Library Guides: Berkeley Changemaker: Labor Research for Action and Policy (Labor RAP) (Spring 2023): Primary Sources

Online Archive of California & Calisphere

Guides to over 20,000 collections housed in 200 libraries, archives, historical societies, special collections and museums across California are searchable at the Online Archive of California (OAC). Collection guides, also known as finding aids, are descriptive guides to archival (primary source) collections. These collections may be physically located in archives or digitized on the web. The guides help users learn more about the scope of a collection so they know if it is likely to meet their research needs.

Digitized versions of photographs, documents, newspapers, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, and other cultural artifacts that are contributed by these California institutions to the OAC make up the content included in Calisphere.

Primary Sources

Primary sources were either created during the time period being studied or were created at a later date by a participant in the events being studied (as in the case of memoirs). They reflect the individual viewpoint of a participant or observer. Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to what actually happened during an historical event or time period. Examples of primary sources include historical newspapers, oral history interviews, posters, photographs, pamphlets, and more.

A secondary source is a work that interprets or analyzes an historical event or phenomenon. It is generally at least one step removed from the event is often based on primary sources. Examples include: scholarly or popular books and articles, reference books, and textbooks.

See the Finding Historical Primary Sources Library Guide for a comprehensive guide to locating primary sources.

Recommended Primary Source Databases

Alternative Press Index This link opens in a new window
Progressive, radical, and left North American magazines, newsletters, and journals. [1991 - present]
Approximately 90% of publications included are not indexed elsewhere. Indexes editorials, regular columns, essays, fiction; speeches, interviews, statistics, reprints; bibliographies, biographies, obituaries, memoirs; and reviews. Interfaces available for French, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese. Alternative Press Index Archive provides coverage of materials from 1969 to 1990.
ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window
Descriptions of historical documents from institutions worldwide. (archive grid)
Searchable descriptions of nearly a million historical documents, personal papers, and family histories kept in libraries, museums, and archives worldwide. Includes information on how to examine and order copies.
Archives of Sexuality and Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940 This link opens in a new window
Includes newsletters, organizational papers, government documents, manuscripts, pamphlets, personal correspondence and more related to LGBTQ communities around the world. Topics include the gay rights, lesbian activism, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and more (Formerly titled Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity) [1940-present].
Black Economic Empowerment: The National Negro Business League This link opens in a new window
This collection comprises the National Negro Business League files in Part III of the Booker T. Washington Papers in the possession of the Library of Congress. (15,779 images) [1901-1928]
Booker T. Washington, founder of the National Negro Business League, believed that solutions to the problem of racial discrimination were primarily economic, and that bringing African Americans into the middle class was the key. In 1900, he established the League "to promote the commercial and financial development of the Negro," and headed it until his death.
Calisphere This link opens in a new window
Digitized images including photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts that reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history.
Gateway to digitized images from the libraries and museums of the University of California campuses, cultural heritage organizations in California, and UC-created websites and collections.
Ethnic NewsWatch (ENWH) This link opens in a new window
Index of over 200 ethnic, minority, and native press publications, including news, culture, and history topics. Searchable in English and Spanish. (ENWALL) [1960 - present]
Also includes a retrospective backfile of titles (1960-1989).
Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
Over 1000 alternative press titles focusing on the 60s, 70s and 80s. Includes publications by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Latinos, gays, lesbians and more. [1960 - 2000]
The Quest for Labor Equality in Household Work: National Domestic Workers Union, 1965-1979 This link opens in a new window
"The collection consists of records of the United Domestic Workers Union (U.S) from 1965-1979.
Content: 8,853 images. Source Library: Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library" [1965-1979]
The correspondence (1965-1979) reflects efforts in organizing the Union and includes such correspondents as Julian Bond, Senator Sam Nunn, Senator Herman Talmadge, Allen Williams, Andrew Young, and other Georgia and national political figures. The subject files (1967-1979) cover myriad topics illustrating the Union’s involvement in the Black community, the Manpower Program, the Career Learning Center, the Homemaking Skills Training Program, Maids Honor Day, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), and various federal agencies.
Workers, Labor Unions, and Radical Politics This link opens in a new window
This collection currently consists of three modules: Workers, Labor Unions, and the American Left in the 20th Century; Labor Unions in the U.S., 1862-1974: Knights of Labor, AFL, CIO, and AFL-CIO; and Socialist Party of America Records.

Where are Primary Sources at UCB?

Primary sources on campus may be in their original format; examples might include:

Patrick Breen diary (Donner Party) (Bancroft Library)
Julia Morgan Papers (Environmental Design Archives)
Chicano posters (Chicano Studies Library )
Social Protest Collection (flyers, leaflets, papers) (Bancroft Library )

Some primary sources have been reproduced in another format, for instance:

Patrick Breen diary: published as a book (one edition here , available to check out) and available online .
Papers of the NAACP (originals at the Library of Congress; partially reproduced as a library database: NAACP Papers: The NAACP's Major Campaigns, and in another library database: NAACP Papers 2: Education, Voting, Housing Employment .)
Newsreels (originals in various archives; available in library databases such as Academic Video Online.)
Some historical newspapers and magazines (examples include: San Francisco Chronicle, Harper’s Weekly , The Japan Times) –historical full text available through a UCB Library database.

Online primary sources may be found via free web sites as well as via Library databases.

Primary sources may be physically located in any of a number of UC Berkeley Libraries, or they may be available online.

Archives are collections of original unpublished, historical and contemporary material – in other words, collections of primary sources. Before you go to any archival collection on campus you can save time and effort if you first:

Note the hours of each location. Explore the library's web site and any special use conditions that may apply (registration, lockers, appointments, materials that need to be recalled from storage, restrictions on duplication, etc.)

Search the discovery tool for the 10 UC libraries: UC Library Search (guide) to find the titles and call numbers of specific items.

If you need to use manuscript collections, look to see if the collection has a finding aid. Some finding aids list the contents of collections, box by box, folder by folder; others are less detailed. Some finding aids are available online via the Online Archive of California (the primary source itself may or may not be available online).
For more information about using archives (the organizations that collect manuscript collections) please see The Bancroft Library's Introduction to primary source research.

Ask for assistance (24/7 chat, appointments, etc.) at any time!

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Berkeley Changemaker: Labor Research for Action and Policy (Labor RAP) (Spring 2023)

Online Archive of California & Calisphere

Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Recommended Primary Source Databases

Where are Primary Sources at UCB?