1. Resources!
Primary and Secondary

2. Primary Source
A first-hand source of information; someone had to be there
Examples: photos, interviews,
diaries, journals, letters
photographs
speeches

3. Pros and Cons of Primary Sources
What’s good about a primary resource?
No “He said, she said” or “telephone game.”
Real-time information!
Photographs
What’s bad about a primary resource?
Language barrier
Sometimes the writer was biased.

4. Secondary Source A second-hand source of information
Examples: Textbooks, almanacs, encyclopedia entries, some biographies, history books where the writer did not live during that time

5. Pros and Cons of Secondary Sources
What’s good about a secondary resource?
If it’s a textbook, it is usually fact checked by the publisher.
Most textbooks are secondary with the best pieces of primary information (photographs, diary entries).
What’s bad about a secondary resource?
No first-hand account.
Can be boring…

6. Where can I find some of these resources online and in the library?
Online Primary:
-National Archives
-Virtual/Online Museums
-Blogs
-News Sites (when reporters are there)
Print Primary
-900 Section
Online Secondary
-Classroom Websites
-Some encyclopedia sits
Print Secondary
-Encyclopedias
-900 Section

7. Primary Resource: WWII Poster
Taken from National Archives, Archival Research Catalog

8. Primary Resource: WWII Photograph
Taken from National Archives, Archival Research Catalog