History Resources

Historians may be interested to learn that Western Libraries is offering trial access to British Literary Manuscripts Online, 1660-1900. The trial runs until Dec. 21, 2009.

Produced by Gale-Cengage, the British Literary Manuscripts Online, 1660-1900 is a digitized collection of manuscripts by British authors from the Restoration through the Victorian era. The database contains over 600,000 pages of poems, plays, novels, diaries, journals, correspondence, and other papers from major library collections. The facsimile reproductions are searchable via detailed descriptive information.

This e-resource trial can be accessed in either of two ways:

1. By performing a keyword search in the shared library catalogue (here) for "British Literary Manuscripts Online" - with or without quotes. Alternatively, the direct catalogue link is here. Please note that a title search will not locate this resource since our access is on a trial basis, and the resource is not fully indexed in the library catalogue.

2. By clicking on "B" under the Databases by Title list on the Western Libraries homepage (http://www.lib.uwo.ca/).

I'm happy to accept any feedback/comments on this resource, to be taken into consideration when the library decides whether or not to purchase, funding permitting.

Posted by Elizabeth Mantz at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's once again possible to search the full text, full image content of hundreds of historical newspapers worldwide using the familiar search engine of the online resource Paper of Record (PoR) via the Western Libraries' website.

Many researchers will recall that PoR was formerly published by Cold North Wind. The rights to the PoR database were bought by Google in January 2009; however, access to the newspaper content of the database has languished since that time.

PoR content was recently purchased and re-mounted by WorldVitalRecords.com, and features similar content and search functionality familiar to researchers using the Cold North Wind version.

Western Libraries' access is for 5 simultaneous users using IP-authenticated license to PoR. At present, the resource can be accessed via the shared library catalogue (record linked here). In the near future, links will also appear on the Databases by Title listing, as well as the History Browse by Program page.

Please remember to log off at the end of each session, in order to maximize use of our 5 simultaneous user access. If you're off-campus, you'll need to use the proxy server, as usual.

Posted by Elizabeth Mantz at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Western Libraries now provides access to another Adam Matthew Digital resource: India, Raj & Empire. The library catalogue record is linked here.

India, Raj & Empire draws upon the diverse manuscript collections of the National Library of Scotland, and will be of particular interest and value to researchers investigating the history of South Asia between the foundation of the East India Company in 1615 and the granting of independence to India and Pakistan in 1947. The content of the collection is especially strong in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The documents in the collection are grouped into the following thematic areas:

* East India Company: Government and Administration c. 1750-1857
* Agriculture and Trade c. 1750-1857
* Society, Travel and Leisure c. 1750-1857
* The Mysore and Maratha Wars
* Indian Uprising 1857-58
* The Raj: British Government and Administration of India after 1858
* Agriculture and Trade after 1858
* Society, Travel and Leisure after 1858
* India: Literature, History and Culture

An introduction to these themes can be found on the thematic areas page, linked here. A listing of "Search Topics" provides a useful shortcut to the content of the database (here).

Continue reading "India, Raj, and Empire database now available" »

Posted by Elizabeth Mantz at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The redesigned website for the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) emerged from beta mode on Monday, October 12.

The new site reflects a complete redesign of all major sections. The FOCUS on Global Resources newletter, and News and Events sections have been reformatted. As well, the new site includes Topic Guides and e-Collections features under the "Collections" tab.

It's anticipated that these enhancements will make the CRL resources and services more discoverable and accessible. RSS feeds are now available for users who wish to receive the latest updates from CRL.

The new site is available at http://www.crl.edu .

Posted by Elizabeth Mantz at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Which novel by Margaret Laurence became a literary cause célèbre and an object of censorship in 1976? What is the history of hockey books in Canada? What impact has CBC's Canada Reads had on publishing and book sales? What 19th-century publisher held the Canadian rights to the Ouija board?

These are some of the subjects explored on a new scholarly website hosted by McMaster University Library: Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing (here). - information provided via email.

Continue reading "'Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing' website" »

Posted by Elizabeth Mantz at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From now until Sunday, November 15th, Alexander Street Press is providing free access to the online resource American History in Video. No authentication or login is required.

American History in Video includes more than 1,500 titles and 500 hours of rare newsreels and important documentaries from leading producers such as PBS, The History Channel, Bullfrog Films, and California Newsreel.

The complimentary access URL for this product is http://ahivfree.alexanderstreet.com.

Further information regarding this product is linked here.

Your feedback and comments on American History in Video are most welcome, and can be sent to me (emantz@uwo.ca).

Please note that online access at this time is for evaluative purposes only. Our potential acquisition of the product depends on the availability of funding.

Posted by Elizabeth Mantz at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Western Libraries is pleased to announce the launch of the Dissertation Planner, a new time management tool designed to help graduate students as they begin the task of writing a dissertation. The tool is similar in function to the Assignment Planner (here), and is based on a similar resource created by the University of Minnesota.

The Dissertation Planner is linked here; the pathway is via Western Libraries' home page www.lib.uwo.ca / Research and Scholarship / Research Services.

Additional information describing the Dissertation Planner in more detail is available on Western Libraries' home page, and linked directly here.

Posted by Elizabeth Mantz at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)