New: East African Newspapers

A guest blog post by Sarah Rhodes, African & Commonwealth Subject Librarian, Bodleian Libraries.

We are delighted that Oxford researchers and students now have access to the East African Newspapers dataset.

This exciting newspaper collection, recently acquired by the Bodleian Libraries, is provided by East View Information Services and sponsored by the Center for Research Libraries.

Overview:

[Information from the East View website]

The twentieth and early twenty-first centuries were a time of great change for Africa. In East Africa, this time witnessed the growth of decolonization as independence movements swelled, and local, autonomous self-governance took hold throughout the region. This period was also punctuated by famine, drought, political uprisings, border disputes, and war as countries worked to navigate the post-colonial landscape.

The East African Newspapers collection provides insight into this region during this critical time, featuring key newspapers from the region from the 1940s to the mid-2010s. This collection includes three titles: Daily Nation (Kenya), The Ethiopian Herald, and The Monitor (Uganda), accounting for over 34,000 issues and over 800,000 pages.

Newspaper scope:

Daily Nation (Nairobi): Daily Nation was first launched as a sister paper to the Swahili language Taifa in 1960 and rose quickly to be the highest circulating newspaper in Kenya. The newspaper covers the end of colonial rule, the rise of an independent Kenya, and the country’s rapid growth in the modern era.

The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa): Founded in 1943, The Ethiopian Herald is a government-owned newspaper run by the Ethiopian Press Agency. The English-language paper covers the country’s transition from a monarchy through the communist era and into the present democratic republic.

The Monitor (Kampala): Founded in 1992, The Monitor (relaunched as The Daily Monitor in 2005) is considered Uganda’s leading independent newspaper. Among other domestic and international topics, the newspaper provides in-depth coverage of Yoweri Museveni’s lengthy reign as president.

Searching the collection:

The newspapers have been scanned in their original format and can be searched using keywords both within the newspaper images or text.  Searches can also be customised using the advanced search function with the options to refine by publication, language and date ranges.

The East African Newspapers collection is available via SOLO or Databases A-Z. University members should use Single Sign On for remote access. The individual newspapers are also discoverable in SOLO.

Sarah Rhodes, African & Commonwealth Subject Librarian, Bodleian Libraries.

While you are here, why not check out…

… other African newspaper resources in our Newspapers and other online news sources from the 17th – 21st centuries (LibGuide)

… Sarah’s excellent African resources (LibGuide).

all our subscription newspaper eresources (Databases A-Z)

New: Africa and the New Imperialism

Faded image of a black person superimposed over a manuscript excerpts and photo of a small steam boat.We are delighted to report that Oxford researchers now have access to Africa and the New Imperialism.

This Adam Matthew Digital resource documents the period of rapid colonial expansion by European powers across the African continent during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Many documents come from the Bodleian Libraries collections, esp. the Papers of Frederick Dealtry Lugard, Baron Lugard of Abinger.

As well as digitised archives, diaries, logbooks, minutes, official records, petitions, reports, telegrams, and more, the resource has rich visual resources, such as maps, photographs, artwork, and film.

[From the Adam Matthew Digital: Nature and Scope]
From the accounts of missionaries and European explorers navigating the interior of the continent in the early nineteenth century; to the rise in European desire for increased power, empire and wealth culminating in the Berlin Conference 1885-1886; to the subsequent power struggles, negotiations and conflicts that raged across the continent at the turn of the twentieth century, the documents within Africa and the New Imperialism charts Africa’s encounters with European imperialist regimes and their impact on the lives of peoples across the continent.

