JSTOR – expanded set of content freely available now

*JSTOR have extended their expanded access to e-journals and digital primary source databases until 31st December 2020 and their expanded access to e-books until 31st August 2020.*

I’m delighted to let you know that JSTOR, and their participating publishers, are making an expanded set of content freely available to participating institutions where students have been displaced due to COVID-19.

What this means at the University of Edinburgh is that we are getting access to journals and primary source collections that we do not already have a licence for and a collection of ebooks freely available through June 30, 2020.

To see the journals and primary source collections included see JSTOR’s Expanded access to journals and primary sources page. To see the participating publishers for the e-books (not all of their partner publishers are participating) see JSTOR’s Expanded access to ebooks page.

While at the University we already have access to 2 of JSTOR’s primary source collections, 19th Century British Pamphlets and Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa, this expanded offer from JSTOR gives us access for a limited period to World Heritage Sites: Africa and Global Plants. Continue reading

Bloomsbury Digital Resources – full access until June 2020.

I’m pleased to let you know that Bloomsbury Digital Resources are providing us with full access to their online resources until 30th June 2020 in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Bloomsbury Digital Resources products cover a range of disciplines in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. Their collections include primary documents, critical texts, historical archives and the latest in video and audio resources.

While at the Library we already have access to some of these collections, this current offer from Bloomsbury Digital Resources gives us access to a wide range of further resources including Bloomsbury Medieval Studies, Bloomsbury Cultural History and Arcadian Library Online. Continue reading

On trial: Bloomsbury Medieval Studies

I’m happy to let you know that we currently have trial access to Bloomsbury Medieval Studies, a new interdisciplinary digital resource with a global perspective which opens up the medieval world for students and staff.

You can access Bloomsbury Medieval Studies from the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

*Trial has been extended and access will now end on 24th November 2019*

Bloomsbury Medieval Studies brings together high-quality secondary content with visual primary sources, a brand new reference work and material culture images into one cross-searchable platform. Continue reading

New books in the Library for History, Classics and Archaeology

Thanks to recommendations from members of staff and requests via RAB from students the Library is continually adding new books to its collections both online and in print. Here are just a (very) small number of the books that have been added to the Library’s collections in semester two, 2018/19 for the School of History, Classics and Archaeology and these demonstrate the wide range of subjects being taught, studied and researched within School.

–> Find these and more via DiscoverEd.

Akrotiri: the archaeological site and the museum of prehistoric Thera: a brief guide by Christos G. Doumas (shelfmark: DF221.T38 Dou.)

Roman death: the dying and the dead in ancient Rome by Valerie M. Hope (shelfmark: HQ1073.5.R66 Hop. Also available as e-book).

Black revolutionary: William Patterson and the globalization of the African American freedom struggle by Gerald Horne (shelfmark: E185.97.P32 Hor.)

From Augustus to Nero: an intermediate Latin reader edited by Garrett G. Fagan and Paul Murgatroyd (shelfmark: PA2095 Fro.)

Information, communication, and space technology by Mohammad Razani (e-book).

Public sculpture of Edinburgh (vol. 1 and 2) by Ray McKenzie ; with research by Dianne King and Tracy Smith (shelfmark: NB481.E4 Mack.) Continue reading

On trial: Archives of Sexuality & Gender

*The Library has now purchased access to Archives of Sexuality & Gender. See New to the Library: Archives of Sexuality & Gender*

Thanks to a request from staff and students in HCA the Library currently has trial access to the Archives of Sexuality & Gender from Gale. This fully searchable digital archive spans the 16th to 21st century and is the largest digital collection of primary source material relating to the history and study of sex, sexuality and gender.

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

Trial access ends 18th March 2019.

