Day 18: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

There are 3 types of sources for a research project: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The first two are self-explanatory since primary indicated first-hand knowledge and secondary, it would follow, means second-hand knowledge.  Examples of these, in my case of Book of Days, would be be

Primary sources -- the original copy of a handwritten Book of Days, the person who wrote a Book of Days, original art or photographs that were included in the Book of Days, the samples of binding leathers that were considered when the cover was made

whereas the Secondary sources for the same Book of Days -- a reproduction of the original copy of a handwritten Book of Days, an interview recorded in a magazine about the person who wrote a Book of Days, xerox copies of the art or photographs that were included in the Book of Days, a picture of the binding leathers that were considered when the cover was made

See? The secondary sources are one, two, three steps away from the actual, real-life, primary source.

A 2-volume Book of Days 

A Tertiary source is a list of primary and secondary sources such as a catalog, manual, guidebook. I wonder, could a Book of Days BE a tertiary source?  It is a list...but is it a list of primary and secondary sources? The Chambers Book of Days is so comprehensive it might be a tertiary source of some primary and secondary sources.