Database trial for Chinese and Japanese ancient books

Some of us may have already used Diaolong Complete Si Ku Series (in Databases A-Z) that we have subscribed to for the last few years. This resource is part of a larger database which also contains many more pre-1911 Chinese books as well as several thousand volumes of Japanese books. The database is called Diaolong Full-text Database of Chinese & Japanese Ancient Books — 雕龍中日古籍全文資料庫.

The University Library has now set up a trial of this whole database. The trial will be added to the E-resources Trials website: http://edin.ac/e-resources-trials very soon. Meanwhile, you can access the trial directly at the following website on the University network or via VPN while off campus:

The trial will end on 31 August 2022, with a possible subscription depending on feedback and library budget.

Diaolong Full-text Database of Chinese & Japanese Ancient Books contains about 30,000 ancient books which cover a wide range of subjects including history, religion, philosophy, literature, politics, economics, medicine and local gazetteers. The page display can be in scanned images, in transcribed texts, or in both side by side. The huge number of books are sourced from 21  large series titles which can be searched or browsed. These 21 series are:

  1. Daozang (道藏, 1513 book titles / 5878 vols)
  2. Daozang jiyao (道藏辑要, 299 / 2553)
  3. Sibu congkan (四部叢刊, 472 / 13685)
  4. Xu Sibu congkan (續四部叢刊, 364 / 15328)
  5. Yongle dadian (永樂大典, 813 / 813)
  6. Gujin Tushu Jicheng (古今圖書集成, 33 / 10012)
  7. Dunhuang shiliao(敦煌史料,2952 / 2955)
  8. Qingdai shiliao (清代史料, 113 / 10832)
  9. Zhongguo difangzhi (中國地方誌, 2137 / 52022)
  10. Zhongguo difangzhi xuji (中國地方誌續集,1939 / 37477)
  11. Zhongguo difangzhi sanji (中國地方誌三集,2090 / 18309)
  12. Riben gudian shujiku (日本古典書籍庫, 618 / 7400)
  13. Siku quanshu (四庫全書, 3541 / 92074)
  14. Xuxiu Siku quanshu (續修四庫全書, 5550 / 104703)
  15. Siku cunmu (四庫存目,4350 / 65551)
  16. Siku wei shou shu (四庫未收書,167 / 2479)
  17. Siku jin hui shu (四庫禁毀書,620 / 13342)
  18. Liufu wencang (六府文藏, 7717 / 149576)
  19. Zhongguo minjian wenxue (中國民間文學,203 / 538)
  20. Qingdai keju zhujuan (清代科舉硃卷, 1071 / 7792)
  21. Yi jia ku (醫家庫,1033 / 9362)

Feedback would be much appreciated.

Scoop a student award for using digital library resources in Chinese

The Library subscribes to two databases from CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastruture): China Academic Journals and China Doctoral and Masters Dissertations Full-text Database. These databases are receiving very high usage across all three Colleges of the University, and our overall usage is the highest in the UK.

CNKI is offering database users opportunities to win packs of awards for using CNKI e-resources. Please see https://cnki.mike-x.com/Fe8LP, with links to:

The prizes are:

  1. Zhuang Yuan (状元) Prize: a plaque and $800 BOOK grants( $300 for books at Amazon, $500 for ebook from CNKI)
  2. Bang Yan (榜眼) Prize: a plaque and $500 BOOK grants ($200 for books at Amazon, $300 for ebook from CNKI)
  3. Tan Hua (探花) Prize: a plaque and $300 BOOK grants ($100 for books at Amazon, $200 for ebook from CNKI)
  4. Jin Shi (进士) Prize: a plaque and $100 BOOK grants ($100 for ebook from CNKI) and over 100 other prizes for learning chances of learning and researching on China.

The names Zhuang Yuan, Bang Yan, Tan Hua and Jin Shi are the titles of top winners in the imperial examinations of pre-1911 China.

