A&M-SA Research Guides: San Antonio History Research Guide: Digital Primary Source Collections

Digital Primary Source Collections -- San Antonio History

Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries' Digital Projects Unit) This link opens in a new window
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This resource is a gateway to unique collections from Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, genealogical societies, and private family collections. Find photographs, maps, books, newspapers and more.
Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
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A searchable collection of full-text Hispanic American newspapers published in the U.S.

Land Heritage Institute Collection at A&M-SA
A collection of oral histories capturing first-person accounts of individuals involved in the creation of this unique living musuem in South Bexar County.
Tejano Voices from UT Arlington
Tejano Voices features the stories, voices, and photographs of the following Tejanos and Tejanas. The date of the interview follows each name. Additional interviews are not yet available online but can be viewed in UT Arlington Library Special Collections.
SAAACAM - San Antonio African American Community Archives and Museum Collection at A&M-SA
Oral histories, interviews, and still images from San Antonio's African American community.
Texas Heritage Project at A&M-SA
A&M-SA is the digital repository for the American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions's Texas Heritage Project. The collection contains oral histories and still images shared by San Antonio's indigenous/Latino communities.
Bexar Archives Online
The Bexar Archives are the official Spanish documents that preserve the political, military, economic, and social life of the Spanish province of Texas and the Mexican state of Coahulia y Texas. Both in their volume and breadth of subject matter, the Bexar Archives are the single most important source for the history of Hispanic Texas up to 1836.
UTSA Digitized Collections
The UTSA Libraries are proud to preserve the legacies of San Antonio and South Texas through our growing collection of rare books, personal papers, photographs, and other one-of-a-kind primary resources.

Several collections have been digitized and can be searched, viewed and downloaded from this site.
San Antonio Express-News Historical Archive, 1867-1990 (NewsBank)
Access the San Antonio Express-News from 1867-1990. For 1990-present, see Access World News (NewsBank).
San Antonio Leger and Texan (1853-1860)
Access to the San Antonio Leger and Texan newspaper from 1853-1860.

San Antonio Light, 1882-1993 (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
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Access the San Antonio Light from 1882-1993.

Using the Web

Things to keep in mind when searching the web:

Use websites only when appropriate and question their credibility. Remember, almost anyone can publish something online because it doesn't go through the same review process like books or articles.
Generally .gov, .edu, .org sites tend to be the most credible, though there are still exceptions. To limit your Google search to these domains, type in your search term followed by a colon with the domain name. Ex. population trends:.gov
When in doubt, ask your instructor if it’s okay to use a particular web source.

Primary versus Secondary

Primary Sources

Primary sources are records of events as they are first described, usually by witnesses or people who were involved in the event. Many primary sources were created at the time of the event but can also include memoirs, oral interviews, or accounts that were recorded later.

Visual materials, such as photos, original artwork, posters, and films are important primary sources, not only for the factual information they contain, but also for the insight they may provide into how people view their world. Primary sources may also include sets of data, such as census statistics, which have been tabulated but not interpreted. However, in the sciences or social sciences, primary sources report the results of an experiment.

Why are primary sources important?

Primary sources serve as the raw material to interpret the past, and when they are used along with previous interpretations by historians, they provide the resources necessary for historical research.

Primary vs. Secondary Sources

Secondary sources offer an analysis or a restatement of primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources. Some secondary sources not only analyze primary sources, but also use them to argue a contention or persuade the reader to hold a certain opinion. Examples of secondary sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, books, and articles.