Some collection highlights:

  • Diaries, journals and sketch books from key figures including David Livingstone, John Kirk and James Augustus Grant, whose sketchbooks from his Nile expedition are illustrated with watercolours of landscapes and peoples he encountered.
  • The journals of British soldier Major General Charles Gordon, which includes his final journal written before the fall of Khartoum to the Mahdist forces led by Muhammad Ahmad of Sudan.
  • Correspondence from Roger Casement and the resulting Casement Report which investigated, and confirmed, the atrocities committed in the Congo Free State under King Leopold II.
  • British Foreign Office files for the Berlin Conference, the event which ignited the spark of late-nineteenth century European imperialist efforts across Africa, including papers relating to European intervention in the Congo, the involvement of Belgium and Germany, and the Malet papers which include the private correspondence of Sir Edward Baldwin Malet who was the British Ambassador to the German court, 1884-1895.
  • The papers, photographs and correspondence of Frederick Lugard, a British soldier and administrator in Africa, covering British involvement in East Africa and West Africa from the 1870s to the early twentieth century. These are along with the papers of journalist and colonial commentator, Flora Shaw, Lugard’s wife.
  • Correspondence, journals and reports from French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza that provide insight into his expeditions to the Congo Basin; the establishment of the French Congo; de Brazza’s administration of the French Congo as Commissioner General; and de Brazza’s 1904 investigation into injustice, forced labour and brutality within the French Congo.
  • London Missionary Society correspondence from Central Africa and Matabeleland, including first-hand accounts of audiences with King Lobengula of the Ndebele people and the activities of the British South Africa Company controlled by Cecil Rhodes.
  • Imperialism
  • Slavery and forced labour
  • Diplomacy
  • Religion and missionaries
  • Race and ethnicity
  • War and violence
  • Resistance to colonialism
  • Technology and infrastructure

Each document within Africa and the New Imperialism has been tagged with a region. These regions have been designated in consultation with our editorial board, they are broad and are intended to provide support in browsing and navigating the documents presented within this resource. However, due to the nature of the material, many documents cover several regions and where this is the case, the most relevant regions have been added; there may be more regions covered by events within documents.

  • Central Africa
  • East Africa
  • Horn of Africa
  • North Africa
  • Southern Africa
  • West Africa
  • Rest of the World

Source libraries and archives

  • Archives nationales d’outre-mer
  • Bibliothèque nationale de France
  • Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
  • British Film Institute
  • British Library
  • National Library of Scotland
  • Sanford Museum, Florida
  • School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
  • Senate House Library, University of London
  • The National Archives, UK
  • University of Birmingham Library

A variety of research tools provide further contextual information or guidance for teaching and research. From Essays and Biographies to Guide to Regions and Places and Guide to the Archival Collections, explore the options under Research Tools or view the full list in Teaching Tools.

Also of interest:

Finding critical readings on colonial history:

Key source databases

See Databases A-Z for more and our LibGuides on African newspapers.

Catalogue of Papers of Women Administrative Officers in Colonial Africa, 1944-1984 now online

Women Administrative Officers in Colonial Africa - online catalogue screenshotSpecial Collections colleagues in the Weston Library have released the online Catalogue of Papers of Women Administrative Officers in Colonial Africa, 1944-1984. This includes reminiscences, press cuttings, circulars, photographs and associated material of women who served in the Colonial Service in Africa and the West Indies (one contribution only from the West Indies), mainly relating to the years 1945 to 1960.

> Access the catalogue

“The papers in this collection were amassed by the Oxford Development Records Project (ODRP) (successor to the Oxford Colonial Records Project), which set out to preserve the reminiscences of women who had served as Administrative Assistants in the Colonial Service in various African territories.

Women Administrative Assistants were recruited by the Colonial Office for a period of about 10 years immediately after the Second World War, when there was a severe shortage of male officers, so these papers relate mainly to the years 1945 to 1960. The terms of employment were very different from their male counterparts’: women were only eligible for temporary posts, they had no chance of promotion and they were obliged to resign on marriage (with a very few exceptions, such as Dr. Beryl Steele (32) and Isabel Popplewell (29), who managed to carry on working after they were married). On the whole, therefore, the periods of service for these women tend to be short, often lasting only one tour or even less.

