Research Guides: HIST 407/507: Seminar on the Cold War in Latin America (Zahler): Primary Sources

Tips for finding Primary Sources at UO

You will likely need to be creative when searching for primary sources. Remember to ask yourself "who would have cared enough about this topic to document it in some form?"

Searching the library catalog:

Use subject headings that describe common primary source formats like "Diaries," "Personal narratives," "Correspondence," etc.
Limit your search by date to find material published contemporary to the time period covered by your topic
Search for people or organizations as authors (you may have to search last name first, for example: Batista y Zaldívar, Fulgencio or Castro, Fidel)
Use secondary sources to find citations to primary sources. Check the book's index, notes (footnotes or endnotes) and appendices to dig deeper. Contact a librarian for help locating an archive mentioned in one of these references.

Learn how to use LC Subject Headings to search the library catalog from the 'Books' page of this guide
LibrarySearch Search for the title of your journal, magazine, or newspaper in the UO Libraries catalog. LibrarySearch will tell you how to locate the article either in print, online, or through another library.

Primary Source Databases and Resources

Library Subscription Databases

Center for Research Libraries (CRL) Catalog This link opens in a new window
CRL acquires and preserves newspapers, journals, documents, archives and other traditional and digital resources for research and teaching.
These resources are then made available to member institutions cooperatively, through interlibrary loan and electronic delivery. The UO Libraries is a member of the Center for Research Libraries.
Cuban culture and cultural relations, 1959- Part 1, "Casa y cultura". This link opens in a new window This database contains some 45,000 documents from Cubas Casa de las Amricas, covering such diverse materials as articles, newspaper clippings, cable messages, interviews, conference memorabilia, etc., from 1959 onward.
Cuban culture and cultural relations, 1959- Part 2, Writers. This link opens in a new window This primary source collection documents the literary, intellectual and cultural milieu of Revolutionary Cuba. Sourced from the archives of the Casa de las Américas in Havana, it provides unprecedented access to files covering 1,046 writers, thinkers and artists from Cuba and abroad. More than 63,800 digital files are included in this online collection which includes many press clippings but also many rare records from non-indexed sources which had never appeared in the press.
Socialism on Film This link opens in a new window Sourced from the British Film Institute (BFI), Socialism on Film documents the communist world, from the Russian Revolution to the end of the Cold War. This unique collection of documentary films, features and newsreels reveals all aspects of life behind the Iron Curtain, as seen by filmmakers from the USSR, Vietnam, Cuba, China, East Germany, Eastern Europe and more. Providing a counterpoint to Western perceptions of communist states and their actions, the films illuminate how socialist countries saw themselves and the world around them during the major political and social events of the twentieth century. The footage was originally sourced from communist states, then versioned into English language for private distribution in Britain and the West.
Political Extremism and Radicalism This link opens in a new window If searches in this database retrieve incorrect results, clear cache/cookies to resolve the problem. Combines content on far-right and fascist movements, alongside significant coverage of radical left groups, allowing researchers to access material from both sides, and providing points for comparison.
Stalin Digital Archive This link opens in a new window Provides access to primary source materials from Stalin's personal papers and insightful monographs on communism.
Collaboration between the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI) and Yale University Press (YUP) to create an electronic database of finding aids, to digitize documents and images, and to publish in different forms and media materials from the recently declassified Stalin archive in the holdings of RGASPI.

Free Online Catalogs

Google Books
Accesses millions of books which can be previewed or read in entirety. Google Books provides a useful index to contents of books which might be available in the library or obtained through interlibrary loan.
Hathi Trust
HathiTrust is a partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world.
WorldCat (UO Libraries search interface)
Search beyond UO and Summit to borrow materials from other libraries around the globe

English Translations of International News

From the UK

BBC Monitoring: International Reports

One source of English translations of international news is BBC Monitoring: International Reports, which can be searched via Nexis Uni and BBC Monitoring, Summary of World Broadcasts (Both links at the bottom of this section). BBC Monitoring translates and analyzes news and information from freely available media sources around the world, covering TV, radio, press, internet and news agencies in 100 different languages from 150 countries.

To search:

Connect to the Nexis Uni database
On the left side, under "What are you interested in?", click on "A publication"
To the right, under "Find Publication", start typing: BBC Monitoring... the full name will appear, click on it
Click "Search"

4. You can type in some keywords in the middle search box before you click on the search button to the right, and/or you can limit your search results and search within the results.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Limited availability of BBC Monitoring: International Reports
BBC monitoring, summary of world broadcasts. This link opens in a new window
Previously inaccessible transcripts of original radio and television broadcasts, translated into English and summarized by BBC Monitoring.
UO access: Series 2 1959-1973 and Series 3 1974-1988.

From the US

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS)

The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) was run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from 1941-2004. Since the 1940s, FBIS monitored, translated, and republished selected foreign radio and television broadcasts, newspaper articles, government news agency releases, and political speeches. FBIS primary users - US government officials - determined which stories are included, so political, military, economic, and environmental topics are the major emphases. The translations were published as quickly as possible--usually within a few days of original publication--in a series of daily reports. In 2004, FBIS became the Open Source Center.

