HIST 208F: Maryland History, Culture, Virtues, and Vices, 17th Century to the Present (Jane Polcen)

The UMDiscover Books search can be used to identify primary sources using the strategies outlined below.  Note that the results will be a mix of online resources and print resources.  

You can often find primary sources in the Books search by adding words like sources, letters, correspondence, personal narratives, diaries, writings, or archives to a search.

• For example, a search using the terms Maryland History 19th century Sources produces more than 700 results, including a variety of kinds of sources. Look at list of topics to the left to narrow search further. 

A second good way to find primary sources in UMDiscover is to use the advanced search and limit by publication date.  You can thus find titles contemporary with an event or subject of interest.

• Example: to find documents about Maryland agriculture between the world wars from the time period, type Maryland [or Eastern Shore etc.] agriculture in the search box and limit to 1918-1941.  The results include a range of publications.   

A third way to find primary sources in UMDiscover, again using the Books search, is to use the advanced search and search using the name of a person or organization as author.

• For example, searching Baltimore Colts as author yields a record for the Colts' media guide.  A search for Baltimore Museum of Art as author yields 1,354 publications by the organization.