The countries covered in this collection comprise, with one exception, British colonial African territories, with the majority of contributors having worked in Tanganyika and Nigeria, and a few in Nyasaland, Uganda, Kenya, Northern Rhodesia, the Gold Coast and the Gambia. The exception to this is a contributor who applied for an African post, but who ended up working in the West Indies (Lady Peck (27)). There is also a contribution from a former Woman Administrative Assistant (WAA) who became a Recruitment Officer at the Colonial Office and who was involved in recruiting other WAAs (Mair Morris (26)).” from http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/online/blcas/waoca/waoca.html, accessed 20 July 2016

Trial until 22 July: Rand Daily Mail (1902-1985)

Colleagues have organised a trial of the Rand Daily Mail (1902-1985), an important South African newspaper. It is available via SOLO and OxLIP+ for Oxford students and researchers.Rand Daily Mail - screenshot

The Readex digital edition of the Rand Daily Mail (1902-1985) provides researchers and students with access to a comprehensive run of this influential African news source. Published daily in Johannesburg, the Rand Daily Mail, pioneered popular journalism in South Africa and is renowned today for being the first newspaper to openly oppose apartheid and contribute to its downfall. It offers a wealth of unique perspectives not only on South Africa but also for the African continent as a whole.

Examples of stories covered include:

  • Benjamin Pogrund’s extraordinary coverage of the Sharpeville massacre in 1960;
  • Helen Zille’s uncovering of Steve Biko’’s murder at the hands of police in 1976;
  • news-breaking reporting by Mervyn Rees and Chris Day about the apartheid state’s effort to influence opinion
  • an exposé that sparked the scandal known as “Muldergate”; and many others.

Have your say

Feedback should be sent to sarah.rhodes@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. The trial ends on 22 July.

Please note, as with most trials, there is no guarantee that access can continue. In the first instance, we organise them to gauge interest and hear your views on content and functionality.

Trial until 5 February: Black Authors 1556-1922

The Vere Harmsworth Library has organised trial access to Readex’s Black Authors: Imprints from the Library Company of Philadelphia (1556-1922).

This collection offers more than 550 fully catalogued and searchable works by black authors from the Americas, Europe and Africa, expertly compiled by the curators of Afro-Americana Imprints collection, the largest existing collection of its kind. Found within are wide-ranging genres, including personal narratives, autobiographies, histories, expedition reports, military reports, novels, essays, poems and musical compositions.

Major subject areas addressed in Black Authors include Literature, Ethnic History, Colonialism, Gender Studies, Slavery, Diaspora Studies and related fields. As a whole, this collection reveals how the creative efforts of black authors evolved over three centuries. The earliest published works of authors of African descent are largely travel narratives and historical works treating the exploration of the African continent and the collision between European powers with the peoples of Africa.

Access is available via OxLIP+ until 5th February 2016 (use single sign-on for remote access). Please send comments or feedback to jane.rawson@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

[re-blogged from the VHL blog.]

Reading rooms in Weston Library open 29 Sept

Today (29 Sept 2014) is an important milestone in the history of the Bodleian Library: The Weston Library (formerly New Bodleian Library) opened its three reading rooms to readers. The temporary Special Collections Reading Room in the RSL and Rhodes House Library have now transferred to the Weston Library.

At the moment the building is initially opening exclusively to readers. Some disruption, due to continuing collection moves and fitting-out of public areas, including exhibition galleries and tearoom, will continue until the official opening in March 2015.

Where is the Weston Library?

The Weston Library is on the site of the former New Bodleian Library, ie the corner of Broad Street and Park Road. The reader entrance is on Park Road.

Weston on map

What are the opening hours?
Mon-Fri 9am – 7pm; Sat 10am – 4pm; Sun closed

Which reading room should I use?

  • RARE BOOKS, ARCHIVES AND WESTERN MANUSCRIPTS is in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room (Level 1)
  • MAPS are in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room (Level 1)
  • MUSIC is in the Mackerras Reading Room (Level 1)
  • ORIENTAL MANUSCRIPTS AND RARE BOOKS are in the David Reading Room (Level 5)
  • COMMONWEALTH AND AFRICAN STUDIES COLLECTIONS are in the David Reading Room (Level 5)

You can order normal stack request items to any of the reading rooms.

