The Schlager Digital Library offers a trusted platform for primary source research across many courses in the humanities and social sciences, while also being flexible enough to work directly in the classroom as required course reading. As of Fall 2024, 27 of our primary document publications are available through this platform via the Essential Primary Sources collection. Together, the publications include more than 2,500 notable and often-studied primary documents, from government documents such as laws, legal codes, royal decrees, and court opinions to speeches, letters, and even visual sources such as paintings, illustrations, and photographs. Every document in the collection has been hand-selected and curated by a scholar as representative of important movements, events, people, and issues across history and culture.
All ebooks and articles/documents are offered DRM-free, with unlimited user access and unlimited PDF downloads of all titles. A number of the titles are exclusive to our platform and not available through any other platform.
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About Primary Sources
Primary sources are central to the study of history, and historians generally regard them as "the most reliable and trustworthy means of discovering historical truth" (Eric Cunningham, The Schlager Manual of Primary Sources). These sources comprise many different kinds of sources, including laws and decrees, oral transcripts, rites and scriptures, charters and treaties, government documents, letters and diaries, speeches, and visual sources such as photographs, illustrations, and paintings. They can be distinguished from secondary sources and tertiary sources. Secondary sources are usually composed some time after the events they describe occurred, and they are usually not based on the personal experience of those events. A tertiary source is a work that synthesizes information from primary and secondary sources in new and meaningful ways.
With the sources in this collection, we have sought to illuminate ideas, events, movements, and issues across a wide spectrum of global and U.S. history, from the ancient world to the present day. In addition, we have added a range of scholarly analysis and commentary to these sources to further assist learners and researchers.
Utilize The Schlager Manual of Primary Sources
For helping students to understand and analyze primary sources, we encourage instructors to consider assigning The Schlager Manual of Primary Sources in whole. This brief guidebook offers a broad overview of primary sources, along with helping students understand and interpret such sources, research them, and cite them.
Collections
As of Fall 2024, the Essential Primary Sources collection on the Schlager Digital Library comprises 27 ebooks published by Schlager Group. These include a standalone title, The Schlager Manual of Primary Sources, along with 3 dedicated series. Here is a description of the focus of each of the 3 series:
Milestone Documents
The titles in this series offer extensive commentary and analysis of individual landmark primary sources.
Schlager Anthologies
Our Anthologies offer briefer commentary alongside carefully abridged texts, and are designed to be more accessible to a wider range of students.
Historic Documents
These titles offer primary source documents without any accompanying commentary. They are suitable for additional research and exploration.
Subject Coverage
U.S. History
- Milestone Documents in American History
- Milestone Documents of American Leaders
- Milestone Documents in African American History
- The Schlager Anthology of Black America
- The Schlager Anthology of the American Revolution
- The Schlager Anthology of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
- The Schlager Anthology of Early America
- The Schlager Anthology of Westward Expansion
- Milestone Visual Documents in American History
- The Schlager Anthology of Hispanic America
- Milestone Documents of the Supreme Court
- The Schlager Anthology of Women’s History
- Milestone Documents of U.S. Slavery
- Historic Documents of the Great Depression and New Deal
- The Schlager Anthology of American Wars and Conflicts
World History
- Milestone Documents in World History
- Milestone Documents of World Religions
- Milestone Documents of Christianity
- The Schlager Anthology of Women's History
- The Schlager Anthology of the Ancient World
- Historic Documents of the Renaissance
- Historic Documents of the Enlightenment
- Historic Documents of the Medieval World
- Historic Documents of the Middle East
- Historic Documents of Asia
- Historic Documents of Africa
- Historic Documents of Latin America
Ethnic, Gender, and Identity Studies
- Milestone Documents in African American History
- The Schlager Anthology of Black America
- The Schlager Anthology of Hispanic America
- The Schlager Anthology of Women's History
American Government
- Milestone Documents of the Supreme Court
- Milestone Documents in American History
- Milestone Documents of American Leaders
World Religions
- Milestone Documents of Christianity
- Milestone Documents of World Religions
Student Guides
- The Schlager Manual of Primary Sources
How to Use the Platform
1.
Bookmark access to your library’s collection: https://library.schlagergroup.com/
2.
Run your search - by collection, author, title or keyword. Filter by Book or Chapter (i.e. article/document/source).
3.
Assign an entire book, or browse the Chapters list to review and assign specific documents/articles.
4.
Browse your results. Note the options at the top of each article/book to read online or download as a PDF.
5.
Use the Share icon and select "Copy URL" to copy the content URL to your syllabus or Learning Management System.
6.
Select the Citation icon (quote mark) for citation support options.
Collaborate with Us
The content in the Schlager Digital Library has been built over a period of 15 years via collaboration with faculty and scholars around the world. If you are interested in serving as a new title editor or contributor, or if you have specific requests for new areas of coverage, please fill out the form below. Thank you!