Home University of Edinburgh Library Essentials
March 24, 2026
Trial of a huge range of Chinese resources from Superstar
The Library has arranged a free trial, until 31st October 2017, of several important full-text Chinese resources from the Superstar company (超星公司) which is provider of our currently subscribed databases Duxiu and Chinamass, both of which are in the Databases A-Z list. These resources range from Chinese classics, pre-1949 periodicals and books, to local gazetteers and academic journals since 1949. They are accessible on three different platforms:
- Special collections (专题图书馆 and 超星专题库). These two large sets of resources can be accessed on the Chinamaxx platform. . It contains a vast amount of Chinese classics and books on special subjects. Superstar historical documents (超星文史资料) is under a separate section and may be of special interest for regional studies. The following resources are available:
四库全书 (We have this database)全宋文 (We have a print collection of 360 volumes in the East Asian Collection, Main Library)
古今图书集成 (We have this database)
- Superstar journals (超星期刊) which can be accessed on the Duxiu database platform. This resource contains over 6,500 full text post-1949 Chinese journals. Please also remember that we are subscribing to two Chinese journals already: China Academic Journals, and China Online Journals, both of which are in the Database list.
- Dacheng gu zhi dui (大成故纸堆). This is a huge database containing several series: 老旧刊(pre-1949, 7491 periodicals)，民国图书(39,950 books published before 1949)，《申报》(1872-1942)，古方志集(3566) ，党史(208 Communist Party publications before 1949)， 《顺天时报》(1907-1930)，《大美晚报》(1943-1946).This database is to be accessed from: www.dachengdata.com on the University network.
Feedback about these trials are welcome.
Ruth Fulton Benedict Papers
I’m pleased to let you know that a large portion of American anthropologist Ruth Benedict’s professional and personal papers are now freely available online. These have been made available by Alexander Street Press via one of their open access initiatives Anthropology Commons.
You can access the Ruth Fulton Benedict Papers via the Databases A-Z list or via the Anthropology database list. Read More
On trial: Illustrated London News 1842-2003
*The Library has now purchased access to this resource. See New to the Library: Illustrated London News Historical Archive*
Thanks to a request from a member of staff in HCA the Library currently has trial access to the Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003. Illustrated London News was the world’s first pictorial weekly newspaper and this archive gives access to the full run of this iconic illustrated newspaper.
You can access this online archive via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.
Trial access ends 31st October 2017.
The first issue of Illustrated London News was published on Saturday 14 May 1842 and as the world’s first fully illustrated weekly newspaper, it marked a revolution in journalism and news reporting. Read More
Freedom to read, freedom to believe #BannedBooksWeek
A guest post by Eleanor Rideout, IS Helpdesk Assistant
Banned Books Week, held the week of September 24th in 2017, is an annual celebration of the freedom to read. New College Library holds many texts that have been banned at different points in history, and by different nations and cultures. This week you can see some of these banned books on display in New College Library. Read More
Scoping Statistical Analysis Support
The following is a post by our former PhD Intern, Cindy Nelson-Viljoen, where she outlines her experience of working on a significant Data Library project supported by the Innovation Fund.
Scoping Statistical Analysis Support, supported by the Information Services Innovation Fund and managed by Diarmuid McDonnell, was a six-month project that aimed to identify gaps in statistical analysis training provision at the University of Edinburgh, and the potential role of the Data Library in addressing these gaps. The focus was on understanding how statistical analysis support and training is conducted across University of Edinburgh schools; scoping existing support mechanisms and models for students, researchers and teachers; and identifying services and support that would satisfy existing or future demand.
The activities of the project included designing an online questionnaire of research students, and to engage with and interview faculty (researchers and teachers) with knowledge of and responsibility for quantitative methods/statistical analysis support in their respective school. As part of the project, the Data Library employed a PhD intern (Cindy Nelson-Viljoen) via the Employ.ed scheme, and offered an excellent opportunity for Cindy to develop her knowledge of social science methods, statistical analysis and support, and research data management in a collaborative cross-disciplinary setting.
The project’s findings will inform future planning of statistical analysis support and training within the Data Library, ISG and the University. The report describing the project, methodology, findings and recommendations is available at http://edin.ac/2hnJYPb.
New library subject guides for SPS
We’ve been revamping the library subject guides for School of Social and Political Science. So if you’re just starting at the University or you are a returning student why not take a look?
The subject guides include information about and links to library resources, facilities and services both specifically for your subject area and for general library use.
You can find new subject guides for the following subject areas:
- African Studies
- Canadian Studies
- Global Public Health
- International Development
- Politics & International Relations
- Science, Technology and Innovation Studies
- Social Anthropology
- Social Policy
- Social Work
- Sociology
- South Asian Studies
These subject guide pages have been completely overhauled and we hope these will prove useful to you.
