There are a number of digital collections of primary sources that you can explore via the University of Toronto Libraries. This guide introduces them mainly by region. It also includes some of freely accessible online collections.
Program and course guides for Classics, History, History of Religions, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies also showcase primary sources that are relevant.
To see the list by vendor, please visit the History Resources at the UTM Library page and find primary sources by vendor A-Z.
If you have specific questions and comments on this page or primary sources, if you need a research consultation, and/or when you find broken links, please contact the Liaison Librarian for the Department of Historical Studies, Yayo Umetsubo at yayo.umetsubo@utoronto.ca.
The digitized primary sources aim to preserve their historical authenticity. However, due to the the time period and context of these materials, many of which originate from colonial, imperialist, culturally homogeneous, and other historical settings, some items may contain language and representations that are outdated, biased, discriminatory, or offensive. This includes derogatory terms and harmful stereotypes directed toward Indigenous Peoples, enslaved individuals, people of colour, and other underrepresented communities.
Additionally, some documents may include disturbing descriptions or images of graphic violence. These elements have been retained for their historical significance and to support critical engagement with the past.
The UTL LibrarySearch does not have a way to produce lists of primary sources. However, using one of the following words (Subject) in your search will help you find the source material you seek:
Go to LibrarySearch (Advanced Search) and tweak Search filters. Choose Subject and enter the most important concept/person/theme in a search box. Select Books under Format
Take advantage of Bibliographies and Reference lists in books and journal articles. In addition, use Oxford Bibliographies Online, they may give you the title of a primary source you can start searching for.
Subject headings (listed as "Subject" in LibrarySearch) help identify and group items on specific topics. They can consist of one or more words and are organized hierarchically—from broad to specific—to reflect the content of a work. Examples include Buddhism -- India -- Tamil Nadu -- History and Kurds -- Autonomy and independence movements. Subject headings may refer to topics (e.g., History, Religion, Civilization), time periods (e.g, 19th century), geographic regions (e.g., India, Africa, Normandy), or names (e.g., Robert II, Duke of Normandy).
These words can be used with the following subject headings to locate primary sources. Rearranging and analyzing existing subject headings can help retrieve more relevant results. When using one or more subject headings, choose "contains" rather than "contains exact phrase" to broaden your results.
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Subject Headings |
What Does This Include? |
Used with... |
Example(s) |
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Autograph* |
Collections or discussions of the person's autograph or handwriting (H 1110) |
Names of people |
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Biography |
Biographical works focus on the personal aspects of the individual's life, critical works on the individual's professional, intellectual, or artistic achievements (H 1330) |
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Correspondence |
Official correspondence or correspondence involving corporate entities, including heads of state acting in their official capacity, is not covered (H 1480) |
Names of people |
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Description and Travel |
Names of both cities and larger places for descriptive works and accounts of travel, including the history of travel, in those places (H 1530) |
Places |
Europe AND "Description and travel" AND "early works to 1800" |
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Diaries |
Registers or records of personal experiences, observations, thoughts, or feelings, kept daily or at frequent intervals (H 1538) |
Names of persons |
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Early Works to 1800 |
Early printed works and manuscripts, editions, and post-1800 adaptations and reassembled works (H 1576) |
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Sources |
Collections of writings, such as legal documents, letters, diaries, family papers, etc., compiled for use by students, scholars, etc., in their research on the history of those topics, and for works discussing source materials of all types. |
Countries |
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Interviews |
Transcripts of what was said during the course of interviews or conversations with one or more persons on one or more occasions, and works about those interviews (H 1678) |
Names of people |
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Manuscripts |
Use for works discussing writings made by hand, typewriter, etc. by or about the person |
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Maps |
Individual maps or collections of maps |
Countries, etc. |
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Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc |
Collections or discussions of the person's notebooks or sketchbooks (H 1110) |
Names of people |
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519 -- Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc |
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Pamphlets |
Use under 16th, 17th, and 18th century period subdivisions of European and American history and under individual wars, for short, separately published, usually polemical, essays or treatises regarding controversial issues of contemporary interest, especially political or religious matters (H 1095) |
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Personal Narratives |
Names of events and wars for collective or individual eyewitness reports and/or autobiographical accounts of these events and wars (H 1928) |
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Hungary -- Personal narratives Algeria -- History -- Revolution, 1954-1962 -- Personal narratives |
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Pictorial Works |
Works consisting primarily of pictures (H 1935) |
Several platforms offer access to historical newspapers. To identify which platforms would meet your needs, LibrarySearch's Newspaper page could be helpful.
