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A question I get asked quite a lot is if we have access at the Library to the British Newspaper Archive. And it is the sort of question that I would usually be able to give a yes or no answer to but in the case of the British Newspaper Archive it isn't quite as simple.
In fact the answer I would normally give is either "Yes, BUT..." or "No, BUT..."and I'll try to explain why.
"Drawers" (https://flic.kr/p/gaUXpW) by Luke McKernan (https://flic.kr/ps/vNbEP) is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).
This is part of an occasional series highlighting some of the online resources available at the Library that will be of interest to students and staff in History, Classics and Archaeology.
While previous posts in this series have looked at groups of online primary source collections, in this post I wanted to highlight resources that give you access to film and moving images, including films, documentaries, TV programmes, public information films, archival film footage, cinema newsreels, advertising, home movies, etc.
Film provides a fascinating insight into the past through documentary, archival and amateur film footage and a deliberately constructed historical world through feature films. However, using film as ‘historical evidence’ is far from straightforward; specific skills are required to understand the complexities of the visual medium, its relationship to the society from which it emerges, the industry which created it and those who consumed it. Despite these obstacles, film is a crucial means for understanding the recent past.1
I'm happy to let you know that thanks to an agreement with JISC the Library has been given extended trial access to the primary source database BBC Listener Research Department, 1937-c.1950 from British Online Archives.
You can access the database via the E-resources trials page (listed as British Online Archive -BBC Listener Research Department, 1937-c.1950).
For off-campus access you will need to use the VPN.
Trial access ends 31st December 2017.
Founded in 1936 the BBC's pioneering Listener Research Department (LRD) examined wireless listening in Britain nationwide and at a regional level. This database reproduces the entire available collection of weekly Audience Summaries, together with the weekly then daily Listening Barometers. Also included are the Audience Reaction Reports on specific programmes and Special Reports on particular themes or issues for the period, as well as some key policy documents produced by the LRD during these years, tracing the early development of what has come to be known as market research within the BBC. ...continue reading "Listen very carefully!"
I'm very pleased to let you know that the Library has been given trial access to the brand new primary source database East India Company from Adam Matthew. This unique digital resource allows students and researchers to access a vast and remarkable collection of primary source documents from the India Office Records held by the British Library, the single most important archive for the study of the East India Company.
You can access the database via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.
Trial access ends 5th April 2017.
From 16th-century origins as a trading venture to the East Indies, through to its rise as the world’s most powerful company and de facto ruler of India, to its demise amid allegations of greed and corruption, the East India Company was an extraordinary force in global history for three centuries. ...continue reading "Trial access: East India Company"
From today the Library has trial access to the primary source collection British Records on the Atlantic World, 1700-1900 from British Online Archives. So for a limited time only you can access the wealth of material in this database spanning two centuries of Britain's colonisation, commercial, missionary and even literary relations with Africa and the Americas.
You can access the database via the E-resources trials page (under the title British Online Archives: Atlantic Studies Collection). Access is available on-campus. For off-campus access please use the University's VPN service.
The Library currently has trial access to several fantastic databases from ProQuest and I'm happy to let you know our access to these databases has recently been extended until the end of December 2016.
The databases included are:
Women’s Magazine Archive I and II
British Periodicals III and IV
Los Angeles Times Historical Archive, 1881-1992
News, Policy and Politics Magazine Archive
Luthers Werke
Historic Literary Criticism.
You can access all of these trial databases via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.