Primary Sources - ENGL 30101 — Introduction to Literary Studies - Library Guides at University of Notre Dame

Primary Source Databases

Primary sources are the main subject under investigation. Often, the books you purchase for class will be the primary sources you quote, but professors may ask you to read an earlier edition or write on something outside the syllabus. The library catalog is a good place for primary sources, but some of our databases will give you access to early editions that we do not have in print. As with secondary sources, make sure to cite the exact edition you use in your papers.

Early English books online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
Contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700. Access info: Content presented as images online, or can be downloaded in PDF format for viewing off-line. No plugins required to view images online.
Eighteenth Century collections online: ECCO This link opens in a new window
"A comprehensive searchable digital edition of The Eighteenth Century microfilm set, which has aimed to include every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom, along with thousands of important works from the Americas, between 1701 and 1800."
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
A collection of 16 databases featuring content across the eighteenth, nineteenth, and to a degree, twentieth and twenty-first centuries, from full-fledged archives like ECCO and NCCO to specific resources on newspapers and trials.
Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO) This link opens in a new window
"Focuses on primary source collections of the nineteenth century, including a variety of material types--monographs, newspapers, pamphlets, manuscripts, ephemera, maps, statistics, and more--in one cross-searchable location." Primarily British, but some international content as well.
Oxford scholarly editions online This link opens in a new window
Currently includes writers active between 1485 and 1837, plus Classical Latin poets. Provides full-text access to hundreds of editions straight to your desktop, showcasing their authoritative editorial notes directly alongside the text and enabling advanced search within and between editions.