Research Guides: Archives &amp; Primary Sources: Start Here

Historical Newspapers

New York Times 1851-2007

Times (of London) Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Search the historical newspaper from 1785-1985.

NewsBank Databases
Seattle Times, Latin American Newspapers, Washington State News, Access World News

Wall Street Journal Historical 1889-1987 This link opens in a new window
Search over 100 years of economic news to explore trends & issues that have impacted the country and the world.

Collections of Primary Documents

Digital Public Library of America
Aims to become a national portal to the digital holdings of archives, libraries, museums, & cultural institutions in the United States.
New York Public Library Digital Collections
Digital collections of archival material, primary sources, and secondary sources digitized by the New York Public Library
HathiTrust
HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world.
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. It includes many full-text books, videos, and other artifacts.
PLU Archives
This link takes you to the PLU Archive's digital holdings.
University of Washington Digital Collections
Digital collections including archival material and primary sources held at the University of Washington

What is a primary source?

A primary source is firsthand testimony. It is the words of the witnesses or the first recorders of an event. In general, it is created contemporary to the events and include: diaries, letters, manuscripts, archives, speeches, audio recordings, newspaper and magazine articles, photographs, original art, social media posts, and maps. It also includes books that are firsthand testimony of an event.