There are many places to find these types of sources.
Not everything is available online or online for free.
Many reference books will contain the text of historical documents, reproductions of maps, statistics, etc. These are considered primary even though they have been collected into a book. Reference books, however, also contain analysis of documents, which would be considered secondary. Use the parts that fit your information need.
Newspapers are an excellent place to go for primary sources. Use this Research Guide for California Newspapers. This primarily for the Central Valley, although some of these papers are from Los Angeles and San Diego. These are published in English, Spanish, and Russian.
Many of these databases also contain other source types, so make sure you use the limiters to filter results to the kind of content you're interested in.
Peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. Extensive coverage of the sciences, technology, medicine, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects - authoritative and comprehensive.
Multi-disciplinary database providing full text for more than 4,600 journals, including peer-reviewed full text for nearly 3,900 journals.
SERVICE DISRUPTION: CultureGrams can only be accessed from campus.
CultureGrams™ is a primary source reference for concise, reliable, and up-to-date cultural information on the countries of the world. CultureGrams provides an insider's perspective on daily life and culture, including the history, customs, and lifestyles of the world's people.
Electronic editions of record of newspapers, many in California, for valuable local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers--all in one easy-to-search database-- providingunique coverage of local and regional news, including companies, politics, sports, industries, cultural activities, and people in the community. Paid ads are excluded.
These are some examples of online primary resource collections.
There are many university and government libraries and museums with online collections of primary source materials. Find these collections using Google.
You can even add the words library or archive to the end of the words you enter in the search box to see if a library out there has a collection on your topic, historical period, or historical figure.
If you have a collection you want to share, contact the librarians.