Moves of collections into the Weston Library will take place until Summer 2016 as material currently kept at other locations is transferred. During this period items may still be ordered as normal, but will be subject to a 24 hour delivery time. Updates of collection moves.

Duke Humfrey’s Library is now closed until Monday 13 October 2014 when it will re-open as an invigilated reading room supporting higher-level studies in the Humanities. Open-shelf material, esp local history in R.Top and R1-R3, etc. will remain in Duke Humfrey’s. During the closure period, contact library staff if you need any material in R.Top or R1-3.

Related links:

Special Collections Contact details

New: Records relating to the slave trade at the Liverpool Record Office

I am pleased to report that Oxford users now access to the online Records relating to the slave trade at the Liverpool Record Office (British Online Archives: British Records on the Atlantic World, 1700-1900) via SOLO and Databases A-Z.

Records relating to the slave trade at the Liverpool Record Office - pamphlet

This full-text database provides access to one of the best collections in British archives of private merchants’ papers relating to the transatlantic slave trade.

Liverpool was the leading slave trading port in the world in the eighteenth century when these documents were compiled.

 

The material includes

  • correspondence with ship captains and Caribbean agents about the acquisition of Africans and their sale; statistics on the Liverpool slave trade
  • sales accounts of the lots of Africans disembarked in the Americas, often with the names of purchasers and prices; information on dealings with diverse African groups along the coast of West Africa; and details of payments for slave sales.
  • account books of ships’ voyages with material on the outfitting of vessels and the cargoes of goods exported to Africa.
  • Records of the wealthy merchant and banker, Thomas Leyland (c.1752-1827), who was three times Mayor of Liverpool.
  • Letters by the slave trade captain, John Newton (1725-1807), who later became a clergyman, the composer of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, and a prominent abolitionist.

Other useful resources

Enjoy! If you have any problems, please contact library staff.

New: Records relating to the Slave Trade at the Liverpool Record Office

I am pleased to report that Oxford readers now have access to Records relating to the Slave Trade at the Liverpool Record Office via OxLIP+ and also shortly via SOLO.

Part 1 of the British Online Archives series British records on the Atlantic World, 1700-1900, this full-text database provides access to one of the best collections in British archives of private merchants’ papers relating to the transatlantic slave trade.

Case & Southworth papers: Journals: From Kingston, Jamaica, for the period 1756-1761.

Case & Southworth papers: Journals: From Kingston, Jamaica, for the period 1756-1761.

Liverpool was the leading slave trading port in the world in the eighteenth century when these documents were compiled. The material includes correspondence with ship captains and Caribbean agents about the acquisition of Africans and their sale; statistics on the Liverpool slave trade; sales accounts of the lots of Africans disembarked in the Americas, often with the names of purchasers and prices; information on dealings with diverse African groups along the coast of West Africa; and details of payments for slave sales. The account books of ships’ voyages include material on the outfitting of vessels and the cargoes of goods exported to Africa. Among the items included in this collection are records of the wealthy merchant and banker, Thomas Leyland, who was three times Mayor of Liverpool, and letters by the slave trade captain, John Newton, who later became a clergyman, the composer of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, and a prominent abolitionist.

Related resources:

WISER: Information Sources for African Studies (Fri 7 Jun 9.15-10.45)

Calling all those thinking of doing a dissertation in African Studies!

The WISER Information Sources for African Studies session will cover finding tools for locating African Studies materials, key portals and gateways for African Studies and online archives of primary texts. Starting with a presentation the session will also include time for participants to try out some of the resources demonstrated.

When? Fri 7 Jun 9.15-10.45 (week 7)

Where? IT Services, 13 Banbury Road.

Presenters: Lucy McCann and Sarah Rhodes

> Book your place now!

