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* History: Finding Books

Advice on Searching for Primary Sources

You will get limited results if you try to search for "primary sources" in library databases since the Library of Congress does not use that subject heading.  Try searching these subject headings instead:

sources
personal narratives

documents

speeches
memoirs
diaries
documents
interviews
oral history
letters

You will get limited results searching for the word "autobiography" since the Library of Congress does not use that subject heading.  Try searching for "biography" but then look to make sure that the author is also listed as a subject. That is your clue that the person is writing about him or herself, and that is a primary source.

Recommended Resources

In all three of these databases, the "GET IT" button will enable you to request the book from another library if Geneseo does not have it.

Digital Books