Category Archives: Library resources

Mass Observiation Project – on trial

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I’m happy to let you know that the Library currently has trial access to Mass Observation Project, 1981-2009 from AM Digital, which allows you to explore the history of Britain through three turbulent decades, written by those living through it.

Access Mass Observation Project via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 24 June 2023.

Mass Observation Project, 1981-2009 provides digital access to a unique life-writing archive, capturing the everyday experiences, thoughts and opinions of people living through the turbulent final decades of the 20th century and the advent of the 21st century. Continue reading →

BBC Monitoring – on trial

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Thanks to a request from staff in the School of Social and Political Science the Library currently has trial access to the new resource BBC Monitoring: Summary of World Broadcasts, 1939-2001 from Readex. Created in partnership with the BBC and digitised from the physical archives this fascinating resource captures more than 60 years of turbulent 20th century global history, as it unfolded.

Access BBC Monitoring via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 12 June 2023. Continue reading →

New! Roper iPoll

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Following a successful trial last year I’m happy to let you know the Library now has a subscription to Roper iPoll provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University.

You can access Roper iPoll via the Databases A-Z list, DiscoverEd and relevant Subject Guides and Databases by Subject pages.

Roper iPoll provides U.S. and international public opinion polls and datasets from 1935 to the present. Surveys cover any number of topics including, social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, science, the environment, and much more. Includes the major academic, commercial and media survey organisations. You can search for datasets by keyword, country, surveying agency, timeframe and type of sample. Continue reading →

Roper iPoll and Health Poll Database – on trial

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Thanks to a request from staff in SPS the Library currently has short-term trial access to both Roper iPoll and Health Poll Database.

Access Roper iPoll and Health Poll Database via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 18th October 2022. Continue reading →

New! Colonial Law in Africa, 1946-1966

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I’m pleased to let you know that the Library has recently purchased Colonial Law in Africa, 1946-1966 from British Online Archives. This database provides access to the African Government Gazettes from 1946 to 1966.

You can access Colonial Law in Africa via the Primary Sources guide, the Databases A-Z list or the African Studies guide. And it will be accessible via DiscoverEd in the near future. Continue reading →

New! South Asian Newspapers

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Following a number of trials I’m happy to let you know that the Library has purchased access to South Asian Newspapers (1864-1922) from Readex’s World Newspaper Archive. This one-of-a-kind collection provides online access to a select group of South Asian newspapers from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

You can access South Asian Newspapers via the Newspapers, Magazines and other News Sources guide, the Databases A-Z list or DiscoverEd. Continue reading →

New! Uganda and Malawi under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports

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I’m pleased to let you know that the Library now has access to two more digital primary source collections covering colonial rule in African countries in the 20th century. The two databases are Uganda Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1903-1961 and Malawi Under Colonial Rule, in Government Reports, 1907-1967 from British Online Archives. Between them they contain 92 documents with over 84,000 pages of original primary source material.

You can access both of these databases via the Digital Primary Source and Archive Collections guide, the Databases A-Z list or the African Studies subject guide. Continue reading →

Al-Ahram Digital Archive – on trial

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Thanks to a request from a student in Politics & International Relations the Library currently has trial access to the Al-Ahram Digital Archive from EastView. This gives you access to one of the longest-running newspapers in the Middle East.

You can access the Al-Ahram Digital Archive via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 1st October 2021. Continue reading →

Using the Library remotely – accessing material you need

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With many of you currently not in Edinburgh and access to our Library’s print collections severely restricted, knowing the options for accessing material that isn’t available online or that the Library doesn’t have in its collections has become increasingly important.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced the number of options available to you, there are still possibilities existing that you can take advantage of.

Check DiscoverEd
Request a Book (RaB)
Scan & Deliver
Click & Collect
Inter-Library Loans (ILLs)
National Library of Scotland and other libraries
Open Access (free stuff)

Check DiscoverEd

It’s really important that you check if the Library has the item or material you are looking for in its collections, whether online or in print. Searching Google or Google Scholar will not give you this information (even if you have set up Google Scholar for full text access). DiscoverEd will show you what we (the Library) have. Continue reading →

Using the Library remotely – DiscoverEd

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With many of you currently not in Edinburgh and access to our Library’s print collections severely restricted, being able to access books, journals and other materials online has become even more important.

Knowing how to find and access the e-books and e-journals (and more) available to you at the Library is often where people first go wrong. While Google and Google Scholar are good search tools they are not going to show you what the Library has access to and they often put barriers in your way for accessing material.

DiscoverEd should be your starting point

DiscoverEd (http://discovered.ed.ac.uk) is the main place to search for and access online material (and print) available to you at the Library. It tells you what e-books, e-journals, e-journal articles, etc., you have access to and provides links to access them. These links are embedded to tell the resource that you are from University of Edinburgh so access in most cases is direct with your University username and password (and you don’t have to enter this again if you are already signed in).

So some hints and tips and things to know when using DiscoverEd.

Sign In
Too many search results?
Don’t ignore information that is there to help
Broadening your search in DiscoverEd
Build a more complex search (or a more specific search)
Going beyond DiscoverEd
What access is there to print items in Library collections or if the Library doesn’t have the item at all? Continue reading →