Training opportunities coming up for historians

Training opportunities in the Bodleian Libraries

During the next few weeks, the Bodleian Libraries will running workshops on open access, sources for historians, RefWorks and reference managements:

open accessOpen Access Oxford – What’s Happening? (various dates – see below) Researchers in receipt of grants from RCUK funding councils issued after 1April 2013 are required to make their research papers open access. Come along to one of our briefing on open access to find out about Green vs. Gold open access publishing; funder mandates and publisher policies; the Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; and how to find more information and help on open access. Who are these sessions for?  These session are open to current members of Oxford University only and are designed for research support staff, librarians, academics and researchers.

Dates:

  • WISER: Open Access Oxford – what’s happening? (all subjects) (Thurs 16 May 11.00-12.00) (wk 4) > Book Now
  • WISER: Open Access Oxford – what’s happening? (all subjects) (Wed 29 May 11.00-12.00) (wk 6) > Book Now
  • Open Access for historians – (Wed. 5 June, 13:00-14:00, Rees Davies Room, History Faculty) > no booking required

WISER Workshops

WISER: Online Resources for Historians (Tue 28 May 9.15-10.30) (wk 6)– A general introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods for British and West European history including  bibliographical databases, biographical and reference research aids, e-books and ejournals, web portals and collections of online primary source materials.  > Book Now

WISER: Sources for US History (Tue 28 May 10.45-12.15) (wk 6) – Introduction to key information sources for the study of colonial America and US history up to 1990. Starting with finding tools to locate material, examples of source materials will then be shown including archival, microform, printed/online collections and useful web portals and audiovisual collections. > Book Now

WISER: WISERInformation Sources for African Studies , Fri 7 Jun 9.15-10.45 (TT week 7) – This session will cover finding tools for locating African Studies materials, key portals and gateways for African Studies and online archives of primary texts. Starting with a presentation the session will also include time for participants to try out some of the resources demonstrated. > Book Now

WISER: Sources for Medievalists, Wed 12 June 14.00-16.00 (TT week 8)
This interdisciplinary session will provide a general overview of  e-resources relevant for British and Western European medieval studies. It will cover bibliographical databases, biographical and reference tools, web portals and collections of online primary source materials including Anglo-Saxon sources, Greek/Latin texts, chronicles, charters and literary works. > Book Now

RefWorks for Humanities (Wed 29 May 9.15 – 12.15) (wk 6) – RefWorks is an online tool which allows you to manage your references, insert them into your work, automatically generate bibliographies and easily switch between citation styles. This introduction is open to all, but the section on importing references will focus on Humanities examples.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers and academics and undergraduates wishing to use reference management software > Book Now

For Historians: RefWorks for Your Thesis, Wed 5 June 14.00-16.00 (TT week 7) *repeated** Thur 13 June 10.30-12.30 (TT week 8)

This session is primarily aimed at 2nd year History Undergraduates and will give a basic introduction on how to use RefWorks for your dissertation and will highlight some of its key features. The session is also open other postgraduates and academics in the History Faculty. > Book now

WISER: Tech Tools – Reference Management (Fri 31 May 9.15-12.15) (wk 6) – Keeping track of your references and formatting them correctly for your thesis or publication is a chore. Reference management software makes it easy and is worth investigating. This introductory session gives an overview of how it works and the pros and cons of RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers and academics and undergraduates wishing to use reference management software > Book Now

Keeping up with Bodleian Libraries training opportunities: Why not follow join our mailing list by sending an empty email to wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oxwiser or visit the BodWiser blog at http://bodwiser.wordpress.com

Questions? – Please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Training opportunities in the British Library

Finding Early Western Printed Books in the British Library (4 June, 11:00-12:15). This is a new workshop offered by British Library Rare Books Reference Specialists. It provides an overview of reference resources which can help trace hard-to-find early printed material (ca.1455- ca.1900) and enhance using the Library’s main catalogue, Explore the British Library.

Information Skills-Navigating research in the British Library (15 May and 12 June, 3-4pm). This course covers the basic skills needed for someone starting a research project. It will show you how to locate information on your subject within the British Library Collections.

These sessions are free.  You can book a place by email (hrs-training@bl.uk).

Related Links

WISER Workshops LibGuide | HFL Training webpage | British Library training sessions webpage