Digital Archives Expand Primary Source Access Across Disciplines
Generations of researchers who rely on primary sources faced a frustrating hurdle. Conducting original historical research typically required traveling to distant archives, navigating cost-prohibitive interlibrary loans, or adjusting a project’s scope based on access to sources. For students engaged in a senior honors thesis or a graduate seminar, these logistical barriers frequently choked academic curiosity before research even began. As a result, scholarship was often limited to specific geographic locations or well-funded departments.
