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Resources for National History Day: Getting Started

This guide was designed to assist middle school students discover resources for their history day projects.

Welcome to the UF Libraries

We are happy to be hosting National History Day students!

As you can see, previous students have enjoyed doing their research at the university.

Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources

Types of Primary Resources

Primary resources are original documents, artifacts and objects related to the event and include:

  • diaries, letters, field notes, manuscripts
  • interviews with eyewitnesses
  • original diagrams and drawings
  • historical photographs
  • audio recordings or videos of an event
  • artifacts
Types of Secondary Resources
Secondary resources are resources about the event and include:
  • books
  • magazine articles
  • newspaper articles
  • websites
  • textbooks

History Librarians

Librarians who can help you out:

  • Shelley Arlen, librarian for US History (shelarl@uflib.ufl.edu)
  • Chelsea Dinsmore, librarian for government documents (chedins@uflib.ufl.edu)
  • James Cusick, librarian for Florida's history (jamcusi@uflib.ufl.edu) 
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