Research Guides: FYS Tabletop Roleplaying Games: Find Primary Sources

What Are Primary Sources?

"Primary sources are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts that retell, analyze, or interpret events, usually at a distance of time or place."

—Library of Congress Teacher's Page

Where to Find Them

Library of Congress
The Library of Congress website has many primary sources, arranged into "sets" by subject. The collection is also searchable.
The Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more. You may know it for the Wayback Machine, but it also has digital copies of many older items.
Google Books
Google Books contains number of old magazines, newspapers, etc. After entering your search term, you can use the "Tools" dropdown to limit searches by type (Magazine, Newspaper, etc.) and time (20th century, 21st century, etc.)
News Archives
Newspapers, new reels, etc. become valuable primary sources with time. See the box below for links to some of the newspapers available in our databases.
Edwin and Terry Murray Collection of Role-Playing Games
This is a physical collection at Duke University, so I don't know if you can actually access anything in it (I'm not expecting anyone to go to North Caroline for research.) If there's something that really catches your eye you can ask nicely for a scan and hope for the best. In general, libraries, archives, and museums are some of the best places to go to find primary sources, but, sometimes you have to travel.

Newspaper Databases

Historical & Primary Sources

Sabin Americana Digital Archive
An online collection of books, pamphlets, serials and other works about the Americas, from the time of their discovery to the early 1900s. Includes original accounts of discovery and exploration, pioneering and westward expansion, the U.S. Civil War and other military actions, Native Americans, slavery and abolition, religious history and more. Based on Joseph Sabin's famed bibliography, Bibliotheca Americana.
Adam Matthew Collections (AM Explorer)
Through AM Explorer, you can now search millions of pages of primary sources spanning the 15th – 21st centuries. There are 88 different collections spanning historical periods from medieval times to the present. Important themes such as political borders and migrations, gender and sexuality, global history, and war and conflict can be studied with these archival documents.

Historical Newspapers

New York Times Historical (1851-2017+)
A digital archive offering full-text and full-image articles dating back to the NY Times' origin. Every issue includes the complete paper cover-to-cover, with full-page and individual article images are easily downloadable in PDF format. Coverage: 1851-2013; with Index 1851-1993.
Wall Street Journal Historical (1889-2003+)
An authoritative source of global and national business reporting. Historical coverage includes more than 100 years of The Wall Street Journal’s accurate reporting, exclusive analysis, editorials, and opinions. In addition to the printed stories, researchers also can study the charts, stock tables, graphics, and illustrations featured in the publication.
Nineteenth Century US Newspapers Digital Archive
This collection provides access to a collection of 400 US newspapers from the 19th century. Includes full-text content and images from a range of urban and rural regions throughout the United States. Major newspapers stand alongside those published by African Americans, Native Americans, women’s rights groups, labor groups, the Confederacy, and other select groups.

Newspapers

Access World News Research Collection
Provides full-text information and perspectives from U.S. & international sources, each with its own distinctive focus offering diverse viewpoints on local, regional and world issues. Includes global information on topics related to business, economics, education, government, health, international studies, politics, science, social issues, sports, STEM and more from a variety of news media featuring newspapers, videos and web-only content.
Newspaper Source
Provides cover-to-cover full text for hundreds of national (U.S.), international and regional newspapers. In addition, it offers complete television and radio news transcripts from CBS News, CNN, CNN International, FOX News, NPR and more.
Hispanic Life in America
A comprehensive digital archive of primary source documents related to Hispanic American life. The collection is sourced from 17,000 global news sources, including over 700 Spanish-language or bilingual publications, dating from 2010 to today.
Black Life in America
Explore the experience and impact of African Americans as recorded by the news media. Includes coverage of the African American experience from 1976 to the present day, sourced from more than 19,000 American and global news sources, including over 400 current and historical Black publications.