Caroline Stirling – Academic Support Librarian for School of Social and Political Science
British War Medal – a medal of the First World War
CAMPAIGN MEDAL AWARDED TO WILLIAM HUNTER (1861-1937) – GREAT WAR
The British War Medal was awarded to those who served in the campaigns of the Great War or World War between 5 August 1914 (the day following the British declaration of war against the German Empire) and the armistice of 11 November 1918… both dates inclusive. As war approached again in the mid-1930s, this Great War or World War became known as World War One.
The British War Medal – a medal of the First World War – was established on 26 July 1919. In its Silver version, 6,390,000 were awarded. Some 110,000 Bronze versions of the medal were awarded to labour battalions. The British War Medal was designed by the Aberdeen-born sculptor William McMillan (1887-1977).
British War Medal – awarded to William Hunter (Centre for Research Collections, Coll-1146)
The medal is a circular silver design – or in bronze- and 36 mm in diameter. The ribbon is 32 mm wide with a broad orange watered stripe down the centre bordered with white, black and blue stripes. The medal obverse (the principal side) shows a bareheaded King George V effigy, facing left, with ‘GEORGIVS V BRITT: OMN: REX ET IND: IMP:’ (George 5th, King of all the Britain’s, and, Emperor of India).
British War Medal – awarded to William Hunter (Centre for Research Collections, Coll-1146)
The reverse of the medal shows St. George, naked, on horseback armed with a short sword (an allegory of the physical and mental strength which achieves victory over Prussianism). The horse tramples on the Prussian shield and the skull and cross-bones. Just off-centre, near the right upper rim, is the sun of Victory. The dates 1914 and 1918 appear in the left and right fields respectively.
The British War Medal shown here was the one awarded to Edinburgh University alumnus William Hunter who served in Serbia during the Great War (see the May 2015 post of these Untold Stories, ‘William Hunter & the Order of St. Sava’). Hunter was President of the Advisory Committee, Prevention of Disease, in the Eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia (Gallipoli, Egypt, Salonika, Malta and Palestine), and he also served with the Eastern Command, 1917-1919.
It is contained within the collection of Medals, awards and decorations of William Hunter (1861-1937) curated by the Centre for Research Collections (CRC), Edinburgh University Library, Coll-1146.
Dr. Graeme D. Eddie, Assistant Librarian Archives & Manuscripts, CRC
Sources: (1) Online resources. (2) British battles and medals. Lawrence L. Gordon. London: Spink, 1979. Ref. .7372(42) Gor. (Closed stack)
Resources for Christian ministry and worship at New College Library
Today New College welcomes ministers and worship leaders to a CPD day focusing on Biblical resources. Topics include current scholarship on the Gospel of John and Advent themes in the Hebrew Bible.
At New College Library, we welcome people working in the church to use our outstanding theological collections for research and continuing professional development. Read More
New video about the Research Data Service
The Research Data Service team is delighted to announce a new resource to help researchers and research support staff become familiar with the wide range of tools and support that we offer:
The video, produced by Senate Media, outlines how the University of Edinburgh Research Data Service can help you access, manage, store, share and preserve your research data. The permanent location for the video is: https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/1_cm6au55u .
Robin Rice
Data Librarian & Head, Research Data Support
EDINA and Data Library
How to…read your reading list and search for readings in the Library
Got your reading list but not sure what you’re being asked to read (is it a book, is it an article, is it a bird, is it a plane…)? Or are you just not sure how you’re meant to search for and find these items in the Library (in print or online)?
It may just be the first week of semester but many of you will already be required to start reading material in preparation for your lectures, seminars or tutorials. Finding and accessing this material can be an early hurdle for many new students but don’t panic, it can be a lot easier than you think.
Learning how to read your reading list and recognise references now will make you more confident using the Library and will save you a lot of time in your studies later. And these skills will be of use to you at all stages of your University life and beyond.
What’s in a reading list?
Reading lists are just lists of essential, recommended or further readings for your course. They can include a wide range of material including books, book chapters, journal articles, documentaries, films, newspaper articles, websites, blogs, etc., but I am going to concentrate on the 3 most common:
- Books
- Book chapters
- Journal articles
Collections
Hill and Adamson Collection: an insight into Edinburgh’s past
My name is Phoebe Kirkland, I am an MSc East Asian Studies student, and for...
Cataloguing the private papers of Archibald Hunter Campbell: A Journey Through Correspondence
My name is Pauline Vincent, I am a student in my last year of a...
Projects
Cataloguing the private papers of Archibald Hunter Campbell: A Journey Through Correspondence
My name is Pauline Vincent, I am a student in my last year of a...
Archival Provenance Research Project: Lishan’s Experience
Presentation My name is Lishan Zou, I am a fourth year History and Politics student....