Qur’an Tool

Qur’an Gateway, a digital tool for the critical study of the Qurʾanic text and its early manuscripts, ceased to operate by last November. The good news is that this useful resource has now a reincarnation in the form of Qur’an Tool, which is an open source thanks to Melbourne School of Theology hosting the service. The landing page of Qur’an Tool (www.quran-tools.com) provides a link to the open source version at the hosting institution directly:

This is a powerful tool for the critical study of the text, construction, and language of the Qur’an. Formulaic analysis is based upon the tools and techniques in An Oral-Formulaic Study of the Qur’an (New York: Lexington, 2017 [2014]) by Dr. Andrew G. Bannister. You can simply look up a verse or browse the list of all Suras, root usage by Sura, word lists, word associations and intertextual connections. There is also a searchable dictionary derived from Project Root List, which has digitised several classical Arabic dictionaries (al-Mufradāt fī gharīb al-Qurʾān, Lisān al-ʿarab, Tāj al-ʿarūs min jawāhir al-qāmūs, and An Arabic-English Lexicon by E.W Lane) and made the data publicly available. (Information above is extracted from the Qur’an Tool site at Melbourne School of Theology)

For first time users, it is necessary to sign up for a personal account to use the service.

Europresse trial – French newspapers and magazines, and more…

The Library has arranged a trial of Europresse for a very limited period, for 10 days until 12 Nov 2021. The trial can be accessed from the Library’s E-resources Trials website, or access the following link directly which requires UoE login:

https://nouveau-europresse-com.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/Search/Reading

Europresse provides access to over 6,200 publications including journals, newspapers, blogs, and magazines. Coverage is international with many of the publications included available in their original language and layout. The database includes numerous European national newspapers such as Le Monde, Libération and Le Figaro, along with regional newspapers. English language titles such as The Guardian and The New York Times are also available. Thematically, Europresse titles cover the Humanities and Social Sciences, Politics, Law, Economics, Finance, Science, Environment, IT, Transports, Industry, Energy, Agriculture, Arts and culture (Lire, Le Magazine littéraire, World Literature Today, Télérama, Rock and Folk…), Health, and event Sports (L’Équipe, France Football, Sport 24…). It also includes some TV and radio transcripts, biographies and reports, images, audio and video content.

As an example, it provides the image version of today’s Le Monde newspaper which is a welcome alternative to the text version of Le Monde via Factiva. Le Monde Historical Archive, which we subscribe to, covers only 1944-1999.

You can see the full list of publications provided by Europresse here:

https://nouveau-europresse-com.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/Pdf

Please send feedback via the E-resources trial feedback form.

Encyclopaedia Iranica Online

The 15-volume set of Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by Ehsan Yarshater (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982 – ) and available in the Main Library, is the most renowned reference work in the field of Iran studies. This important work has now been made available online for open access on the Brill Online platform:

Founded by the late Professor Ehsan Yarshater and edited at the Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University, this monumental international project brings together the scholarship about Iran of thousands of authors around the world.

Miras Maktoob: Persian E-books Collection

The Library has purchased the Miras Maktoob Persian e-book collection available via Brill Online.

The Collection consists of 249 volumes (189 works) originally published by the Written Heritage Research Institute (Miras Maktoob), a non-governmental organisation in Tehran. These e-books, which are exclusively available from Brill, include works in both Persian and Arabic on Islamic history and culture in the broadest sense. Detailed title information will be made available for the entire collection.

Features
– 
Languages: Persian and Arabic
– English title descriptions available
– 249 volumes (189 titles) on the Persianate and Islamic World
– High-level academic texts and resources
– All volumes appearing in digital format for the first time

How to access

You can access these e-books directly on the Brill Online platform with your UoE login:

All the individual titles can be retrieved in DiscoverEd by title or author searches in Persian script or transliteration. Title search by series title Miras Maktoob will retrieve all the titles at once, or simply click here.

Launch of new book on Sir Walter Scott

Frolics in the Face of EuropeOn the occasion of the commemoration of Sir Walter Scott 250th birthday anniversary in 2021, a new book has just been published which will soon be added to the Library collection:

Iain Gordon Brown, Frolics in the Face of Europe : Sir Walter Scott, Continental Travel and the Tradition of the Grand Tour (Fonthill Media, 2020. ISBN: 9781781558096)

The online book launch will take place tomorrow Wednesday evening at 6.00pm, 24th Feb 2021. The event is free and will be in the form of a webinar with Ian Gordon Brown (author) and Professor Joseph Farrell. For more information and to join the event, please visit: https://iiclondra.esteri.it/iic_londra/en/gli_eventi/calendario/2021/02/frolics-in-the-face-of-europe-sir.html

See also:

The Shakespeare’s Collection – new resources from Gale

Several new resources have been added to Archives Unbound, a key primary source database from Gale. Among these is The Shakespeare Collection.

