- Borrowing
A Primary Source refers to any type of documentation that is original to a person or an event. Types of primary sources include diaries, letters, or notebooks. Artwork is also considered a primary source. Primary sources can be found in a variety of formats within the library's collections, as well as in archival collections, or on the Internet.
ArtStore - Library database of images from all areas of art.
HathiTrust - Open access
Contains books and scholarly journals digitized from libraries around the world covering many topics and languages.
Internet Archive - Open access
An eclectic open collection including millions of books, government documents, films, software, music, archived websites, and more.
Library of Congress Digital Collections - Open access
Primary source material such as letters, diaries, newspapers, maps and photographs, sound recordings of personal accounts of events, and streaming historic films. Subjects include American national and local history, African American history, world history, performing arts, government, law & politics, art & architecture, and extensive collection of New Mexico and Western materials. Coverage: 1580-current.
The Archives collects, preserves, and makes accessible nearly 90 years’ worth of the Museum’s historical records, and other primary source documents concerning art and cultural history in the 20th and 21st centuries, including private archives and papers of artists, galleries, dealers, art historians, critics, and others. The holdings also include an extensive Photographic Archive and interviews conducted as part of the Archives Oral History Program.
SF MOMA Artist Interviews Here, in their own words, many of these artists share their creative process and their stories.