L3 Repositories of Primary Sources

What are so called repository?

Generally, it is a place, building, or receptacle where things are or may be stored. In history, it is also
place in which something, resources, data, information, has accumulated or where it is found in
significant quantities.

Here are some repositories of primary sources:

1. The National Archives of the Philippines is an

agency of the Republic of the Philippines mandated
to collect, store, preserve and make available
archival records of the Government and other
primary sources pertaining to the history and
development of the country. (Founded: 2007)

2. The National Library of the Philippines is the

official national library of the Philippines. The
complex is located in Ermita on a portion of Rizal Park
facing T. M. Kalaw Avenue, neighboring culturally
significant buildings such as the Museum of Philippine
Political History and the National Historical
Commission.

3. The National Historical Commission of the

Philippines is a government agency of the Philippines.
Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and
cultural heritage through research, dissemination,
conservation, sites management and heraldry works."

4. The National Museum of Fine Arts (Filipino:

Pambansang Museo ng Sining), formerly known as the
National Art Gallery, is an art museum in Manila, Philippines.
It is located on Padre Burgos Avenue across from the
National Museum of Anthropology in the eastern side of
Rizal Park. The museum, owned and operated by the
National Museum of the Philippines, was founded in 1998
and houses a collection of paintings and sculptures by
classical Filipino artists such as Juan Luna, Félix Resurrección
Hidalgo and Guillermo Tolentino

5. The National Museum of Natural History is the

national natural history museum of the Philippines. It is
located along Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, Manila

Course Code: GE 102

Instructor: Frances Deanna U. Rabang
Descriptive Title: Readings in the Philippine History
 6. The National Museum of Anthropology, formerly known as
the Museum of the Filipino People, is a component museum of
the National Museum of the Philippines which houses
Ethnological and Archaeological exhibitions

7. The University Library, UP Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

The University Library Diliman encompasses one Main Library
and 29 College/Unit Libraries. It is mandated to be the
information resource center of excellence in the social,
natural, and applied sciences, as well as in the humanities. It
envisions global information exchange throughout the UP
Library System. It strives for full automation, a world-class
collection and a staff of thoroughly modern information
professionals.

8. Rizal Library - Ateneo de 9. DLSU Library 10. UST Library

Manila University

TYPES OF PRIMARY SOURCES

1. Printed and Published
a) Autobiographies and memoirs
• autobiography is a chronological telling of one's experience, which should include
phases such as childhood, adolescence, adulthood, etc.,
• while a memoir provides a much more specific timeline and a much more intimate
relationship to the writer's own memories, feelings and emotions.
Example: Nelson Mandela wrote his autobiography about events in his life called
“Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

Autobiography Memoir

Course Code: GE 102

Instructor: Frances Deanna U. Rabang
Descriptive Title: Readings in the Philippine History
 b) Diaries
• a book in which one keeps a daily record of events and experiences
Example: Anne Frank was a teenager during World War II. She kept a diary years before she
died in a concentration camp. Her diary was later published as the “Diary of Anne Frank”

c) Letters
a written, typed, or printed communication
Example: Soldiers during wars wrote to their families about war events they experienced.

d) Correspondences
letters and emails and so on that are exchanged by parties who communicate with one another.

e) Journals
a daily record of news and events of a personal nature

f) Government documents—laws, cases, treaties. Government documents are publications

issued by federal, state, municipal and international governments.

g) Interviews
a conversation between two or more people used as the basis of a broadcast or publication.
Example: During the 2016 election President Rodrigo Duterte, had many interviews
that were televised.

h) Oral histories
the collection of historical information using sound recordings of interviews with people having
personal knowledge of past events.

i) Speeches
a formal address or discourse delivered to an audience.
Example: Sec. Roy A. Cimatu’s speech, “Love Boracay Sustainability Week”

j) Literature—novel/fictions, poems
written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit.
Example:
Noli Me Tángere by Dr. José Rizal.
Florante at Laura by Francisco Balagtas.
Mga Ibong Mandaragit by Amado V. Hernandez.
The Woman Who Had Two Navels by Nick Joaquin.
Po-on A Novel by F. Sionil Jose.
Banaag at Sikat by Lope K. Santos.
Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco.
Dekada '70 by Lualhati Bautista.

k) Records
a thing constituting a piece of evidence about the past, especially an account of an act or
occurrence kept in writing or some other permanent form.

l) Transcripts
a written or printed version of material originally presented in another medium.

Course Code: GE 102

Instructor: Frances Deanna U. Rabang
Descriptive Title: Readings in the Philippine History
 2. Manuscripts & Archival Material
a) Artifacts—manufactured items, clothing, furniture, tools, buildings. Something observed
in a scientific investigation or experiment that is not naturally present but occurs as a
result of the preparative or investigative
procedure.
b) Organization records- document that contains information about a transaction, activity,
or event related to the organization

3. Audio Visual Materials

Visual materials cover the whole range of non-text and non-audio materials,
everything from original art, prints, photographs and films. The term visual
materials encompass a wide range of forms, including:

a) Cartoons, postcards, posters

b) Films, music/sound recordings
Example: During the Great Depression and World War II, television had not been
invented yet. The people would often sit around the radio to listen to President
Roosevelt’s war messages. Those radio addresses are considered “primary sources”.
c) Interviews, oral histories, speeches
d) Maps/atlases
Maps are useful for understanding a place in a particular time, within a particular
cultural context. They are rich sources of rich information for many research projects.
e) Photographs
These are highly useful sources for researchers. Even a poor-quality photograph
can have value as a unique record.

Example: Image Citation: Mariano Peji and Filipino sailors at the U.S. Naval Academy
posed in basketball uniforms circa 1926.

4. Articles- First-hand newspaper and magazine accounts of events

5. Data- Statistics, surveys, opinion polls
6. Internet Sources- Emails, text messages, tweets and web pages of primary source materials

Course Code: GE 102

Instructor: Frances Deanna U. Rabang
Descriptive Title: Readings in the Philippine History