On trial: digital collections relating to the slave trade and slavery in the West Indies

*The Library has now purchased access to the collection ‘Slavery: supporters and abolitionists, 1675-1865 ’. See New to the Library: Slavery: supporters and abolitionists, 1675-1865*

Thanks to a request from staff in HCA the Library currently has access to two digital archive series from British Online Archives relating to the slave trade in the West Indies, Running the West Indies: British records from West Indian countries under colonial rule and The trade in people: The slave trade in Africa and the West Indies.

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

Trial access ends 17th March 2019. Continue reading

On trial: Archives of Sexuality & Gender

*The Library has now purchased access to Archives of Sexuality & Gender. See New to the Library: Archives of Sexuality & Gender*

Thanks to a request from staff and students in HCA the Library currently has trial access to the Archives of Sexuality & Gender from Gale. This fully searchable digital archive spans the 16th to 21st century and is the largest digital collection of primary source material relating to the history and study of sex, sexuality and gender.

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

Trial access ends 18th March 2019.

Archives of Sexuality & Gender include documentation covering social, political, health and legal issues impacting LGBTQ communities around the world, as well as rare and unique books on sex and sexuality from the sciences to the humanities, providing a window into how sexuality and gender roles were viewed and changed over time. The types of documents covered include periodicals, newsletters, manuscripts, government records, organizational papers, correspondence, posters, books and other materials. Continue reading

On trial: Trench Journals and Unit Magazines of the First World War

*The Library has access to Trench Journals and Unit Magazines of the First World War until 31st July 2024 as part of ProQuest Access 350.*

Thanks to a request from a student in HCA the Library currently has trial access to the primary source database Trench Journals and Unit Magazines of the First World War from ProQuest. The database is an archival research resource containing a vast collection of rare magazines by and for servicemen and women of all nations during the First World War.

You can access this digital resource via the E-resources trials page.
Access on-campus is direct, for off-campus access you must use VPN.

Trial access ends 28th February 2019.

Trench Journals and Unit Magazines of the First World War is a unique source of information on the common serviceman and woman’s experience of the war. These magazines were written by and for every type of unit from every combatant nation. The database gives you the unique opportunity to access unheard voices of hundreds of thousands of men and women writing from every facet of the conflict. Continue reading

On trial: Age of Exploration

I’m pleased to let you know the Library currently has trial access to Age of Exploration, a digital primary source collection from Adam Matthew Digital. This database allows you to discover through archive material the changing shape of exploration through five centuries, from c.1420-1920.

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

Trial access ends 11th February 2019.

Screenshot from ‘Enluminure de Maître d’Egerton: Le Livre des merveilles’. c.1410-1412.

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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

On trial: The Stuart and Cumberland Papers

*The Library has now purchased access to the The Stuart and Cumberland Papers. See New to the Library: The Stuart and Cumberland Papers*

I’m pleased to let you know that Gale Cengage are giving us trial access to one of the digitised archive from State Papers Online, the Stuart and Cumberland Papers. This archive contains two remarkable collections from the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, which have been digitised for the first time and are available online in their entirety.

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

Trial access ends 14th December 2018.

The Stuart Papers represent the correspondence and personal documents of the exiled members of the Stuart dynasty after 1688. These papers were acquired by George IV when Prince Regent, following the death of Henry Bennedict Stuart, Cardinal York, and were originally kept in the Prince’s Library at Carlton House. The collection tells the story of the lives of James II and his heirs with the majority of papers concerning the period 1713 to 1770, and provide an insight into Jacobite attempts to regain the throne. The later papers in the collection concern Cardinal York’s relations with the Vatican until his death in 1807. Continue reading

First World War: through our Library resources

This weekend, Sunday 11th November, marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. In this week’s blog post I have pulled together just a small selection of Library resources, digital and physical, that will help you explore the First World War, the events leading up to it and the aftermath.

“Armistice Day: The Scene outside Buckingham Palace after the End of the Fighting Had Been Announced.” Illustrated London News [London, England] 16 Nov. 1918: n.p. Available from Illustrated London News Historical Archive.

What did the papers say?

Screenshot of front page from The Daily Mirror, Wednesday, August 5, 1914. Available from UK Press Online.

During the war the British Government tried to strictly control reporting on events, particularly from the front line. Legislation was passed in 1914 which allowed the War Office to censor the press and at first journalists had to go undercover to try and report on what was happening. Even when the Government relented and agreed to send accredited British war correspondents to the front line their reports were still heavily censored and were often overt propaganda, with actual facts about events never being reported (see reporting or non-reporting on the Battle of the Somme as an example).

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 the First World War from the escalating hostilities prior to the outbreak to its conclusion and aftermath. Continue reading

On trial: State Papers Online, Part III

Thanks to a request from staff members in both HCA and ECA the Library currently has trial access to State Papers Online, Part III: The Stuarts: James I to Anne, 1603-1714: State Papers Domestic from Gale Cengage. This database is a digital collection of English government documents originating primarily from the seventeenth century that allow you to take an in-depth view of some of the issues dominating England at that time.

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

Trial access ends 21st November 2018.

State Papers Online, Part III documents one of the most compelling and turbulent eras in Britain’s social, political and religious history. The era’s internal struggles come to life through a wealth of primary source documents including: royal and diplomatic correspondence, reports and parliamentary drafts from civil servants and provincial administrators. Continue reading

Battle of Cable Street: through our newspaper archives

On this day, 4th October, in 1936 large crowds of people gathered in London’s East End, an area of the city that had a large Jewish population, in an attempt to stop a march through the area by the British Union of Fascists (BUF). The protests turned into a riot with anti-fascist demonstrators clashing with Police, large numbers of demonstrators were arrested and even larger numbers of them (and Police) were injured. But they did manage to prevent the march from taking place.

In this week’s blog post I’m using some of the Library’s digital newspaper databases to find primary source material about the Battle of Cable Street (as the demonstrations became known).

Screenshot from Illustrated London News, October 10, 1936, p. 635. From The Illustrated London News Historical Archive.

Continue reading

New to the Library: Service Newspapers of World War Two

I’m really pleased to let you know that following a successful trial the Library now has access to Service Newspapers of World War Two from Adam Matthew Digital, a brand new digitised primary source collection just released this year. This resource gives you unique insight into the story of war as told by the newspapers and magazines that brought information, entertainment and camaraderie to the forces.

You can access Service Newspapers of World War Two via the Databases A-Z list and Newspapers & Magazines database list. You can also access it through DiscoverEd.

Service Newspapers of World War Two contains an extensive range of both rare and well-known wartime publications for soldiers serving in major theatres around the world. Publications are included from many key nations involved in the conflict, such as the US, Canada, New Zealand, India, and the countries of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Both Allied and Axis publications are presented, offering a broad view of the war and the experiences of those on its front lines. Continue reading