I think my experience in the archives kind of changed how I was going to look for primary sources. In the other history class I took at Knox we actually were not allowed to use primary sources, so I felt a little out of practice. It definitely was really cool to see the different types of sources that are available to us at Knox and opened up my options. In that way, working in the archives has made me realise that there are a lot more sources out there available. Before this class, I don’t think I would have looked for letters or things like that when looking for primary sources. I think it also impacted the way I approached it because I was able to narrow my search a little bit because I could figure out what might be relevant and what won’t be, as well as what would exist and what wouldn’t.
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I’m glad that the experience helped you think broadly about looking for primary sources! Thinking creatively about how to find the information you want to know is a very useful historical trick, since it’s rare to find a primary source that fits your needs perfectly.