Cape Fear Community College

Library Catalog: Search for Books, Videos & DVDs.
Primary Sources
Locating Primary Sources in the CFCC Library:
Primary source materials are first-hand accounts of events and experiences. They are found in a variety of formats, and may be either published or unpublished. Formats include:
      Diaries
      Letters
      Manuscripts
      Newspapers
      Oral Histories
      Photographs
The following steps may be of assistance to you in locating primary sources within the library’s collection using the online library catalog:
  • Access the CFCC / NC-LITN online catalog via the LRC homepage using the following URL:http://www.cfcc.edu/lrc.
  • Enter terms relevant to your research topic in the GENERAL KEYWORD space (i.e. Civil rights, suffrage, women, revolutionary war, etc.)
  • Next, click in the SUBJECT KEYWORD space  and enter any of the following terms.
    History - Sources
    History - Personal Narratives
    History - Diaries (or diar*)
    History - Archives
    History - Correspondence
  • Then, click on the red arrow.
Most of the books achieved through Step 2 will feature primary source material. The search results list will give you all the information needed to locate the item: Library; Collection, and Call Number. The availability (status) will also be indicated.
  • To refine your search, browse the list of titles and click on a title relevant to your research.
  • You will see a list of SUBJECTS listed within the record directly beneath the title.
  • Each subject heading listed within the record directly beneath the title.
  • Each subject heading listed within a book’s online record is a link to further titles specific to that subject.
Example: To locate accounts of the Civil War from a soldier’s point of view: Access the library’s online catalog and perform a search using the:

GENERAL KEYWORDS - Civil War
and the
SUBJECT KEYWORDS - History Personal narrative

The online catalog will provide a list of items.
  • Browse the list and click on the title:
    A Confederate nurse: the diary of Ada W. Bacot, 1860-1863
  • Look at the list of subject headings just above the “Copy/Holding information” line.
  • The most useful subject heading is:
           United States – History – Civil War, 1861 – 1865 Personal narratives, Confederate           
  • Click on this heading to retrieve a list of additional titles which are directly relevant to the Civil War and which feature primary source material.