In 1996, FBIS became available online through the World News Connection database, maintained by NTIS (National Technical Information Service.) However, as of 2014, the Open Source Center stopped sending these translations to NTIS and the World News Connection database ceased to exist, except as an archival collection which the UO does not own. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) operates a similar service, and the CIA and BBC Monitoring cooperate to share information and divide regional responsibilities. You can get the BBC Monitoring Reports through the database Nexis Uni (see above).

For more information on the scope, history, and use of open source intelligence by the US and UK, see: Leetaru, K. "The Scope of FBIS and BBC Open Source Media Coverage, 1979-2008" Studies in Intelligence (54)1: 17-37

The University of Oregon Library has FBIS translations in a variety of formats 1946-2004. See the box "FBIS Holdings in Knight Library" below.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports: [Latin America 1974-1996] This link opens in a new window As the United States' principal historical record of political open source intelligence for more than half a century, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report is an indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent world history. Access is specifically for the FBIS Latin America: 1974-1996 collection.

FBIS Holdings in Knight Library

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports: [Latin America 1974-1996] This link opens in a new window
As the United States' principal historical record of political open source intelligence for more than half a century, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report is an indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent world history. Access is specifically for the FBIS Latin America: 1974-1996 collection.

Physical Copies in University of Oregon Libraries

1946-1951 (paper): FBIS Daily Reports (White Book version). Each daily issue contains several sections, each dealing with a world region such as the Soviet Union or the Far East. Location: Documents, Shelving Range C16A (Documents LC after JX 1900).

1/1952-3/1974 (microfilm): FBIS Daily Reports (White Book). Location: Microforms Collection, Microfilm D 839.U63.

1974-1977 (paper): FBIS Daily Reports (regional series). The UO Library has only the regional series for China (1974-1977), Eastern Europe (1974-1977) and the Soviet Union (1974-1976). Location: Documents, Shelving Range C16A (Documents LC after JX 1900).

1978-August 1996 (microfiche): FBIS Daily Reports (regional series). Daily Reports for the entire period for all regions is available in microfiche, and printed indexes are available for varying periods for each region. A CD-ROM index (DOC-LC/CR JA1.I53 1991-96) covers the years 1991-1996 for all regions. Location for Daily Reports: Microforms Collection, Documents Microfiche PREX 7.10: FBIS

1996-2004 (CD-ROM): FBIS Publications (DOC-US PREX 7.10/3) Quarterly CD-ROM disks contain the full texts of FBIS articles from all regions. Location is Documents US CD/DVD.

More English-language News Sources

Database subscriptions with news in English

Factiva This link opens in a new window
International news database. May contain some English-language sources in Latin America from the late Cold War period (up to 1991). NOTE: This database is licensed for only 4 simultaneous users so you may receive a message that it is unavailable at times.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports: [Latin America 1974-1996] This link opens in a new window As the United States' principal historical record of political open source intelligence for more than half a century, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report is an indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent world history. Access is specifically for the FBIS Latin America: 1974-1996 collection.
Gale Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
The News (Mexico City, Mexico) is an English-language newspaper found in the InfoTrac Newsstand section of this database. It's only available from 2009, but may contain interviews with folks who were key cultural or political figures in the Cold War era.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Contains international and English-language news sources, including the BBC Monitoring: International Reports

US-based newspapers

Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980 This link opens in a new window Newspapers published between 1808 and 1980 that chronicle the daily life, cultural heritage and world views of Hispanic communities in the U.S.
Features Spanish-language newspapers and titles published bilingually in Spanish and English.
Independent Voices This link opens in a new window Independent Voices is a digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.
Alternative Press Index This link opens in a new window Provides indexing for over 200 alternative and radical publications. Indexes journals covering cultural, economic, political & social change. 1969 to present.
Los Angeles Times (1881-1997) This link opens in a new window Historical analysis of the development of California and the Pacific Rim with a focus on immigration issues, coverage of the early days of the film industry, and coverage of Native American culture and society.
New York times (digital reproduction, 1851-2015) This link opens in a new window Digital reproduction of the NY Times, with full page and article images as well as searchable full text back to the first issue.

Websites and Open Access News

The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
"The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) is an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1966 to examine and critique U.S. imperialism and political, economic, and military intervention in the Western hemisphere." Read more https://nacla.org/aboutus

UK and US Government Information

UK

British Government Documents
Hansard Online
A web page giving full-text access to most of the British Parliamentary Debates.

US

Digital national security archive This link opens in a new window
Collection of declassified US government documents. Includes primary documents, glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports: [Latin America 1974-1996] This link opens in a new window As the United States' principal historical record of political open source intelligence for more than half a century, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report is an indispensable source for insights into decades of turbulent world history. Access is specifically for the FBIS Latin America: 1974-1996 collection.

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