Archives abound in Archives Unbound

Exciting major online primary source database now available at the Library.

I’m really pleased to let you know that the Library has got a 1-year subscription to the fantastic primary source database Archives Unbound from Gale Cengage. Archives Unbound currently has 265 collections of primary source material, with new collections added every year. It is a huge database and covers a wide range of subject areas and time periods.

You can access Archives Unbound from the Databases A-Z list and appropriate Database by Subject lists. The Library has already previously purchased permanent access to 9 collections from Archives Unbound and you can find out more about these at Spotlight on Archives Unbound.

What is Archives Unbound?

Archives Unbound presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that support the research and study needs of students and academics. Collections cover a broad range of topics from the Middle Ages forward-from Witchcraft to the Second World War to 20th century political history and the collections are chosen for Archives Unbound based on requests from scholars, archivists, and students.

In Archives Unbound you can search through all 265 collections at one time or you can choose to search/browse individual collections or groups of collections.

What’s in Archives Unbound?

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On trial: Early European Books

*The Library has access to all Early European Books collections until 31st July 2024 as part of ProQuest Access 350.*

Following a request from staff in History the Library currently has trial access to all collections available in ProQuest’s Early European Books, a database that aims to trace the history of printing in Europe from its origins to 1700.

While the Library already gives you access to Collections 1-4, this trial period gives you access to the further 7 collections currently available in Early European Books.

You can access this resource via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 15th September 2017.

Building on the success of Early English Books Online (EEBO) – which the Library already has access to – Early European Books is set to encompass all European printed material, and material printed in European languages, from the early modern period. Continue reading

Explore the Partition of India through our library resources

In August 1947 British India won its independence from the British and split into two new states, India and Pakistan (East Pakistan subsequently became Bangladesh), that would govern themselves. The Partition of India, as it was known, created a huge refugee crisis with millions of displaced people and the level of violence and loss of life prior to and after the Partition has caused reverberations over the years, with hostile relations between India and Pakistan continuing to this day.

With the 70th anniversary of the Partition of India being marked this month I’ve pulled together just a small selection of Library resources that will help you explore the Partition of India further.

What did the papers say?

The Library subscribes to a large number of online newspaper archives that will allow you to see what events were being reported on at the time and how they were being reported. Read full text articles, compare how different newspapers were covering the same issues and stories, track coverage from the start of the Indian independence movement in the 19th century until post-partition.

Screenshot from The Times of India.

The Times of India (1838-2007)
The Library has access to the online archive of The Times of India, which covers the period 1838-2007. The Times of India is the world’s largest circulation English daily newspaper and, as would be expected, is particular valuable for its coverage of key historical events in India, such as the Partition.

But how does this compare with how newspapers in the UK were reporting on it e.g. The Times, The Guardian and The Observer, The Scotsman, The Telegraph, etc., or how international newspapers were reporting on events e.g. The New York Times, Washington Post, Le Monde, Japan Times, etc?

Want to look at more recent coverage of the Partition of India? The Library also subscribes to databases, such as Factiva and Nexis UK, that allow you to search and access the full text of a large number of UK and international newspapers from around the 1980s up to date. You can access these, the databases mentioned above and many other newspaper archives and magazine archives from Newspaper Databases. Continue reading

New to the Library: 4 new collections of declassified U.S. government documents

I’m pleased to let you know that after a successful trial in semester two, 2016/17, the Library has now purchased access to four more collections from ProQuest’s Digital National Security Archive (DNSA).

The four new collections are:

  • Chile and the United States: U.S. Policy toward Democracy, Dictatorship, and Human Rights, 1970–1990
  • Electronic Surveillance and the National Security Agency: From Shamrock to Snowden
  • The Iran-Contra Affair: The Making of a Scandal, 1983–1988
  • Iraqgate: Saddam Hussein, U.S. Policy and the Prelude to the Persian Gulf War, 1980–1994

You can access these collections and the other 7 collections we already own from DNSA from the Databases A-Z list or subject databases lists. See Spotlight on Digital National Security Archive (DNSA) for information about the 7 previously purchased collections. Continue reading