Many useful primary sources will be collected in print or ebook compilations, with several texts or images on a related topic collected in a single volume. The Towns of Italy in the Later Middle Ages is an example of such a source.
Subjects that are useful for finding primary sources in OBIS and Summon:
Summon indexes the full text of some (but not all) of our print sources. Therefore it can be useful to combine a subject search for subject headings associated with primary sources with a keyword search for more specific concepts. The proximity search can help ensure that multiple concepts are addressed in the same text inside a collection.
To find books where the word city and the word food appear within 100 words of each other, you would use the following search in Summon:
Access millions of pages of primary source collections spanning content from the 15th-21st centuries.
HathiTrust is a repository of digital content from 50 research libraries, including electronic versions of nearly 8 million books at the time of writing.
Note: As of May 2023, Oberlin is a HathiTrust member. Oberlin students, faculty, and staff can access member features by clicking on the “LOG IN” button, choosing “Oberlin College and Conservatory”, and using their ObieID to authenticate.
A wide range of news, political, legal, and business information from thousands of sources, mostly full text. Includes newspapers, magazines, wire services, federal and state court opinions, federal and state statutes, federal regulations, and SEC filings. News information is updated daily and wire services several times daily.
Letters, diaries, memoirs and accounts of early encounters between Native Americans and peoples from Europe, as well as Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Full-text coverage of newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press in America. Dates of Coverage: 1959 to date
Covers the Black experience from ancient Africa to the modern day from perspectives in history, literature, political science, sociology, philosophy, music, visual arts, and religion. Includes index to Black Literature (1827-1940), Black Studies Periodical Database, and the full text backfile (1910-2010) of the influential black newspaper The Chicago Defender.
A collection of freely accessible historical American newspapers from all regions of the United States, developed by the Library of Congress. Dates of coverage: 1836-1922