ATTENTION!
Searching through the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) catalog can be EXTREMELY challenging! Please reach out to John and Kaitlyn for help in navigating this resource for your final papers!
Primary Source Collections
Finding primary sources is a multi-step process. There is no "one-stop-shop" database that will give you everything you need for your paper. Follow these tips:
- Look at the bibliographies and footnotes from articles and books to see what primary sources those scholars are using for evidence
- Think and research multiple institutions, archives, or repositories that could have information and collections about your project
- Use historical language
- Keep it simple. Use broad keywords to find sources
When searching for primary source collections online, include the following additional phrases with your first key words:
- online collections
- digital collections
- digitized collections
- historical collections
Be aware that digital collections only show a small portion of what an institution holds!
- NARA: JFK Assassination HomepageProvides information about the collection.
- NARA CatalogDirect link to NARA's catalog.
- National Security ArchiveFounded in 1985 by journalists and scholars to check rising government secrecy, the National Security Archive combines a unique range of functions: investigative journalism center, research institute on international affairs, library and archive of declassified U.S. documents ("the world's largest nongovernmental collection" according to the Los Angeles Times), leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, public interest law firm defending and expanding public access to government information, global advocate of open government, and indexer and publisher of former secrets.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times This link opens in a new windowFull pages & article images with searchable full-text back to the first issue.
(Coverage: 1851-4 years ago) Learn more about this database. - ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowCross search all newspapers found in this database.
- Washington Post Online This link opens in a new windowDigital edition of The Washington Post. (Coverage: 2005 --) Learn more about this newspaper & how to access older issues.
- Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1941-1996 This link opens in a new windowArchive of 20th Century news from around the world.
- Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
An integrated platform that combines Gales digital archives into a single cross-searchable interface to enhance the ability to discover primary source documents from multiple collections. Over 50 collections are available to University of Delaware users on this platform. (Coverage: 1500 -)
- HeinOnline Academic This link opens in a new windowImage-based government document & legal research database. Extensive coverage of U.S. statutory materials, congressional documents & treaties. Also includes all of the world’s constitutions, collections of classic treatises, & presidential documents. Coverage of U.S. goverrnment publications is comprehensive back to inception, & all titles are exact replicas of the official print publication from the U.S. Government Publishing Office. A large assortment of international resources are also available.
- Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Open Access. Collection of documents, audio & visual resources, & analyses related to homeland security policy & strategy. Supports local, state & federal analysis & decision-making needs, & assists academics of all disciplines in research relating to homeland defense & security. Provides quick access to important U.S. policy documents, presidential directives, & national strategy documents, as well as specialized resources such as theses & research reports from various universities, organizations, & local & state agencies.
- Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
Open Access. Digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines & journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press & alternative literary magazines. (Coverage: 20th century, primarily 1960s to the 1980s)
- Political Extremism & Radicalism This link opens in a new window
Archival collections focused on political extremism & radical thought. A broad assortment of political movements from both far-right & radical left political groups are covered. (Coverage: 17662010s)
- U.S. Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
Declassified U.S. documents from the executive branch, including presidential libraries, Dept. of State, Dept. of Defense, CIA, FBI, Joint Chiefs of Staff & other executive agencies. (Coverage: 20th-21st c.)
These links are to sources held here at the University of Delaware Library Special Collections. To use Special Collections items, visit the Reading Room on the second floor of Morris Library, right off of the Atrium. Special Collections is open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. More information can be found at https://library.udel.edu/special/home/contact-us/faq/.
- Ceremonies in Rotunda of Capitol for President John F. Kennedy...11/24/63Description from Voice of America: arrival of the cortege at the Rotunda, remarks of Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, Chief Justice Earl Warren, and House Speaker John McCormick.
From MSS 0127, Senator John J. Williams papers - Kennedy Funeral, 1963 November 24-25Image from Kennedy memorial in the Capitol Rotunda.
From MSS 0127, Senator John J. Williams papers - MSS 0127, Senator John J. Williams papers
The papers of Senator John J. Williams span the dates 1946-1988, with the bulk of the collection representing the years of his career in the U.S. Senate, 1947-1970. - MSS 0406, Ralph D. Gardner papersThe Ralph D. Gardner Papers is a collection of plays, stories, and case reports written by Pennsylvania State Police officer Ralph D. Gardner. Spanning the
dates 1919 to 1967, with the bulk of the collection dated between 1925 and 1944, the papers consist of one linear foot of carbon copies of case reports,
correspondence, clippings, a speech, magazines, two photographs, as well as typescript and handwritten manuscripts for plays and stories. - MSS 0103s, John Malcolm Brinnin papers supplementThe Supplement to the John Malcolm Brinnin Papers comprises thirteen linear feet of material spanning the dates [1800s]-1998 (bulk dates 1935-1998). Most of the collection consists of letters to Brinnin; poems, a memoir, journals, and articles written by Brinnin; and personal documents, such as a passport, birth certificate, medical and hospice information, draft notice, photographs, and college diploma. However, the supplement also includes books or manuscripts written by other authors and friends, artwork, clippings, computer software, travel brochures and itineraries, and audiovisual material related to Brinnin.
- Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. byCall Number: E842.9 .A55Publication Date: 1964Part of the general collection/circulating collection.
- Eulogies to the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy : delivered in the rotunda of the United States Capitol, November 24, 1963. byCall Number: E842.9 .E85x 1964Publication Date: 1964Shelved in Non-Circulating SVMIN.
Part of the Marnie Flook Miniature Book Collection - The tongs of jeopardy : reflections on the death of President Kennedy byCall Number: E 842.9 E9x 1963Publication Date: 1963Shelved in Non-Circulating Folio.
- Kennedy and Lincoln: medical and ballistic comparisons of their assassinations byCall Number: FOLIO E842.9 .L35 1980Publication Date: 1980Part of the Lincoln Collection
- November 22, 1963 byCall Number: MEDIA E842.9 .A54 1964Publication Date: 1964"This album has been produced by the ABC Radio Network as an historical document in sound. It consists of events surrounding the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, radio-reported to the nation throughout the 80 hours following the first broadcast to the country and the world at 1:36 PM, Friday, November 22 on the ABC Radio Network."