It appears to me that we are running into problems confusing "primary" sources and "originals." Anything of a period that is related to a particular subject is a primary source. Wills, deeds, parish records-any documentation of the time is a primary record. A scanned copy of any of these records would also be "primary" record although it would not be an original record (there is in law a concept of "true copy"). Obviously some questions cannot be engaged when using copies. For example, in medieval manuscript study paper and ink composition and watermarks are significant elements in dating the manuscript-that, kind of analysis cannot be done on a web copy. But this does not preclude the web copy from being considered as a "primary" source for questions that are related to content. Ergo; transcripts most often are "primary" sources and so are translations, although in both cases that fact must be stated in citation so that it is obvious to the receiver of the information that some errors could have crept in, in this version of a primary record. A "primary" records does not have to be an original to be "primary." The difference between "primary" and "secondary", as I understand I, is that the primary record is "it" while the secondary record is "about it" (interpretation). A copy of "it" is still "it" however defective-it is not an interpretation. nburlakoff -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Barbara O'Brien Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 9:43 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Primary sources from web-sites Kate, Personally I would consider the image of the document a primary source if it is the information contained in that document that is important. A translation of that document would be a secondary source because information in the document has been filtered and once removed from the original. If, however, the researcher is looking beyond the contents of a document to the physical form then the image is secondary. Footnote would contain would contain URL and documents physical location with further note that Web image was used. Just my thoughts .At 12:40 PM 09/10/2003, you wrote: This is a question my education coordinator asked that I pose to the group: With more and more documents/photographs/images of objects from a museum collection posted to the web, students have begun to cite them as primary sources in their research. For example, a student may use a letter written by an historic person and found on a web-site - an image of the letter is there as well as a full transcription. Since it is only a digital copy and not the original, would it still be considered a primary source? What if only a transcription was provided, and not the image? If you have some insight into this, or just a good opinion, please respond to Brian Banton at [log in to unmask] Thanks! Kate Higgins Curator Pejepscot Historical Society 159 Park Row Brunswick, ME 04011 207-729-6606 207-729-6012 (fax) ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). Barbara O'Brien Archivist McDaniel College (410) 857-2793 [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).