ProQuest Access 350: 600 years of world history

*Access has now been extended until 31st July 2024*

I’m very pleased to let you know that University of Edinburgh Library has set up a new subscription with ProQuest that gives you access to almost all available ProQuest digital primary source databases until 31st December 2021.

ProQuest Access 350 allows you to explore 600 years of world history online and will help enrich learning, teaching and research at the University across a range of subject areas and topics including History, the Arts, Literature and Social Sciences.

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Spotlight on: FBI Files

This is part of an occasional series highlighting some of the digital resources available at the Library that will be of interest to students and staff in History, Classics and Archaeology.

Federal Bureau of Investigation [Public domain]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was formed in 1908 by then Attorney General, Charles Bonaparte, under President Theodore Roosevelt. Initially known as the Bureau of Investigation (it added “Federal” in 1935) over the next 110 years the FBI’s remit and influence grew considerably and they are synonymous with American cultural, social and political history in the 20th century and beyond.

The FBI have been involved in a large number of famous, not so famous and infamous cases dealing with organised crime, terrorism, civil rights, white collar crime, espionage, violent crime and more. And did you know that through the Library you have access to a range of digitised files from the FBI?

FBI Files in Archives Unbound

Through the Library’s subscription to Archives Unbound (an enormous digital primary source database) you have access to over 20 collections of digitised material direct from the FBI, covering over 70 years of American history. You’ll spot some famous cases and names within these but possibly also some less known. However, between them they provide a fascinating insight into the political, cultural and social climate of the United States in the 20th century.

FBI File: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were a nondescript couple accused in 1950 by the U.S. government of operating a Soviet spy network and giving the Soviet Union plans for the atomic bomb. The trial of the Rosenbergs, which began in March 6, 1951, became a political event of greater importance than any damage they may have done to the United States. It was one of the most controversial trials of the 20th century. Their guilt and the harshness of their sentences continue to be vigorously debated to this day. 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 one, 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.

Agent of change: print culture studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein edited by Sabrina Alcorn Baron, Eric N. Lindquist, and Eleanor F. Shevlin (shelfmark: Z124 Age.)

Preaching in the Patristic Era: sermons, preachers, and audiences in the Latin West edited by Anthony Dupont, Shari Boodts, Gert Partiens, Johan Leemans (e-book).

Pomodoro!: a history of the tomato in Italy by David Gentilcore (shelfmark: TX803.T6 Gen.)

From frontiers to football: an alternative history of Latin America since 1800 by Matthew Brown (shelfmark: F1410 Bro. Also available as e-book).

Neolithic bodies edited by Penny Bickle and Emilie Sibbesson (shelfmark: GN776.2.A1 Neo.) Continue reading