Introduction to Gale Primary Sources Gale Primary Sources is an invaluable resource for anyone performing historical research. With 29 databases available to be searched, users have access to millions of primary source documents from around the globe and spanning centuries. A wide range of content is available to be explored, including photographs, maps, monographs, newspapers, manuscripts, and more. The powerful search engine and advanced research tools means content discovery is a breeze. This document will introduce you to basic searching and useful features of this tool.
Access Gale Primary Sources can be accessed via http://shortgrass.ca/gale-primary-sources. If you’re in the library, just click the access link. If not, you’ll need to log in with your library card and PIN to obtain access.
Basic Searching The easiest way to get started is to just type your search term into the search bar on the main page! This searches all 29 available databases (though you can change this if you’d like a narrower search). I’ll be using “Medicine Hat” for all of these examples. As you can see, entering “Medicine Hat” brings up a drop-down list of relevant tags in the system. We’ll pick “Medicine Hat Alberta”.
Clicking on it will automatically load the search results page, which looks like this:
Results are grouped by type – here we have Monographs, Manuscripts, and Newspapers & Periodicals – with the first 3 results shown on the main page. The “View all…” links will take you to a page displaying all the results of that type, like so.
When you find a result you’re interested in, click on it to load it. The page will look like this. Many options are available for viewing results, including those that will improve the document image and the ability to search and browse within the larger document the result was found in. The top menu bar also provides several options for saving, sharing, or citing the resource.
Refining Search Results Narrowing your search is easy. On the main results page, the left menu bar provides several options for limiting your search, including by database, subject, and publication year. So, using our Medicine Hat example, if we wanted to see all results from the “British Library Newspapers” database, we’d just select that option. You can select multiple options from multiple categories for an even more refined results list. In this example, for instance, we could choose to combine “Newspapers and Periodicals” from the database “British Library Newspapers” and the subject “United Nations” and see what results we get.
Advanced Search Advanced searching allows you to refine your results from the beginning. This function can be accessed either from the home search page or by clicking the “Advanced search” link under the top right-hand search bar on the results page. The advanced search page looks like this. As you can see, there are many options for making your search as specific as you’d like.
Other Useful Features
The ”My Folder” option allows users to save resources to return to later. Clicking the blue folder icon next to an item’s title (either on the main results page or on the document page) will save the item to your folder. Your folder can be accessed via the “Tools” dropdown menu in the top right-hand corner of the page. Please note that unless you create an account with Gale, your folder will be cleared at the end of your session, or when you close the browser window.
Search History will allow you to view a list of previous searches and return to them if you want. As with your folder, your search history will be cleared at the end of your browsing session.
Still Need Help? This guide is meant as a very brief introduction to using Gale Primary Sources. If you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email (samantha@shortgrass.ca) or phone (403-529-0550, ext. 104). Gale has also provided an excellent Help section, which can be found in the “Tools” menu in the top right hand corner.