The Collection contextualizes the legacy of this great poet and playwright, containing a selection of over 200 prompt books (annotated working texts of stage managers and company prompters) from the 17th to 20th centuries, the extensive diaries of Shakespeare enthusiast Gordon Crosse documenting 500 UK performances from 1890 to 1953, the First Folio and Quartos, editions and adaptations of Shakespeare’s works from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, more than 80 works Shakespeare is thought to have been familiar with, as well as works composed by Shakespeare’s contemporaries.

The Collection contains 225 monographs and 764 manuscripts. Coverage 1571-1975.

There is now a new Shakepeare Resource page, within the Library Subject Guide for English Literature, which brings together major Library resources for the study of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), the greatest dramatist the world has ever seen.

Qurʾan Gateway – database trial

The Library has arranged a database trial for Qur’an Gateway. The database can be accessed from https://web.qurangateway.org/auth/login.php on the University network or via VPN for off-campus access. The trial can also be accessed from the E-resources Trials website.

The trial is valid until 30 September 2020.

Qur’an Gateway is a digital tool for the critical study of the Qurʾanic text and its early manuscripts. Based on the latest academic research, the tool allows you to explore and analyse data from thousands of records. Features include the ability to examine linguistics and formulaic construction, track scribal changes from hundreds of original manuscripts, check meanings and references from the original Arabic and much more.

Database trial – Global Newsstream

The Library has just arranged a free trial of Global Newsstream from ProQuest. The trial has been advertised in the Library’s E-resources Trials website http://edin.ac/e-resources-trials and can be accessed on and off campus via University login.

Global Newsstream enables users to search the most recent global news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring content from newspapers, newswires, and news sites in active full-text format. This product provides one of the largest collections of news from the US, Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. All titles are cross-searchable on the ProQuest platform allowing researchers easy access to multiple perspectives, resources, and languages on the topic they are researching.

Coverage: 1980 – current. Trial ends: 7th Aug 2020.

It includes the following sub-databases:

Canadian Newsstream

Full text of over 190 Canadian newspapers from Canada’s leading publishers. This full text database includes the complete available electronic backfile for most newspapers, providing full access to the articles, columns, editorials and features published in each. Some backfiles date as far back as the late 1970s. View title list.

Global Breaking Newswires

Provides timely access to the best newswire content available globally as well as growing archive of news that may not be captured in any of the traditional print sources. View title list.

International Newsstream

Provides the most recent news content outside of the US and Canada, with archives which stretch back decades featuring newspapers, newswires, and news sites in active full-text format. View title list. It consists of the following Nesstreams:

  • Asian Newsstream — more than 60 of the most respected national and regional sources of news and current affairs information in Asia and the Far East. View title list.
  • Australia & New Zealand Nesstream — offers access to leading Australian and New Zealand newspapers. View title list.
  • European Newsstream — contains 552 national and regional newspapers and other news sources from across Europe. View title list.
  • Latin American Newsstream — includes titles from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. Latin American Newsstream provides newspapers in Spanish and Portuguese. Key newspaper titles include: El Universal (Mexico City);O Globo (Brazil);La Nación (Argentina);and El Mercurio (Chile). View title list.
  • Middle East & African Newsstream — newspapers, news wires, websites, and blogs from leading publishers throughout the region. Sources include The Jerusalem Post, the Gulf Daily News, Kuwait Times, Cape Times, and Yemen Times, among many others. It includes backfiles as far back as 1988. View title list.

U.S. Newsstream

Provides the most recent premium U.S. news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites in active full-text format. For academic and public libraries, U.S. Newsstream offers exclusive access to the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and co-exclusive access (with Factiva) to The Wall Street Journal. View title list.

We already subscribe to two full-text global newspaper databases: Factiva and Nexis UK. It’d be useful to compare these sources. Feedback welcome.