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HIST 631: Research in American History

Finding Primary Sources

Primary sources are the evidence of history, commonly left behind by eyewitnesses or people very close to events. This includes everything from letters to photographs to government documents to inscriptions to advertisements, depending on what you are researching. Try finding what you need in the VCU Libraries Search by combining your subject of interest (e.g. Richmond) with a kind of evidence (e.g. diary).

For more information on finding images, take a look at the Images guide.

American, European, and World History Resources

Interlibrary Loan

If you can't find what you need at VCU, try these resources to borrow from other libraries.

Theses and Dissertations

Dissertations may be useful sources for researching the state of the field
and the bibliographies can often provide a wealth of new sources.


Not @ VCU

If you can't find the book that you want at VCU, try these resources to find what you need.