Advanced research in literary studies may require you to consult early editions of works, or to find materials not recently reprinted. The library has a number of resources to help you identify these, and in many cases they are available in full text at Queen's on microfiche or online. In addition, Rare Books and Special Collections in Douglas Library has an extensive early imprint collections and strong early Canadian literature collections.
The Internet is now home to many open repositories of digitized early editions and manuscripts. See Websites for selected resources.
For more information about what primary sources are and why you might want to consult them, check the general Primary Sources guide.
Adam Matthew Digital Collections
Theme related collections of digitized historical primary source documents from over 60 collections, which include artwork, books, documents, correspondence, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and video.
Collections include: Eighteenth Century Drama, Literary Manuscripts, Literary Print Culture, Romanticism: Life Literature and Landscape, and Shakespeare in Performance,
Collection of over 3000 early works from Canada's history. Includes both fiction and nonfiction.