A primary source is a first-hand record of an event or topic created by a participant in or a witness to that event or topic. Primary sources can be a document, letter, eye-witness account, diary, article, book, recording, statistical data, manuscript, or art object. Primary sources vary by discipline and provide an original source of information about an era or event. Although primary sources can include first-hand accounts that were documented later, such as memoirs or oral histories, primary sources created or written closest to the time of the actual event are considered to be the most useful sources for research purposes (Library of Congress, 2020, FAQ, para. 2)
For a directory of archives in Spain and Latin America, see the Censo-Guía de Archivos de España y Ibero-América produced by Spain's Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport.
When searching for primary sources in the library keep in mind these three points:
To find digitized primary sources, you can search the databases and links to archival collections.
In general, to find published primary source material, you should use a subject word search or an exact subject phrase in the Library Catalog for your topic, and add the terms:
Examples of Library of Congress subject headings related to the Andean History include:
Also, keep in mind full text source material available via Google Books. For example, see the advanced search option on Google Books and look up the following: