Guides: How Do I Find ~ Primary Sources: Personal Accounts

Best Bets

Bibliographies

American Diaries by Laura Arksey, Nancy Pries, and Marcia Reed
Call Number: Ref CT214 .A77 1983
Annotated bibliography of published American diaries and journals written between 1492 and 1980.
Civil War Eyewitnesses by Garold L. Cole
Call Number: Ref E601 .C674
Annotated bibliography of personal narratives written by soldiers, civilians, and foreign travelers that were published as books or articles between 1955 and 1996. (2 volumes)
Diaries and Letters of American Women by Joyce D. Goodfriend
Call Number: Ref CT3260 .G66 1987
Annotated bibliography of published diaries and journals of American women published between 1669 and 1982.

Library Catalog Searches

Use the table below to develop library catalog searches for primary sources. Replace the words appearing in brackets with specific descriptors (e.g., use american in place of [nationality]).

Searching for . . .	Enter this phrase	+	modifier(s) [see examples]
bibliographies	bibliography	and	autobiography correspondence diaries [ethnic group] [location] [person] personal narratives
diaries (general)	diaries	and	[person] [nationality]
diaries (by topic)	diaries	and	[ethnic group] [gender] [location] [occupation]
letters	correspondence	and	[location] [person] [topic]
personal accounts	personal narratives	and	[event] [topic] [war]
travel narratives	description and travel	and	[location]

Sample Searches

personal narratives AND united states AND slavery
bibliography AND autobiography AND women