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Women's and Gender Studies

Library resources for research in Women's and Gender Studies

Databases and Collections of Primary Source Documents

Additional resources that may be of interest can be found in the library's Primary Sources guide.

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Acknowledgement

Some resource annotations provided by former Reference & Instruction librarian William Boatman (WB)

What is a Primary Source?

Primary sources are "fundamental, authoritative documents relating to a subject, ...e.g., original records, contemporary documents, etc." (Young, Heartsill, ed. The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science. Chicago: American Library Association, 1983, p.176). Primary source documents are first-hand accounts by a direct participant or observer and may include letters, diaries, interviews, photographs, films, maps, government documents, and more.

Original primary source documents usually are housed in museums, archives, restricted library collections, and government offices. Reproductions of primary source documents often can be found in online digital collections, microform collections, books, and other secondary works.

Google Books

Usually provides snippets or previews of content and includes full text if a book is not under copyright protection. See also Advanced Search. Check OneSearch to see if UHCL owns a desired book.

Women’s Studies researchers will benefit from the wide array of texts by women, including primary source materials: organization publications and reports, volumes of published letters, journals, research works, government documents, art, musical texts, etc. These publications range from some of the earliest published works in the Renaissance to the late 20th Century. (WB)
 

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