Creative Commons licensed image by Flickr user wrestlingentropy
Important things to keep in mind:
This page is NOT a comprehensive list of all existing digital (or nondigital!) primary sources. You may need to do some online searching on your own to find digital resources related to your topic. For guidance on how to assess a website's reliability, see the "Evaluating Information" tab.
Not every primary source will be available online or in digital form.
Photograph by Alan Lomax, June 1935.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
These websites are good sources for historical images of African-Americans:
James P. Danky, ed., African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: A National Bibliography (1998) is a good starting point for identifying titles of historical African-American periodicals.
Founded in 1928 by W. A. Scott, the Atlanta Daily World became the first successful African American daily newspaper in the United States.
The digitized Chicago Defender served as the de facto national black newspaper in the U.S., and was the most influential African-American newspaper of the 20th century. Coverage: 1910 to 1975.
Use GIL, GSU's library catalog, to find books in our library. The catalog also lists other materials in the library - including microfilm, dissertations, movies, music and special collections.
Try using these keywords with your search to turn up primary sources:
(image from http://www.wordle.net/)
Formerly Accessible Archives. A collection of African American newspapers containing a wealth of first-hand reports about cultural life and history during the 1800s.
Founded in 1928 by W. A. Scott, the Atlanta Daily World became the first successful African American daily newspaper in the United States.
The collection, which also includes biographic details, is designed for research in black studies, political science, American history, music, literature, and art.
The digitized Chicago Defender served as the de facto national black newspaper in the U.S., and was the most influential African-American newspaper of the 20th century. Coverage: 1910 to 1975.
The material in this resources includes the material included focuses on the varieties of slavery, the legacies of slavery, the social justice perspective and the continued existence of slavery in the twentieth century. Offers primary source documents and secondary sources allowing for exploration and comparison of material related to slavery, abolition, and social justice.
Many libraries and organizations are making digital materials available online.
To find these collections, use this search string in Google or another search engine:
digital collection library site:.edu + WORDS RELATED TO YOUR TOPIC
for example: digital collection library site:edu "civil rights"
You can also try the same search limiting to site:org rather than site:edu BUT:
Be careful!
EDU = educational institution
ORG = organization, which can mean almost ANY kind of noncorporate organization. If you aren't familiar with the organization, do some research on it! Who are they? What do they promote? Are they reliable?
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For more information about evaluating websites, see the Evaluating Information tab, above.
Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History A division of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System - the nation's second largest archives specializing in the history of African Americans and Africans in the Diaspora. Collection info
Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL) Collections span more than 800 years of history — with particular depth in modern literature, African American history, and the history of Georgia and the South.
GSU Library Special Collections and Archives Located on the 8th floor of Library South. Collection areas are Southern Labor, Popular Music, Women's Collections, Georgia Government Documentation Project, University Archives, Rare Books, and Photographs.
Atlanta History Center Archives (Kenan Research Center) Collects primary and secondary source materials in all formats conveying the history of Atlanta and the culture of the American south. Besides Atlanta materials, collection strengths include the Civil War, southeast family history, architecture & decorative arts, and garden history.
Georgia Archives Run by the Archives & History Division of the Georgia government - collects, manages, and preserves official records of Georgia from 1732 to the present. Materials include vital records, land records, federal and state census records, photographs, and much more.
Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library of the University of Georgia Includes the Rare Book Collection, Historical Manuscripts, and the Georgiana Collection. Subject interests include Georgia, book arts, theater, music, history, literature, journalism and genealogy.
Jimmy Carter Library & Museum Part of the Presidential Library system administered by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
National Archives - Southeast Region, Atlanta Regional library administered by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
As a GSU student, you have access to the Emory University Library using your PantherCard. You can check out books, or use their library databases (ask at the Emory Library's reference desk for guest terminals).
Links here are to basic information about each database. You may be able to search these databases using these links, but for full-text access, you will need to visit the Emory University Library.
George Mason University's National History Education Clearinghouse has published reviews of over 1000 history-oriented websites.
The National Endowment for the Humanities' Edsitement! site's History/Social Studies section also includes many approved websites featuring historical material.
Browse, or use keywords to search for a website or digital library relevant to your topic.
Many state-based libraries and organizations are digitizing Civil War materials relating to the their state.
The Library of Congress has assembled this list of state digital libraries. Search by state, or check out the Multi-State options.
