Tag Archives: correspondence

#100years: “Because…we want to get on with our work more quickly”

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This was the response from suffragist, Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, when asked why women would want the vote1.

Today, 6th February 2018, marks 100 years since (some) British women were granted the right to vote for the first time through the Representation of the People Act. This was the culmination of a hard fought campaign and while it would take another 10 years before women would have equal voting rights to men in the UK, with the Representation of the People Act 1928, it was a victory for the suffragette movement.

There are lots of events, exhibitions, programmes, etc., taking place today and this year to mark this important historic event but I wanted to delve into some of the primary sources available to us at the Library which allow you to find out more about the suffragette movement in the UK.

What did the papers say?

The Library subscribes to a large number of online 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, track coverage from the start of the suffragette movement in the 19th century up to the Representation of the People Act 1918 and beyond.

Screenshot from UK Press Online showing the front page of the Daily Express from Thursday February 7, 1918.

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Spotlight on our Centre for Research Collections

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On Tuesday 30th January we’ll be holding a Discovery Day event in the Main Library where representatives from 3 publishers of digitised primary source collections and our very own Centre for Research Collections will be on hand to help you navigate through and find useful material in the huge range of primary sources you have access to at the Library.

The University of Edinburgh holds world class collections, including rare books, archives and manuscripts, art, historical musical instruments and museum objects ranging from geological specimens to anatomical models. These unique collections are and can be used for teaching and research within the University and by the wider community.

The main entry and access point for these collections is the Centre for Research Collections (CRC) which is based on the 6th floor of the Main Library. The CRC is open to all researchers, including students, staff, visiting academics and members of the public. Continue reading →

Discovery Day – find your way round our digital primary sources

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Working on your dissertation and looking for primary source material? Looking to incorporate digitised primary sources into your teaching? Wanting to expand your research with digital resources? Or just have no idea what primary source material might be available to you at the Library?

The Library’s very first Discovery Day, on Tuesday 30th January, may be exactly what you are looking for.

We invite you to the 1st floor, Main Library on Tuesday 30th Jan between 10am-3pm where representatives from 3 of the major publishers of digitised primary source collections, Adam Matthew, Gale Cengage and ProQuest, and our very own Centre for Research Collections (CRC), will be on hand to help students and staff navigate through and find useful material in the huge range of primary sources we have access to online at the Library. Continue reading →

Spotlight on ProQuest digital primary sources

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On Tuesday 30th January we’ll be holding a Discovery Day event in the Main Library where representatives from 3 publishers of digitised primary source collections and our very own Centre for Research Collections will be on hand to help you navigate through and find useful material in the huge range of primary sources you have access to at the Library. ProQuest are one of the publishers who will be attending and this blog post highlights the fantastic collections the Library has access to through them.

The Library has access to a large and broad range of primary source collections that can be accessed via the Primary Source database list or the separate Newspapers & Magazines list and Images & Moving Images list.

Through ProQuest the Library has access to around 45 of these fantastic databases. ProQuest has built its expertise in preserving and widening access to significant research collections over 75 years, partnering with large and small libraries and archives, to bring you collections encompassing government, humanities, and historical documents that formerly may have been difficult to retrieve. Alexander Street Press and Chadwyck-Healey databases are also part of the ProQuest suite of resources.

Below are the databases you have access to via ProQuest. As there are so many I have split them into broad categories. Continue reading →

Spotlight on Gale Cengage digital primary sources

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On Tuesday 30th January we’ll be holding a Discovery Day event in the Main Library where representatives from 3 publishers of digitised primary source collections and our very own Centre for Research Collections will be on hand to help you navigate through and find useful material in the huge range of primary sources you have access to at the Library. Gale Cengage are one of the publishers who will be attending and this blog post highlights the fantastic collections the Library has access to through them.

The Library has access to a large and broad range of primary source collections that can be accessed via the Primary Source database list or the separate Newspapers & Magazines list and Images & Moving Images list.

