Primary Source Documents
In addition to the databases listed on the right, the library has many print materials which provide a wealth of primary sources, here are just a few-
Bexar Archives (English Translation of doucments) If you are interested in Spanish Texas, this is a great source of information. Learn more about this archive HEREOn behalf of the University of Texas, the Briscoe Center has digitized several thousand pages for access on the web. The Bexar Archives Online is an innovative web-based resource that features over 5,000 original documents (23,000 pages) that have been digitized from microfilm. Researchers may browse, by year, the originals and translations, or compare an original and its translation side-by-side. Full-text searching of the translations is also supported. The project received TexTreasures grants in 2009, 2010, and 2011, with funding from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
Bexar Archives-1717-1836: A Name Guide
Benson Latin American Collection at UT-Austin
Finding articles & documents on your topic
The library has many databases dealing with historical topics. Several databases contain primary source materials from various periods of history.Some of the best ones for research on early U.S. history are-
- American West This link opens in a new windowArchive of original manuscripts, rare printed books, maps and ephemeral material from the Everett D. Graff Collection of Western Americana, regarded as one of the finest collections of Western American history and cultural studies. 1718-1939.
- Frontier Life: Borderlands, Settlements & Colonial Encounters This link opens in a new windowManuscripts, rare books, maps and other material for the study of colonization in regions of North America, Africa, and Australasia.
- Indigenous Newspapers in North America This link opens in a new window
Articles from 45 newspapers from Indigenous peoples of the US and Canada. Includes bi-lingual and Indigenous-language editions, such as Hawaiian, Cherokee and Navajo languages. 1828-2016.
- America: History and Life with Full Text This link opens in a new windowUnited States and Canadian history from prehistoric times to the present. The database indexes all key journals in the discipline, state and local history publications. Indexing from 1895, full text from 1935.
- C19: The Nineteenth Century Index This link opens in a new window
Multiple indexes of British and American books, periodicals, official documents, newspapers and archives from the 19th century.
- Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new windowCitations for dissertations & theses from 1861 to the present. Titles published since 1997 are available for download in PDF format. Citations for dissertations from 1980 forward include abstracts written by the author. Citations for master's theses from 1988 forward include abstracts. Great place to find bibliographies with primary sources/literature reviews
- 19th Century US Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full page views and text searching of numerous newspapers from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the U.S., with an emphasis on such topics as the American Civil War, African-American culture and history, Western migration and Antebellum-era life.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
A digital collective of books and journals from numerous academic and research libraries around the world.
- Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowSearch multiple newspaper archives back to the first issues. Includes complete issues of the New York Times (1851-2007), Washington Post (1877-1994), Los Angeles Times (1881-1987), Wall Street Journal (1889-1993), Christian Science Monitor (1908-1997), and Chicago Tribune (1849-1987).
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull text articles, primary sources, images
Coverage: First volume until fairly recent. Usually does not have the newest volumes of each journal - Sabin Americana, 1500-1926 This link opens in a new windowPrimary and secondary source material critical to the understanding of the society, politics, religious beliefs, literature, customs and momentous events of the from the discovery of the Americas to the early 1900s. 1500-1926.
- Legislative & Executive Reports This link opens in a new windowReports, documents, and maps either produced or ordered by Congress, as well as presidential communications and treaty materials. 1789 to present.
- Smithsonian Institution Collections Search Center This link opens in a new window
Search millions of items from the Smithsonian's museum, archives, library, research holdings and collections.
