Guides: AFRS 243: African Literature: Primary Sources

What Are Primary Sources?

Primary sources provide first-hand accounts of past events. They connect us to the views and perceptions of people who came before us.

Primary sources can come in several formats such as:

Newspaper articles
Personal journals and autobiographies
Interviews
Speeches
Photographs
Laws and statutes
Novels
Films and documentaries

Digitized Newspapers, Yearbooks, and Magazines

Several publications have been digitized by libraries and archives to access them online. This box includes:

Local newspapers for Allamakee County (Postville, IA and Lansing, IA) and Winneshiek County (Decorah, IA and Calmar, IA)
Student newspapers from local colleges and universities (Luther College, University of Northern Iowa, University of Iowa)
Student yearbooks from local colleges and universities (Luther College, University of Northern Iowa, University of Iowa)
Other college/university publications (Luther College Alumni Magazine, other examples)

Winneshiek County Newspaper Archives
This collection includes several newspapers published in Winneshiek County, with earliest content beginning in 1857. A 2-year embargo is maintained for currently-published titles included in the collection. Notable titles include "Calmar Courier," "Decorah Journal," and "Decorah Public Opinion." The resource is a joint project between Luther College and the Winneshiek County Historical Society, with support from the State Historical Society of Iowa's Historical Resource Development Program.

Luther Digital - Publications
This collection includes digitized copies of the Luther College Chips newspaper (1884-2019), Pioneer Yearbook (1920-2015), the Agora journal (1988-2020), and the Alumni Magazine (1932-1990).
Postville Public Library Digital Archives
This collection has digitized newspapers from Postville, Iowa, including the Postville Herald (1918-2024).
Lansing, Iowa Digital Archives
Contains digitized newspapers from Allamakee County and Lansing, Iowa. This includes The Allamakee Journal (1882-2004) and the Allamakee Journal and Lansing Mirror (1922-1989).
University of Northern Iowa Publications
Contains digitized collections of several publications from the University of Northern Iowa. This includes the yearbook (Old Gold), the student newspaper (College Eye, Northern Iowan), and alumni magazines (Alumnus).
The Daily Iowan
The digitized student newspaper from the University of Iowa.

Luther College Archives

The Luther College Archives preserves and provides access to primary sources related to the history of our institution. These range from faculty meeting minutes to student scrapbooks and old photographs. Many collections are not available online but may be useful for your research. These include:

Records from the Black Student Union
Photos taken by the campus Photo Bureau
Records from the Student Congregation and the Lutheran Student Action (LSAction) organization
Photographs and records of athletic teams

To access these collections, email the College Archivist Librarian to make an appointment!