On trial: East India Company

Thanks to a request from a member of staff in HCA the Library currently has trial access to East India Company: India Office Records from the British Library, 1599-1947 from AM Digital. This digital resource allows students and researchers to access the vast and remarkable collection of primary source documents from the India Office Records, the single most important archive for the study of the East India Company.

You can access East India Company via the E-resources trials page.

Trial access ends 1st December 2023. Continue reading

New to the Library: South Asia Archive

I’m happy to let you know that the Library now has access to the South Asia Archive from Taylor & Francis, a specialist digital platform providing global electronic access to culturally and historically significant literary material produced from within, and about, the South Asian region.

You can access South Asia Archive via the Digital Primary Source and Archive Collections guide or the Databases A-Z list. You will also be able to access it from DiscoverEd within the next few days. 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

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

Spotlight on: Archives of Sexuality and Gender

It’s LGBT+ History Month in the UK and there are a number of events being run around the University by the Staff Pride Network and the Students’ Association. However, if you’re interested in delving into the archives to find out more about LGBT+ history in the UK then the Archives of Sexuality and Gender may be just the place to start.

Archives of Sexuality and Gender spans the 16th to the 20th century and is the largest digital collection of primary source materials relating to the history and study of sex, sexuality and gender. Documentation covering social, political, health and legal issues impacting LGBT+ communities around the world is included, as well as rare and unique books on sex and sexuality from the sciences to the humanities.

This extensive resource is made up of 3 databases, LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940 Part I, LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940 Part II and Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century, which between them cover 54 collections that are international in their scope and coverage. But I want to highlight those collections that specifically look at LGBT+ history in the United Kingdom.

Gay Activism in Britain from 1958: The Hall-Carpenter Archives

Spanning the period from 1958 to 1990, this collection chronicles the activities of the Albany Trust, an organisation that was initially focused on decriminalising homosexuality and increasing social acceptance of gay people. The Albany Trust centered its work on counseling services, research, and public education, helping to steer society and the law away from older, traditional ideas regarding homosexuality. Continue reading

New to the Library – Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa (Aluka)

I’m happy to let you know that following a request from a member of HCA staff the Library  now has a subscription to the digital primary resource Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa (Aluka) from JSTOR. This extensive and fascinating resource contains 20,000 objects and 190,000 pages of documents and images documenting the liberation struggles in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

You can access Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa (Aluka) via the Databases A-Z list and the Digital primary source and archive collections guide. You can also access it via DiscoverEd. Continue reading

New to the Library: The New Republic Archive

I’m pleased to let you know that through the Saunders endowment for North American history the Library has been able to purchase The New Republic Magazine Archive from EBSCOhost. This digital archive offers a searchable full-text backfile of all issues of The New Republic from 1914 onwards.

You can access The New Republic Magazine Archive  via DiscoverEd. You will also soon be able to access it via the Databases A-Z list or the Newspapers, magazines and other news sources guide. Continue reading

New to the Library: Slavery: supporters and abolitionists, 1675-1865

I’m happy to let you know that the Library now has access to Slavery: supporters and abolitionists, 1675-1865 from British Online Archives. This database contains a wide range of documents concerning the African slave trade during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The papers focus primarily on Jamaica and the West Indies but also cover the experience of other nations and regions.

You can access Slavery: supporters and abolitionists, 1675-1865 via the Databases A-Z list and the Digital primary source and archive collections guide.You can also access it via DiscoverEd.

Through a combination of statistics, correspondence, pamphlets, and memoirs, Slavery: supporters and abolitionists offer insights into the commercial and colonial dimensions of slavery and the views of its advocates and opponents. Continue reading

New to the Library: Picture Post Historical Archive

Did you know the Library now has access to the Picture Post Historical Archive? This database comprises the complete archive of the Picture Post from its first issue in 1938 to its last in 1957 – all digitised from originals in full colour.

You can access the Picture Post Historical Archive via the Databases A-Z list or the Newspapers, magazines and other news sources guide. Access via DiscoverEd will also soon be possible.

Picture Post was a photojournalistic magazine, often seen as the UK equivalent of Life, that was considered a groundbreaking example of photojournalism and was hugely successful from its first issue and throughout the 1940s. At its peak it is estimated its readership was 80% of the British population. In the era before television, it became the window on the world for ordinary people, bringing the major social and political issues of the day into popular consciousness. 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