On trial: British Online Archives

*Access has now been extended until 31st March 2022.*

I’m pleased to let you know that British Online Archives (BOA) are providing free trial access to its entire collection of digital primary sources until 28th February 2022.

You can access British Online Archives via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 31st March 2022.

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.

The themes covered are:

  • American Studies: the colonisation of North America and the American revolution
  • British Broadcasting Corporation, 1927-2002
  • The British industrial revolution: mills and education
  • Governing Africa: British records from African countries under colonial rule
  • Politics and protest: from major party politics to popular protest and parliamentary history
  • Power and preachers: India under colonial rule
  • Representing Britain: International relations and diplomacy
  • Running the West Indies: British records from West Indian countries under colonial rule
  • Spreading the word: British missionary work around the world, 1808-1967
  • The trade in people: The slave trade in Africa and the West Indies
  • The World Wars: firepower and fascism at home and abroad

You can access British Online Archives via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.
Trial access ends 31st March 2022.
Feedback welcome.

Please note, trial access to a resource is an opportunity for our staff and students to try a resource out and give feedback on its quality and usefulness. However, if we trial a resource this is not an indication that we plan to or will be able to purchase or subscribe to the resource in the near future.

The Library has already purchased access to 11 collections from British Online Archives over the last few years. Access to these 11 collections will continue after the trial period and can be accessed as normal via our Digital Primary Sources guide or the Databases A-Z list:

  • British Labour Party Papers, 1906-1969
  • British Labour Party Papers, 1968-1994
  • Independent Labour Party Records, 1893-1960
  • Kenya Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1907-1964
  • Malawi Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1907-1967
  • Prosecuting the Holocaust: British investigations into Nazi war crimes, 1944-1949
  • Scottish Nationalist Leaflets, 1844-1973
  • Slavery: Supporters and Abolitionists, 1675-1865
  • Tanzania and Malawi in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1857-1965
  • Uganda Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1903-1961
  • Zimbabwe Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1897-1980

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