.e. not individual books) that have been microfilmed for preservation purposes.
Archival and Manuscript Guides Reference Sources for Latin American Studies
Many collections publish guides to their holdings, and this guide list those for some major collections.
TIP: You can also search for published guides in CLIO or in WorldCat, using the archive or collection’s name as a keyword or author search.
Latin American Microform Project (LAMP)
Columbia is a founding member of LAMP, which microfilms and digitizes important documents, manuscripts, journals, and newspapers from Latin America. Filming and digitization is done both in Latin America and in the U.S. LAMP is based at the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago. Columbia users can borrow LAMP materials for extended periods through Interlibrary loan.
SEE LAMP Collection Guides
LAMP Holdings List
CRL's online catalog
Archives and Manuscript Collections
General Columbia guide to finding materials in our libraries and elsewhere. Directs you to other useful databases.
Special Collections and archives beyond Columbia
Benson Archival Collections, Benson Collection, University of Texas at Austin
Archival and Manuscript Materials, Latin American Collection, Yale University
Primary Sources, Latin American, Spanish & Portuguese Collection, Princeton University
Strong collections of literary manuscripts.
Hispanic Reading Room, Library of Congress
Rare Books and Manuscripts, Latin American Collection, University of Florida
Latin American Collection, Stanford University
Latin Americana, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
The John Carter Brown Library, Brown University
Specializes in pre-1825 books from and about the Americas.
Checklist of holdings relating to Saint-Domingue and the Haitian Revolution, 1735-1834
Latin American & Iberian Literary Manuscripts
Union list of collections at several northeastern universities.
Libraries and Archives Page, LANIC -Latin American Network Information Center
Provides links to major Latin American libraries and archives.
Portal de Archivos Españoles (PARES) Project of the Spanish Ministry of Culture. Allows you to search the holdings of a network of archives throughout the country, including the Archivo General de Indias and the Archivo Histórico Nacional. Some material has been digitized and more will be added in the future.
Selected Collections and Sources:
 = paid subscription titles available only to current Columbia faculty, students and staff.
HISTORICAL and LITERARY Texts and Documents
Archivos Virtuales, Papers of Latino and Latin American Artists, Smithsonian Archives of American Art
Papers, oral histories, and images of artists from Latin America.
Argentine Presidential Messages and Mexican Presidential Messages
Full text of presidential messages, Argentina (1810-1993) and Mexico, (1821-1993). Sponsored by the Latin American Research Resources Project (LARRP) and LANIC.
Biblioteca Virtual del Patrimonio Bibliográfico
Digital versions of manuscripts and rare books held in Spanish libraries and archives.
Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
Extensive site offering links to full-text collections of major literary authors and historical works
Brazil and the United States Expanding Frontiers, Expanding Cultures
Joint project of the Library of Congress and Brazilian National Library, providing digital images of books, maps, prints and photographs, manuscripts and other documents.
Brazilian Government Document Digitization Project
Sponsored by LAMP and CRL, the project includes
- Provincial Presidential Reports, 1830-1930
- Presidential Messages, 1889-1993
- The Almanak Laemmert, 1844-1889
- Federal Ministerial Reports, 1821-1960
Caribbean Literature
A searchable collection of poetry and fiction produced in the region during the 19th and 20th centuries. Covers English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and various Creole languages.
Código Brasiliense
Digital version of the Brazilian collection of colonial laws, decrees etc. Detailed indices and explantions available. Project of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.
Colecciones Mexicanas
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México site with literary and historical materials, and collection of historic Mexican photos.
Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami
Extensive collection documenting Cuban and Cuban-America history and culture. Part of the collection has been digitized and is online, know as CHC Digital.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
A comprehensive digital edition of The Eighteenth Century microfilm set, which has sought to include every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom, along with thousands of important works from the Americas, between 1701 and 1800. Best for English-speaking Caribbean.
Intute Arts & Humanities
Hispanic Studies Portuguese Studies Latin American Studies
Database and catalog of major websites, projects, and digital libraries related to Spanish/Portuguese studies. Thorough annotations describe each website. Includes listings of projects with full-text documents, and also lists online journals. The Intute site is searchable as well.
Latin American Women Writers
A searchable collection of prose, poetry, and drama by Latin American Writers.
Legislacion Mexicana 1687-1902
Collection of laws, decrees and other legal documents; digitized version of this printed compendium.
Sabin Americana, 1500-1926
"Based on Joseph Sabin's landmark bibliography, this collection contains works about the Americas published throughout the world from 1500 to the early 1900's. Included are books, pamphlets, serials and other documents that provide original accounts of exploration, trade, colonialism, slavery and abolition, the western movement, Native Americans, military actions and much more.
