Blogging on library news, resources, services and skills for staff & students in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology
For the month of November the Library has trial access to the Los Angeles Times Historical Archive, 1881-1992, from ProQuest.
You can access this online archive via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.
Trial access ends 30th November 2016.
**Trial has now been extended until 31st December 2016**
...continue reading "Los Angeles Times Archive on trial"
*The Library now has permanent access to the Women's Magazine Archive I and II and News, Policy & Politics Magazine Archive. We also have access to all British Periodicals collections until 31st July 2024 as part of ProQuest Access 350.*
The Library currently has trial access to 3 magazine and periodical archives, British Periodicals III and IV, News, Policy & Politics Magazine Archive and Women's Magazine Archive I and II. These give access to a wide range of full-text magazines from around the early 20th century onwards including The Tatler, The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, Chatelaine, Newsweek, The Sketch, Good Housekeeping, Seventeen and Cosmopolitan.
You can access all of these online resources via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.
Trial access ends on 30th November 2016.
**Trial has now been extended until 31st December 2016**
...continue reading "Trial access to magazine and periodical archives"
I'm sure all history lovers know today is the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.
Probably one of the most famous battles in England's history, this led to the end of the Anglo-Saxon era and was the beginning of the Norman conquest of England under William, the Duke of Normandy (to be William I, also known as William the Conqueror or William the Bastard). But this defining battle didn't just have consequences for England, it's ramifications were felt in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and beyond down the years.
If you want to read more about the battle itself, the events leading up to it and the impact the outcome of the battle had then you can find lots of books and journal articles through the Library via DiscoverEd or some of the Library databases.
However, I wanted to take the opportunity to use Box of Broadcasts (BoB) to have a look at just some of the TV programmes (and a couple of radio programmes) available that examine at the Battle of Hastings and the events surrounding it.
Please note you will be asked for your University email address the first time you log into BoB. And like any TV recording service you will often get a few minutes of the previous programme at the beginning (that can be interesting in itself).
First up Conquest, the second episode from series one of Simon Schama's A History of Britain. Schama takes us through the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself and its aftermath, roughly covering the period 1000 - 1087. If you don't know much about this time in history then this is a good starting point. ...continue reading "1066 and all that (by ‘that’ I mean Box of Broadcasts)"
*The Library has subsequently subscribed to Online Egyptological Bibliography. Find out more at New to the Library: Online Egyptological Bibliography (OEB)*
The Library currently has trial access to the Online Egyptological Bibliography (OEB) from the University of Oxford and The First World War primary source database from Adam Matthew.
You can access all of these online resources via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.
Access to OEB is only available until 17th October 2016.
While trial access to the First World War databases ends on 31st October 2016.
Got a book you need to find in the Library but not sure how to search for it in DiscoverEd? This beginner's guide should help.
If searching for a known book use a combination of title and author keywords.
For example, if you were looking for this book:
A.A.M. Duncan, Scotland: the making of the kingdom (Edinburgh, 1992).
You could do a search using the keywords "duncan", "Scotland", "making" and "kingdom". DiscoverEd will look for items that include all the keywords in the item record.
...continue reading "Beginner’s guide to finding a book in DiscoverEd"
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)?
Being unsure about this is very common for new students so you're not alone but if you can learn how to read your reading list and recognise references now it will make you more confident using the Library and will save you a lot of time and effort in your studies. And these skills will be of use to you at all stages of your University life and beyond.
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:
...continue reading "Reading your reading list and recognising references"
Over the summer the Library was able to purchase the British Politics and Society collection, part of Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO) from Gale Cengage. This is a major new resource for the Library and provides a fascinating look at this period of great change.
British Politics and Society brings together primary source documentation, allowing a greater understanding and analysis of the development of urban centers and of the major restructuring of society that took place during the Industrial Revolution.
You can access Nineteenth Century Collections Online: British Politics and Society via the Databases A-Z. ...continue reading "New to the Library: Nineteenth Century Collections Online"
Further to a request from staff in HCA the Library is currently in the process of trying to purchase a copy of all available volumes of the Samos series of archaeological reports published by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.
Samos is one of the most important archaeological sites of the ancient Mediterranean world and this series of reports on excavations of the site provides essential data for staff and students research. ...continue reading "New to the Library: Samos archaeological reports"
Following a successful trial earlier this year the Library has now purchased access to module 1 of Church Missionary Society Periodicals, Global missions and contemporary encounters, 1804-2009.
This resource features publications from the Church Missionary Society, the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society and the latterly integrated South American Missionary Society.
You can access Church Missionary Society Periodicals from the Databases A-Z list. ...continue reading "New to the Library: Church Missionary Society Periodicals"
I'm happy to let you know that the Library has recently purchased two new primary source databases looking at Chinese and Asian history. These are China: Culture and Society and a new collection of files covering 1938-1948 from Foreign Office Files for China. So if this is an area you are interested in then read on.
You can access both databases via the Databases A-Z list.
Foreign Office Files for China, 1938-1948: Open Door, Japanese war and the seeds of communist victory
Foreign Office Files for China provides access to the digitised archive of British Foreign Office files dealing with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Library had already purchased access to the files covering the period 1949-1980, broadly covering the Communist Revolution, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. ...continue reading "New Library resources for Chinese history"
