Primary Sources
Primary Sources
Many primary sources are available by searching the Online Catalog.
Search using a topic or personal name, but add terms such as:
Sources, Correspondence, Diaries, Personal narratives, Interviews, etc. to your search.
Newspapers
Milner Library subscribes to various newspapers both online and on microfilm.
Miner Library subscribes to over 20 online newspaper databases.
Microfilm of newspapers may also be borrowed from other libraries through Interlibrary Loan.
1. New York Times. 1851 - present,
Historical New York Times (Online) 1851-2018.
2. Chicago Tribune Online. 1985 – present.
Historical Chicago Tribune (Online). 1849-2012.
3. Chicago Defender (Online). 1909 - 2010.
4. Pantagraph (Bloomington) -- 1853 - present microfilm.
Pantagraph online. 1857 - 1926 through Newspapers.com Illinois Collection.
5. Newspaper Source.
Database containing indexing for 400 national, state and local papers with full text of many articles.
6. Nexis Uni.
Full text coverage of U.S. and international newspapers, wire services, and transcripts.
7. HarpWeek.
Full text of Harper's Weekly for the years 1857-1912.
8. African American Newspapers.
Digitized full text historic database covering century and half of the African American experience, covering life in the Antebellum South through the Civil Rights movement and more; covers 1827-1998.
Popular Magazines
Popular magazines may be good sources of advertisements and articles from a specific time period. Most popular magazines are indexed in Readers’ Guide Abstracts. Check this database first to identify articles published on your topic. Note that magazines from earlier years may be in storage or on microfilm.
American Periodical Series Online, 1741-1900
Full text of American popular and professional periodicals including over 1,000 titles in all, covering a wide range of subjects.
Autobiographies, Letters, Diaries, Interviews
Material written by a specific individual, such as autobiographies, letters and diaries, or interviews of an individual may be excellent primary sources. To determine if Milner Library has these materials, search in the Online Catalog under the name of the person as an author, or under a group of people, or under an event.
U.S. Government Documents
Milner Library is a depository for U.S. federal documents and has been for over 100 years. Although the library does not receive all publications of the federal government, many documents are available in paper form or electronically. The major database for documents is ProQuest Congressional.
Legal Materials
Milner Library has various legal materials, both federal and state statutes as well as federal and state case law. The major databases for legal materials are:
HeinOnline Academic.
Full text database focused on legal information from journals, federal laws, regulations, case law, reports and opinions of the U.S. Attorney General.
Westlaw.
Online database providing access to the full text of federal and state statutes, regulations and case law, along with law reviews
Nexis Uni
This database provides access to the full text of federal and state case law and statutes, along with federal regulations and law reviews.
Additional Primary Sources
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States
Collection of full text documents from six eras of U.S. history
Slavery and Abolitionist Movement (1790-1860).
Civil War and Reconstruction Era (1861-1877).
Jim Crow Era from 1878 to the Great Depression (1878-1932).
New Deal and World War II (1933-1945).
Civil Rights and Black Power Movements (1946-1975).
Contemporary Era (1976-2000s).
Black Thought and Culture.
Full text database of books, speeches, essays, articles, and interviews of major African American leaders
from colonial times to the present.
Women and Social Movements in the U. S. 1600-2000.
Full text database of primary and secondary sources on the role of women in a range of social movements
throughout American history.
North American Indian Thought and Culture.
Full text database of books, diaries, letters, oral histories, speeches, etc. by and about Native Americans
from 1500 to the present.
Opie Collection of Children’s Literature
Microfiche – Floor 4 MFiche 808.8 O613c
The Opie Collection is a collection of historical children's literature available on microfiche. The emphasis of the Opie Collection is on books published before 1850.
Historical Children’s Literature and Textbooks in Special Collections.
This large collection of elementary school primers, readers, and texts cover all areas of study and are primarily from the late nineteenth century. Special Collections maintains a list of all titles grouped by such subjects as readers, spellers, grammars, science, history, and geography.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
The digitized collections of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. contain books, manuscripts, photos, films, recordings, maps and newspapers from all eras of U. S. history.
Milner Library's Primary Sources Databases (44 databases covering many disciplines)
