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Canadian History

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Brenda Smith
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About Primary Sources

TRU Library owns or has access to a number of primary sources for history. This page outlines how to locate these primary source documents.

Primary sources are first-hand accounts from the time period involved. They were created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying, at the time of the event (or very soon after). They serve as “raw material” to help researchers get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period

For examplediaries, letters, photographs, art, maps, original video, film or sound recordings, interviews, or newspaper articles

Secondary sources are created after the fact by individuals or groups who did NOT witness the events being discussed. They describe, analyze, interpret, report, or correlate the information about an event, thing, idea, or someone's life based on their study of primary material AFTER the events in question. They are often based on primary sources.

For example: scholarly or popular books and articles, reference books, biographies, or textbooks

Through Discover

Discover

Two options (and you will get very different results, so try both):

Option 1:

Run your search and then click on the "show more" link under the "Content Type" option to refine your results. Select "Primary Source Documents" and then click on the update" button. (NOTE: This option does not work very well)

Option 2:

Run your search and then click on the "Advanced Search" link underneath the search box. In the second box, add one of the following subheadings to limit your search results and change the search from "select a field" to " SU subject":

  • correspondence
  • diaries
  • early works to 1800
  • interviews
  • pamphlets
  • personal narratives
  • sources

Note: "sources" is the most useful term

For example, if you wish to do a search for primary sources on Indigenous Peoples, use:

history AND indians of north america AND sources

NOTES:

  • For online searching, capitalizing the search terms (i.e., history) does not make a difference, but capitalizing the search operators (i.e., AND, OR) does.
  • For finding historical sources about Indigenous topics, the term Indians of North America still provides the most results

To find letters by immigrants try:

immigrants AND Canada AND correspondence

Historical Newspapers

Online Historical Newspapers:

Print/Microfilm Newspapers at the TRU Library: 

  • Victoria Times Colonist (microfilm: 1858-1982)
  • Vancouver Sun (microfilm: 1912-present)
  • Globe and Mail (microfilm: 1978-present)
  • Inland Sentinel (microfilm: 1880-1916)
  • Kamloops Standard (microfilm: 1897-1910)
  • Kamloops Telegram (microfilm: 1916-1924)
  • Kamloops Standard-Sentinel (microfilm: 1916-1924)
  • Kamloops Sentinel (microfilm: 1924-1955)
  • Kamloops Daily Sentinel (microfilm: 1955-1987)
  • Kamloops Daily News (microfilm: 1965-2008) (paper copies from 2008 - 2014)

To find articles in the Vancouver Province, Vancouver Sun, Victoria Daily Colonist, and Victoria Daily Times, use the British Columbia Provincial Library newspaper index (microfilm indexes 1900-1970, 1971-1980; available online from 1991 - 2007)

The Kamloops Museum and Archives has an index of articles published in the Kamloops Daily News prior to 1988.

Online Resources - General

The Internet has lots of primary sources, but it is very important to look at who is providing the digitized content. The recommended sources listed below have primary documents on many subject areas in Canadian History. Be sure to use the tips in the "Through Discover & the TRU Library Catalogue" (left) to locate many more primary sources. Please note: E-Books are restricted to current TRU students, staff and faculty.

Online Resources - Pre-Confederation

The Internet has lots of primary sources, but it is very important to look at who is providing the digitized content. In addition to the suggested general resources listed at the top of the page, here are some recommended sources with primary documents on many subject areas in Pre-Confederation Canadian History:

Online Resources - Post-Confederation

The Internet has lots of primary sources, but it is very important to look at who is providing the digitized content. In addition to the suggested general resources listed at the top of the page, here are some recommended sources with primary documents on many subject areas in Post-Confederation Canadian History:

Online Resources - British Columbia

The Internet has lots of primary sources, but it is very important to look at who is providing the digitized content. In addition to the suggested general resources listed at the top of the page, here are some recommended sources with primary documents on many subject areas in BC History:

  TIP: Check out the websites for local museums in specific Canadian communities to locate more primary resources

Statistical Information

Statistics (e.g., Census Canada Statistics) are considered primary sources of information. TRU has access to a number of statistical databases including: