Primary Sources - Dr. Nabours - History Courses - LibGuides at Sowela Technical Community College

Primary Sources at the SOWELA Library

You can Search the library catalog with the following phrases to browse primary sources:

primary sources
autobiography
diary
letters
"a brief history with documents"

To make the process easier for students, we have compiled lists of relevant print and digital primary sources that are available through the SOWELA Library. Clicking on each link will open an Excel spreadsheet. Within the spreadsheet you will find the title, author, and location of each primary source document.

Print Primary Sources for American History I
Primary Source print books that are available for check out at the SOWELA library
Digital Primary Sources for American History I
To log in, use the ID number found on your SOWELA photo ID card. The number begins with the letter L. The PIN is the 6 digits of your birthday - MMDDYY (use the last two numbers of your birth year).
Print Primary Sources for American History 2
Primary Source print books that are available for check out at the SOWELA library
Digital Primary Sources for American History 2
To log in, use the ID number found on your SOWELA photo ID card. The number begins with the letter L. The PIN is the 6 digits of your birthday - MMDDYY (use the last two numbers of your birth year).
Print Primary Sources for Louisiana History
Print books you can check out from the SOWELA library.
Digital Primary Sources for Louisiana History
To log in, use the ID number found on your SOWELA photo ID card. The number begins with the letter L. The PIN is the 6 digits of your birthday - MMDDYY (use the last two numbers of your birth year).

Primary Sources Available Online

American History

African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full page scans of African-American Newspaper articles published between 1827- 1998, includes Freedom’s Journal the first African-American owned and operated newspaper in the United States.

Library of Congress Digital Collections
The Digital Collections of the Library of Congress contains historical books, letters, diaries, media, and other primary source materials that you can read online for free.
Library of Congress Chronicling America
Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1777-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets
Primary source collections exploring topics in history, literature, and culture developed by educators. Topics include the California Gold Rush, Space Race, Immigration through Angel Island and more. Each set includes things such as primary source letters, speeches, and other writings, as well as links to addtional resources.

Louisiana History

Louisiana Digital Library This link opens in a new window
The Louisiana Digital Library (LDL) is an online library containing photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, oral histories, and other items that document the history and culture of Louisiana. Items come from institutions across the state, including libraries, museums, archives, and historical organizations.
American Historical Newspapers – Louisiana This link opens in a new window
Full scans of Louisiana Newspapers, ranging from 1805 to 1900.

Archdiocese of New Orleans Sacramental Registers
A collection of digitized PDFs of the sacramental records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdioces of New Orleans dating from 1718 - 1815
Louisiana Historical Center's Louisiana Colonial Documents Digitization Project
This is the online publication of the digitization of the Louisiana State Musuem's Colonial Documents Collection. This includes records of the French Superior Council (1714–1769) and the Spanish Judiciary (1769–1803) of Colonial Louisiana, featuring criminal and civil court cases, commercial transactions, successions, wills, and other legal documents.
Xavier University of Louisiana's Digital Archives
Xavier University of Louisiana's Digital Archives contains a wealth of internationally and locally valued historical manuscripts, photographs, videos, ephemera, and university records. This site offers full digital access to collections such as Charles F. Heartman Manuscripts of Slavery collection and the Slavery and Freedom in Louisiana Collection, and many others.