On trial: State Papers Online

Thanks to a request from the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) the Library currently has trial access to 3 further collections from the State Papers Online database from Gale. State Papers Online offers original historical materials across the widest range of government concerns, from high level international politics and diplomacy to the charges against a steward for poisoning a dozen or more people.

You can access the 3 collections on trial via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 30th June 2020.

The 3 collections the Library has trial access to are: Continue reading

On trial: Gale Primary Sources (even more content!)

I’m very pleased to let you know that the Library has been given extended trial access to an extensive range of primary source databases and collections from Gale. This is an exciting opportunity to access a wide range of these digital primary sources that wouldn’t normally be available to us but also compliment the wide range of primary source databases we already have access to from Gale.

You can access all of these trial databases via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off campus.

Trial access to these databases ends 30th June 2020. Continue reading

On trial: South Asia Archive

*The Library now has permanent access to the South Asia Archive. See New to the Library: South Asia Archive *

Thanks to a request from a HCA staff member the Library has been given extended trial access to South Asia Archive from Taylor & Francis, providing online access to documents ranging from the mid-18th to the mid-20th Century.

You can access South Asia Archive from the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 1st June 2020. Continue reading

British Online Archives – full access until 30th June 2020

*Access has been extended until 30th June 2020*

I’m happy to let you know that British Online Archives (BOA) are providing 30 days free access (starting from 23rd March) to its entire collection of digital primary sources in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.

BOA provide students and researchers with access to unique collections of primary source documents. Their website hosts over 3 million records drawn from both private and public archives. These records are organised thematically, covering 1,000 years of world history, from politics and warfare to slavery and medicine. Continue reading

On trial: Paris Peace Conference and Beyond, 1919-1939

Thanks to a request from HCA staff the Library currently has trial access to Paris Peace Conference and Beyond, 1919-1939 from British Online Archives (BOA). The Paris Peace Conference was a meeting of Allied diplomats that took place in the aftermath of the First World War. Its purpose was to impose peace terms on the vanquished Central Powers and establish a new international order. This fascinating digital primary source database gives you access to official and personal papers relating to this conference and the treaties that came from it.

You can access this database from the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 17th March 2020.

The First World War gave rise to a complex system of alliances and antagonisms. The various treaties imposed by the Allied powers in its aftermath settled conflicts with Germany, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire (later Turkey), Austria, and Hungary. Paris Peace Conference and Beyond contains documents that cover the treaties of Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Trianon, Sèvres, Lausanne, and Locarno, as well as the foundation of the League of Nations. Continue reading

On trial: World War 1 and the Spanish Civil War

I’m pleased to let you know that thanks to a request from an HCA student the Library currently has trial access to World War 1 and the Spanish Civil War: as reported by an Ambassador, 1863-1939 from British Online Archives. This fascinating digital archive contains over 37,000 pages from Esmé Howard’s personal and professional papers. Howard (1863-1939) is widely regarded as one of the most influential British diplomats of the early-20th century.

You can access this database from the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 22nd February 2020.

Howard held a number of important posts before serving as British Ambassador to the United States between 1924 and 1930. This collection contains Howard’s papers, from private correspondence to professional records. These documents provide an interesting insight into the evolution of British foreign policy during and between the two world wars. Continue reading

On trial: Chatham House Online Archive

Thanks to a request from staff in HCA the Library currently has trial access to Chatham House Online Archive from Gale. This digital resource contains the publications and archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the world-leading independent international affairs policy institute founded in 1920 following the Paris Peace Conference.

You can access Chatham House Online Archive from the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 11th November 2019.

With approximately half a million pages of content, Chatham House Online Archive provides a searchable research environment that enables you to explore close to ninety years of expert analysis and commentary on international policy. Subject indexing allows you to quickly retrieve and review briefing papers, special reports, pamphlets, conference papers, monographs, and other material relevant to your own teaching, learning or research. Continue reading

Normandy landings: through our digital primary sources

On this day, 6 June, 75 years ago the Normandy landings took place. This was part of a major combined naval, air and land assault on German-occupied France by Allied forces, codenamed Operation ‘Overlord’. The D-Day landings saw around 150,000 Allied troops land on French soil but it was just the start of a much longer operation to liberate France. In this week’s blog post I have pulled together just a small selection of our digital library resources that will help you explore the Normandy landings, the events leading up to it and the aftermath. And you can use many of these to find out more about the many other events happening around this time that contributed to the end of the Second World War.

D-Day For the Second Front, ‘Illustrated London News’, Saturday 10 June 1944, pp. 644-645. From Illustrated London News Archive.

What did the papers say?

Operation Overlord was top secret, so it wasn’t until the 6th June that news of the invasion began to filter through. Reports of the Normandy landings does appear in some late editions of newspapers from that day but it is mostly covered in issues published the next day, 7th June, or on next subsequent publication date.

Front page of the ‘Daily Express’, Wednesday 7 June 1944. From UK Press Online.

The Library subscribes to a large number of digitised 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 and track coverage of Operation Overlord from the Normandy landings onwards. Continue reading

On trial: Medieval and Early Modern Studies

*The Library has now purchased access to this resource. See New to the Library: Medieval and Early Modern Studies.*

Thanks to a request from staff in HCA the Library currently has trial access to the Adam Matthew Digital research resource Medieval and Early Modern Studies. This offers you access to a huge range of primary sources covering social, cultural, political, scientific and religious perspectives, from the 15th to early 18th centuries.

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

Trial access ends 17th June 2019.

The breadth of resources provided within this collection is extensive, from sources concerning the Black Death to Restoration of the English monarchy and the Glorious Revolution. Continue reading

On trial: Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1941-1996

Thanks to a request from staff in HCA the Library currently has trial access to all collections from Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1941-1996 from Readex. A unique 20th-century archive for students and scholars of international studies, political science and world history.

You can access Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports from the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 21st June 2019. Continue reading