Primary Source Literacy (PSL) is a combination of skills and knowledge required to handle, evaluate, and interpret primary source materials for the purpose of expanding previous knowledge in a specific disciplinary context. PSL is a branch of the Mason Library's Research & Information Literacy Support Services that engages students in the use of primary sources and the special collections of the library.

 PSL Student Learning Objectives:

1. Conceptualize
   1. Identify and distinguish primary source materials from secondary source materials
   2. Define types of primary sources and the purpose they serve for a specific research project
   3. Examine primary sources to create research questions and understand that those research questions may change over time
2. Find and Access
   1. Identify where to find and access primary sources
   2. Understand existing records were previously selected by an archivist, librarian, donor, or collector and there may have been other records that may not have existed, survived or been collected
   3. Understand the policies and procedures that may affect access to primary sources
3. Read, Analyze, Interpret and Summarize
   1. Examine a primary source in a particular script or language and determine when and where it was created
   2. Summarize information found in a primary source (how it was created, by whom, when, and what it is)
   3. Understand a primary source can have a variety of duplicates (excerpts, transcriptions, translations, etc...) and still be considered a primary source
   4. Determine if a specific primary source is appropriate for a research project
   5. Understand and evaluate the creator(s) biases and how they relate to original purpose for the original audience(s)
   6. Determine the context of a primary source by applying previous knowledge about the time, culture, creator, format, and genre in which it was created
   7. Identify and analyze the possible reasons for gaps, contradictions, or power imbalances in the record and how they may affect the research process
4. Implementation and Copyright
   1. Examine multiple sources and use them to construct, support, or argue a research topic
   2. Use primary sources with respect toward privacy and cultural practices
   3. Cite primary sources appropriately and in accordance with the repository's citation guidelines
   4. Adhere to copyright and privacy laws when using the primary sources in research

Engaging your Students with Primary Sources:

Faculty can work with the College Archivist/Assistant Archivist to integrate the use of primary sources into their course assignments and develop PSL. Sessions are customized for specific primary sources and subject area needs.

Common Sessions Include:

• Identifying Primary vs. Secondary Sources
• Photographs
• Letters
• Diaries
• Holocaust Documents
• Oral Histories
• Literary Manuscripts
• Historical Newspapers
• Architectural Records
• Ethnographic Records
• Rare Books

Further Options to Integrate Special Collections & PSL:

• Formal Internships - Departments can arrange for archival internships for their students to work and learn more about primary sources and rate book and manuscript curatorship
• Special Collection-Focused Courses - Faculty members can work with the College Archivist/Assistant Archivist to design courses centered around a particular special collection or item(s). Past courses have focused on the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Collection, the Modern Poetry Collection, the NH Social Justice Collection, and Preston New Hampshire History Collection.
• PSL Course - An inter-disciplinary, semester-long course to develop PSL and to delve into the cultural importance of preserving primary sources. The course includes all the elements of the PSL curriculum and provides opportunities for students to use primary sources in a directed research project or creative production.

Courses, Internships, and Independent Studies that have integrated PSL:

• HIST-497 Archival Internship
• HIST-652 Archival Methods and Administration
• COMM-342 Communication Research Methods
• IAENG-204 Creative Writing
• ISANTH-110 Cultural Anthropology
• HNRSTW-101 Honors Thinking and Writing
• IAART-110 Introduction to Art History
• IIHGS-155 Introduction to Holocaust and Genocide Studies
• IHENG-251 Literature and Holocaust
• ENG-215 Literary Analysis
• ENG-315 Literary Forms and History
• ITW-100 Local Lore
• JRN-315 Media History and Theory
• HGS/HIST-353 Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
• ART-224 Photography I
• ENG-302 Poetry Workshop
• ENG-497 Publishing/Writing Internship
• HIST-200 Read and Write History
• EDUC-200 Social Context Education
• FILM-290 Special Topics
• HGS-252 The Holocaust