Library Blogs Migration

On trial: African American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1827-1998

*The Library now has now purchased access to ‘African American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2’. See New to the Library: African American Newspapers.*

Thanks to a request from a student in HCA the Library currently has trial access to African American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1827-1998 from Readex. These fascinating databases provide online access to approximately 330 U.S. newspapers chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience.

You can access African American Newspapers via the e-resources trials page.
Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 8th March 2018. Continue reading “On trial: African American Newspapers, Series 1 and 2, 1827-1998”

Feb 7, 2018

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

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.

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

Feb 6, 2018

Spotlight on our Centre for Research Collections

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 “Spotlight on our Centre for Research Collections”

Jan 26, 2018

Discovery Day – find your way round our digital primary sources

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 1^st 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 “Discovery Day – find your way round our digital primary sources”

Jan 22, 2018

Spotlight on ProQuest digital primary sources

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 ProQuest digital primary sources”

Jan 18, 2018

Daily Mail Historical Archive trial access

*The Library has now purchased access to the Daily Mail Historical Archive (1896-2004). See New to the Library: Daily Mail Historical Archive.*

I’m pleased to let you know that thanks to a request from a student in HCA the Library currently has trial access to the Daily Mail Historical Archive (1896-2004) from Gale Cengage. Whatever your feelings about the Daily Mail this is a fascinating archive providing access to over 100 years of the newspaper, while also providing an important alternative perspective to newspapers such at The Times, The Guardian, etc.

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

Trial access ends 9th February 2018. Continue reading “Daily Mail Historical Archive trial access”

Jan 11, 2018

Spotlight on Gale Cengage digital primary sources

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 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 Gale Cengage digital primary sources”

Jan 9, 2018

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, 2017/18 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.

Early Greek portraiture: monuments and histories by Catherine M. Keesling (shelfmark: NB1296.3 Kee. Also available as e-book).

The crusade in the fifteenth century: converging and competing cultures edited by Norman Housley (e-book).

The long aftermath: cultural legacies of Europe at war, 1936-2016 edited by Manuel Braganca and Peter Tame (shelfmark: D744.7.E8 Lon. Also available as e-book).

Race relations at the margins: slaves and poor whites in the antebellum Southern countryside by Jeff Forret (shelfmark: F220.A1 For.)

Beyond conflicts: cultural and religious cohabitations in Alexandria and Egypt between the 1st and the 6th century CE edited by Luca Arcar (shelfmark: BR127 Bey.)

Drawing Lithic artefacts by Yannick Raczynski-Henk (shelfmark: GN799.T6 Rac.) Continue reading “New books in the Library for History, Classics and Archaeology”

Dec 20, 2017

Spotlight on Adam Matthew digital primary sources

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

Continue reading “Spotlight on Adam Matthew digital primary sources”

Dec 11, 2017

Student Research Rooms: fantastic resource for History, Classics and Archaeology

Today’s blog post is a guest post from Aimee Fletcher, SRR Co-ordinator, about the superb book collections available to staff and students from HCA in the Student Research Rooms (SRR).

At the School of History, Classics and Archaeology (HCA) we are fortunate to have our Student Research Rooms (SRR). This is a space which is not only a study space, it is also home to the School’s personal book collections. All of these collections are vast and have come from significant academic figures, personal collections which were donated to the school, and have continued to flourish thanks to the tradition of donating books.

Upper floor of Student Research Rooms, Doorway 4, Teviot Place. © Aimee Fletcher

Within some of these collections are books with have been passed down by important figures of HCA’s history at Edinburgh. Individuals such as Jim McMillan, a European historian and previous head of the School; the Sellar and Goodhart collection, which is named after two of Edinburgh’s most influential classics professors and Jim Compton whose American history collection of 2,000 books boasts some of the only known copies of certain publications of its kind in Scotland. The collections we have are unique and are looked after and made available to borrow by twenty volunteers who are found at the volunteer desk on 2M (10am-6pm, Monday-Friday).

You can find out more about the collections and the books within these from Student Research Rooms (SRR). Continue reading “Student Research Rooms: fantastic resource for History, Classics and Archaeology”

Nov 15, 2017

What did the papers say?

Report this page