What are primary source documents and what do I need to know about them?

1. Archival Research Basics with the National Archives Lesson # 3 What are primary source documents and what do I need to know about them? The National Archives and Records Administration Pacific Alaska Region Seattle, Washington & Anchorage, Alaska 9/1/2009

2. What is a Primary Source document?

3. What is a Primary Source document? • Do you own one or more yourself?

4. What is a Primary Source document? • Do you own one or more yourself? • Where is it? • What does it look like? • Is it valuable? • How long will you keep it?

5. What about your birth certificate?

6. Maybe you are a new US Citizen

7. Definition of “Primary Source: from the Teaching Library at the University of California at Berkeley • Diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts and other papers in which individuals describe events in which they were participants or observers; • Memoirs and autobiographies; • Records of organizations and agencies of government; • Published materials written at the time of the event; • Photographs, audio recordings, moving pictures, video recordings documenting what happened; • Artifacts of all kinds; and • Research reports in the sciences and social sciences. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/primarysources.html “Primary sources enable the researcher to get as close as possible to the truth of what actually happened during an historical event or time period. Primary sources are the evidence left behind by participants or observers. Examples of primary sources include:

8. What is an Archives?

9. What is an Archives? • A safe place to keep primary source documents

10. What is an Archives? • A safe place to keep primary source documents • A place where documents can be cared for and preserved

11. What is an Archives? • A safe place to keep primary source documents • A place where documents can be cared for and preserved • A place where you can obtain copies of these documents

12. Are primary sources stored in places other than government archives? • Where? • Homes • Private Collections • Library Special Collections • Newspaper morgues • Film libraries • Online (usually in image libraries) • Reproduced in books

13. Is the information in primary sources always correct and/or accurate? • Primary sources are subject to the same problems as all human endeavors • Human Error • Bias • Prejudice • Misinterpretation of facts • Outright Lying

14. So how would you decide about the accuracy or meaning of any primary source?

15. Analysis First, let’s get some document analysis sheets to help us focus and look for clues.

16. Make a note of the web address

17. Now … click here for a copy of the photo analysis worksheet for this exercise. Please print it out, then continue …

18. The following five photographs are for you to analyze using the photo analysis worksheet you just printed out.

19. Richard M. Nixon meeting with Elvis Presley , 12/21/1970

20. Richard M. Nixon meeting with Elvis Presley , 12/21/1970

21. Richard M. Nixon meeting with Elvis Presley , 12/21/1970

22. Richard M. Nixon meeting with Elvis Presley , 12/21/1970

23. Richard M. Nixon meeting with Elvis Presley , 12/21/1970

24. In answer to the last question asked on the worksheet, here is a little more information that has been compiled by The National Archives for you. • http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/nixon-met-elvis/index.html

25. Now … do you understand the photograph better? • Why? • Why not? • Where else might you find more information on this topic?

26. Let’s try some other examples • Go back to the document analysis worksheet page at http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons • Find an appropriate worksheet for each example • Fill one out for each of the following examples

27. Photographs Hunting Seagulls Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1868 - 2005 The National Archives and Records Administration, Pacific Alaska Region, Anchorage ARC # 297077 (www.archives.gov)

28. Maps & Drawings Pribilof Islands (Alaska) Evacuation Camp Map, August 12, 1942 The National Archives and Records Administration, Anchorage, AK Records of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Record Group 22)

29. Written Documents Official Logbook, St George Island, June 16-29, 1942 Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1868 - 2005 The National Archives and Records Administration, Pacific Alaska Region, Anchorage, AK ARC # 2641506 (www.archives.gov)

30. Cartoons Untitled. [Reorganization of Congress], 07/28/1946 ARC Identifier 306100 Item from Record Group 46: Records of the U.S. Senate, 1789 - 2006 Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives and Records Administration (Washington DC)

31. Assignment #3 • Write no more than one page describing your findings in the four document analyses you just completed and noting any indications of bias or prejudice you found in each of the records. • Please send a copy of the page to carol.buswell@nara.gov for review and suggestions. If you are taking this course for credit, this is aREQUIRED and GRADEDassignment.

32. Questions? Contact: The National Archives and Records AdministrationPacific Alaska Region The National Archives at SeattleThe National Archives at Anchorage 6125 Sand Point Way NE 654 West Third Ave. Seattle, WA 98115 Anchorage, AK 99501 206-336-5115 907-261-7800 seattle.archives@nara.govalaska.archives@nara.gov www.archives.gov/pacific-alaska/seattle/www.archives.gov/pacific-alaska/anchorage/