If you need assistance with finding or using government information, please email us at govinfo@unt.edu as the Sycamore Library Reference Desk is currently closed to patrons. Staff and librarians maybe telecommuting due to COVID-19. Additionally, you can try call the desk at (940) 565-4745.
UNT Special Collections has expanded our remote access options to reduce the need for in-person research visits to our reading room. Please continue to use Aeon to initiate your request materials and/or photo-duplication services or email Special Collections about services and collection use.
Need help evaluating your sources? Contact a Subject Librarian. The subject librarians can help you with finding and evaluating research and sources. You can contact them by phone, email, or in-person.
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In addition to newspapers, UNT Library has government documents, a digital archive of Texas history, and special collections that can be used for primary research. Information about each collection is listed below. Please note that both some service desks and branch locations maybe closed to patrons due to COVID-19.
The Government Documents Department is responsible for the following collections, which are located at the Sycamore Library. The Sycamore Library is currently closed to patron. Items maybe requested for pick at Willis Library or for delivery (Distance Learners Only).
We also maintain several online Digital Collections.
If you need assistance finding materials in the Government Documents collections while the Government Documents Service Desk is closed, you can review the Government Information Online or content the Sycamore Library Reference Desk.
About the Portal: http://www.library.unt.edu/news/digital-projects-unit/portal-texas-history
Constantly growing, the Portal to Texas History, created by Digital Projects, contains more than 2.8 million digital files and receives some 290,000 uses per month. It features digital reproductions of photographs, maps, letters, documents, newspapers, books, artifacts, and more.
To learn more about the Portal's contents, please click on explore by collections.
UNT Special Collections has expanded our remote access options to reduce the need for in-person research visits to our reading room.
Please continue to use Aeon to initiate your request materials and/or photo-duplication services.
In Spring 2021 we will be offering the following remote access options (to learn more about these options, email Special Collections:
If the above access methods will not be sufficient for your needs, please contact Special Collections to request an in-person research appointment in our reading room. Research appointments will be offered on a limited basis. Visiting researchers will be expected to wash their hands prior to handling materials and to wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth while on campus in accordance with University policies. Specific guidelines for visiting researchers will be provided by email prior to your visit.
Primary Sources are immediate, first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. A few examples of primary sources are:
Secondary Sources are one step removed from primary sources, though they often quote or otherwise use primary sources. They can cover the same topic, but add a layer of interpretation and analysis. They may provide critical or historical perspectives. A few examples of a secondary source are:
When is a Primary Source a Secondary Source?
Whether something is a primary or secondary source often depends upon the topic and its use.
A biology textbook would be considered a secondary source if in the field of biology, since it describes and interprets the science but makes no original contribution to it.
On the other hand, if the topic is science education and the history of textbooks, textbooks could be used a primary sources to look at how they have changed over time.
Information source - Primary Sources: A Research Guide
