Diaries, correspondence and authors' libraries provide important evidence into the evolution of ideas and society. Studying these phenomena is connected to understanding changes of perspective and values. In this paper we present the approach adopted by the READ-IT project in modelling changes in the contents of diaries, correspondence and authors' libraries related to reading. By considering these three types of sources, we discuss the use of the data model to permit the study and increase the usability of sources containing evidence of reading experiences, highlighting common challenges and patterns related to changes to readers and to the medium of reading when confronting historical events.