Primary Resources and Archives

Primary sources are "first-hand" information, sources as close as possible to the origin of the information or idea under study. Primary sources are contrasted with secondary sources, works that provide analysis, commentary, or criticism on the primary source.

• In art, literature, and cultural studies, primary sources include original creative works, such as paintings, architectural plans, music, poems, novels, movies, television shows, and even advertisements.
• In historical studies, primary sources include written works, recordings, or other sources of information from people who were participants or direct witnesses to the events in question. Examples of commonly used historical primary sources include government documents, memoirs, personal correspondence, oral histories, and contemporary newspaper accounts.
• In the sciences, primary sources are usually articles or data resulting directly from experiments, fieldwork, or clinical trials.

Note that the "primacy" of a source can be relative. In cases where original records were lost or a live performance was never recorded, a review or commentary from a third party may be the most primary source available.

Below are links to primary locations for print special collections at UCLA. Select online finding aids are also available via the Online Archive of California. UCLA Library Special Collections collects materials in the following areas: Los Angeles History and Culture; History of Medicine and the Sciences; Global Histories and Cultures; Performing Arts (Music, Film and Television, Theater, Dance).

The majority of the material in Library Special Collections would be considered primary resources.

The following types of sources are generally considered to be primary sources.