Archives of Sexuality & Gender include documentation covering social, political, health and legal issues impacting LGBTQ communities around the world, as well as rare and unique books on sex and sexuality from the sciences to the humanities, providing a window into how sexuality and gender roles were viewed and changed over time. The types of documents covered include periodicals, newsletters, manuscripts, government records, organizational papers, correspondence, posters, books and other materials. Continue reading

On trial: Area Studies – Japan, China and Southeast Asia

The Library currently has trial access to two primary source databases from Adam Matthew, Area Studies: China and Southeast Asia and Area Studies: Japan. These provide digital access to primary source materials spanning more than 500 years, selected from the extensive microfilm back catalogue of Adam Matthew Publications.

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

Trial access ends 12th November 2018. Continue reading

New to Library: Greek Tragedy and Latin Poetry

I’m happy to let you know that the Library now has access to two further modules from Oxford Scholarly Editions Online (OSEO). This gives us online access to a further 101 texts covering Greek Tragedy and Latin Poetry, including works by Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Ovid, Virgil and Horace.

You can access the individual texts by searching DiscoverEd. Or you can access OSEO via the Databases A-Z list, Classics databases list or Classics subject guide. Continue reading

New to the Library: Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome

I’m happy to let you know that the Library now has access to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome from Oxford Reference Online. This encyclopedia offers a comprehensive overview of the major cultures of the classical Mediterranean world—Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman—from the Bronze Age to the fifth century CE.

You can access the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome via DiscoverEd.

The encyclopedia brings the work of the best classical scholars, archaeologists, and historians together in an easy-to-use format. With over 1000 articles written by leading scholars in the field, it seeks to convey the significance of the people, places, and historical events of classical antiquity, together with its intellectual and material culture. Broad overviews of literature, history, archaeology, art, philosophy, science, and religion are complimented by articles on authors and their works, literary genres and periods, historical figures and events, archaeologists and archaeological sites, artists and artistic themes and materials, philosophers and philosophical schools, scientists and scientific areas, gods, heroes, and myths. Continue reading

New to the Library: The SHAFR Guide Online

Thanks to a request from staff in HCA the Library now has access to The SHAFR Guide Online: An Annotated Bibliography of U.S. Foreign Relations since 1600. This is a near-comprehensive, 2.1 million-word online annotated bibliography of historical work covering the entire span of U.S. foreign relations.

You can access The SHAFR Guide Online via the Databases A-Z list, History database list and other relevant subject database lists. You’ll soon also be able to access it via DiscoverEd.

The SHAFR Guide Online covers all eras in U.S. history from colonial days onwards.

It also includes four new thematic chapters—on economic issues; non-governmental actors; domestic issues, the Congress, and public opinion; and race, gender, and culture.

Created by the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), entries in the guide are drawn from many sources, from collections of government documents to biographies, monographs, book chapters, journal articles, web sites, and more.

Access The SHAFR Guide Online via the Databases A-Z list, History database list and other relevant subject database lists.

Access is only available to current students and staff at the University of Edinburgh.

Caroline Stirling – Academic Support Librarian for History, Classics and Archaeology

New books in the Library for History, Classics and Archaeology

Thanks to recommendations from members of staff and requests via RAB from students the Library is continually adding new books to its collections both online and in print. Here are just a (very) small number of the books that have been added to the Library’s collections in semester two, 2017/18 for the School of History, Classics and Archaeology and these demonstrate the wide range of subjects being taught, studied and researched within School.

–> Find these and more via DiscoverEd.

Ritual matters: material remains and ancient religion edited by Claudia Moser and Jennifer Knust (shelfmark: Folio BL808 Rit.)

Radiocarbon and the chronologies of ancient Egypt edited by Andrew J. Shortland and C. Bronk Ramsey (e-book).

A companion to the Anglo-Norman world edited by Christopher Harper-Bill and Elisabeth van Houts (shelfmark: DA195 Com. Also available as e-book).

Jefferson: architect of American liberty by John B. Boles (shelfmark: E332 Bol.)

The Pacific war and its political legacies by Denny Roy (shelfmark: D767 Roy.)

Decolonizing the map: cartography from colony to nation edited by James R. Akerman (shelfmark: GA108.7 Dec. Also available as e-book). Continue reading