Empire Online provides access to images of original documents and printed materials related to the British Empire from the late 15th century onwards.
Finding Primary Sources in HOLLIS
Publication Date Filter: Modify a HOLLIS search you've run, using the Date filter that appears on the right-side of the search results.
Search Words: Adding the word sources to a keyword search can sometimes be useful in finding primary sources. Reader, anthology, documents, or documentary also can work well.
Form/Genre Filter: Do a keyword search and then scan the Form/Genre filter on the right-side of the search results. Form/genre is commonly where you'll see primary sources of these types: correspondence, diaries, exhibitions, speeches, interviews, memoirs, notebooks, personal narratives, pictorial works,maps, or photographs.
Finding Aids: Finding aids are detailed item-by-item descriptions of everything in a particular collection. Finding aid URLs appear below the title in a HOLLIS manuscript record. You can also search the HOLLIS for Archival Discovery catalog.
Citation Searching: Remember that the secondary literature you find (scholarly journals, biographies, and books) will themselves be built on primary source materials. Analyze the bibliographies and footnotes and consider tracking down relevant sources.