Teatro Español del Siglo de Oro
Contains the full text of the earliest available editions of the most important plays of the sixteenth and seventeenth century in Spain. More than 800 plays by 16 dramatists are included with associated texts, stage directions, and frontmatter.
SOCIAL and POLITICAL Documents and Ephemera
Brazil's Popular Groups
Online index that allows you to search this collection of political and social ephemera, including pamphlets, papers, journals, and posters, covering 1966 to the present. Small collection of digitized posters available online. Full text of the documents are available on microfilm at Columbia, with the exception of the first installment and first supplement which are available at NYU. Do a TITLE search for "Brazil's Popular Groups" in CLIO for detailed records and to request reels of film from Offsite.
Declassified Documents Reference System
Full text and full page image for declassified documents from various U.S. government agencies, including the White House, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department, and others. The documents included are those obtained by presidential libraries in response to researchers' requests since 1982. More than 75,000 documents, consisting of more than 465,000 pages, are included. Useful for foreign relations research.
Digital National Security Archive
Collection of declassified U.S. government documents covering U.S.-Latin American relations and other international affairs for the second half of the 20th century. Columbia also owns several sets of NSA document collections on microform. Check the Guide to Latin American & Iberian Microforms, or search CLIO using collection title to find microfiche holdings available at Columbia Libraries. Collections include:
- The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
- The Cuban Missile Crisis revisited
- Death Squads, Guerrilla War, Covert Operations, and Genocide: Guatemala and the United States, 1954-1999
- El Salvador: the Making of U.S. Policy, 1979-1984
- El Salvador: War Peace and Human Rights, 1980-1994
- Nicaragua: the Making of U.S. Policy, 1978-1990
See also the National Security Archive website, Georgetown University. Additional declassified U.S. documents and other materials documenting U.S.-Latin American relations and political events are freely available.
See list of all Latin American-related Documents
Chile Project
War in Colombia
Cuba Documentation Project
Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 40th Anniversary
Fujimori on Trial
Guatemala Documentation Project
Honduras Documentation Project
Mexico Project
Pinochet: A Declassified Documentary Obit
Rendition in the Southern Cone: Operation Condor Documents Revealed from Paraguayan "Archive of Terror."
NACLA Archive of Latin Americana. Collection of ephemeral materials collected between 1960s and 1990s by the North American Congress on Latin America, a non-governmental organization active in reporting and monitoring conditions in the region. Documents were published on microfilm. Finding aid and details on contents of microfilm available via the Univ. of Connecticut. Film is available via interlibrary loan from the Center for Research Libraries. Search "nacla archive" in their catalog for more information.
Columbia Libraries has the Dominican Republic Collection.
Princeton University Latin American Ephemera Collections
Princeton's Library has collected social and political ephemera, i.e. pamphlets, journals, newsletters, posters, flyers and other documents, from the 1960s to the present. These collections have been published on microfilm and are available for use via Interlibrary loan. To find material in these collections:
- Finding Aids Search, Princeton Library: Use the advanced search to limit your searching to the Latin American ephemera collections. Either enter keywords or leave search boxes blank. A list of relevant finding aids will appear. Not all collections have finding aids.
- Guide to the Princeton University Latin American microfilm collection. Guide to collections, published in 1992. Available at Columbia's Law Library
Columbia Libraries has one collection: Princeton University Library Latin American microfilm collection. Supplement 3, Politics in Argentina [microform].
Sources on CD-ROM
ADMYTE I and II-- Archivo digital de manuscritos y textos españoles
ETS- Electronic Text Service, 305 Butler (Non-Circulating)
Call Number: CD-ROM Z6620.S7 A36 1999g Location Has: CD-ROM 1-2
Contains the complete semipaleographical transcriptions of 290 significant texts from medieval and early modern Spain. In contrast to the previous version, ADMYTE II contains only transcriptions, without facsimiles, but allows direct access to the facsimiles of the earlier disc. 165 new texts have been added and corrected transcriptions from the earlier disc have been included. Includes dictionaries, legal texts, poetry. Some in Catalan and Arabic.
TIP: DO a title search of ADMYTE in CLIO to see individual titles contained on the CDs.
SEE ETS's IN-HOUSE list of other collections of texts on CD-ROM.
Back to Research Strategies Index
Prepared by Pamela Graham, Latin American & Iberian Studies Librarian
graham@columbia.edu
10/01/2008. updated 2/5/2009
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