The Library is very lucky to have access to 12 of these types of databases from Gale Cengage, a leader in education, learning, and research resources online. This actually gives you access to around 300 collections of primary source material. Gale’s digital collections span 500 years of history and a wide breadth of topics, including politics, society, business and leisure. Continue reading →

Spotlight on Adam Matthew digital primary sources

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On Tuesday 30th January we’ll be holding a Discovery Day event in the Main Library where representatives from 3 publishers of digitised primary source collections and our very own Centre for Research Collections will be on hand to help you navigate through and find useful material in the huge range of primary sources you have access to at the Library. Adam Matthew are one of the publishers who will be attending and this blog post highlights the fantastic collections the Library has access to through them.

The Library has access to a large and broad range of digital primary source collections that can be accessed via the Primary Source database list (see also the separate lists for Newspapers & Magazines and Images & Moving Images).

Adam Matthew are a publisher who specialise in producing high-quality, digitised primary source collections online. They put together thematic collections sourced from libraries, archives, museums, etc., around the world and they have databases that cover the Medieval period onwards.

The Library is very lucky to have access to 11 of these collections (or databases) from Adam Matthew and all can be accessed via the Primary Source database list.

China: Culture and Society

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On trial: primary source databases

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I’m happy to let you know that Adam Matthew Digital are very kindly giving us trial access to 7 of their fabulous primary source databases. This gives you a unique opportunity to access some extensive digitised primary source collections that between them cover the 16th to the 21st century.

So if you’re interested in the history of the book or history of publishing, theatre history, socialism in the 20th century, Japan in the 20th century, social and cultural history, 17th to 19th century poetry, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, etc., there may be something here for you.

Left: Advertisement for the New Music of Country Dance executed by several celebrated horses at the Olympic Pavilion (1807) from Eighteenth Century Drama. Right: Architectural plan for Oxford University Press, Amen Corner (1913) from Literary Print Culture.

All the databases can be accessed via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access to all the Adam Matthew Digital databases ends 20th November 2017.

I’ve already highlighted Socialism on Film and Foreign Office Files for Japan in previous blog posts so this post will round up the further 5 databases available to us for the trial period. Continue reading →

On trial: Foreign Office Files for Japan

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Are you interested in Japanese history in the twentieth century? Do you want to know more about Anglo-Japanese ties in the first half of the twentieth century?

The Library currently has trial access to Foreign Office Files for Japan, 1919-1952 from Adam Matthew Digital. This database makes available extensive coverage of British Foreign Office files dealing with Japan between 1919 and 1952.

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

Trial access ends 20th November 2017. Continue reading →

On trial: State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century

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Following a request from a student in HCA I’m pleased to let you know that the Library currently has trial access to State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century, 1714-1782, Part II: State Papers Foreign: Low Countries and Germany from Gale Cengage.This contains the papers written or received by the secretaries of state in the course of British diplomacy in the Low Countries and Germany through the 18th century.

You can access this resource at State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century, 1714-1782. Access is available on-campus. Off-campus access is only available if using the VPN.

Trial access ends 6th October 2017.
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Archives abound in Archives Unbound

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Exciting major online primary source database now available at the Library.

I’m really pleased to let you know that the Library has got a 1-year subscription to the fantastic primary source database Archives Unbound from Gale Cengage. Archives Unbound currently has 265 collections of primary source material, with new collections added every year. It is a huge database and covers a wide range of subject areas and time periods.

You can access Archives Unbound from the Databases A-Z list and appropriate Database by Subject lists. The Library has already previously purchased permanent access to 9 collections from Archives Unbound and you can find out more about these at Spotlight on Archives Unbound.

What is Archives Unbound?

Archives Unbound presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that support the research and study needs of students and academics. Collections cover a broad range of topics from the Middle Ages forward-from Witchcraft to the Second World War to 20th century political history and the collections are chosen for Archives Unbound based on requests from scholars, archivists, and students.

In Archives Unbound you can search through all 265 collections at one time or you can choose to search/browse individual collections or groups of collections.

What’s in Archives Unbound?

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