New: Radical (Irish) Newspaper Archive

We are delighted to announce that Oxford researchers now have access to the Radical (Irish) Newspaper Archive, via the Irish Newspaper Archive subscription. The archive will allow researchers to study the political, social and industrial unrest of the modern Irish nation through the prism some of the country’s most revolutionary publications.

Screenshot of The Irish Worker, 5 Dec 1914, with the headline 'We serve neither King nor Kaiser'.

The Irish Worker, Sat 5 Dec 1914, front page. From Radical Newspaper Archive, accessed 4 October 2022.

The resource includes 100+ titles covering a broad sweep of polical and feminist newspapers, journals, pamphlets and bulletins with a particular interest on the revolutionary period 1913–23. Most are in English language with a few Gaelic titles.

The publications report on events such as the beginning of the First World War, the 1916 Easter Rising, the War of Independence and Civil War. This collection will also be useful to researchers of post-independent Ireland.

Many newspapers were only very short-lived but provide a fascinating insight into the revolutionary period following 1916, when radical newspapers were clamped down by the Military Authority.

Examples of nationalist, republican, feminist and socialist newspapers include:

  • An Claidheamh Soluis (1899-1918)
  • Irish Freedom (1910-1937)
  • Nationality (1915-1932)
  • Notes from Ireland (1886-1918)
  • Sinn Fein Weekly (1906-1914)
  • The Irish Citizen (1919-1920)
  • The Irish Worker (1911-1932)
  • The United Irishman (1899-1933)
  • Young Ireland (1917-1923)

Through this special collection of journals historians will also gain access to Irish army bulletins from 1922.

Using online newspapers can be challenging. Check out our LibGuide Newspapers and other online news sources from the 17th – 21st centuries for tips.

Related resources:

New: The Times Supplements (1910-1916)

Oxford researchers now have access to The Times Supplements (1910-1016). Use SSO for remote access.

The Times Supplements consist of a series of full-text searchable, geographically-based issues, originally published between 1910 and 1916, as supplements of The Times. The Supplements cover various aspects of mainly South America, Russia and then Japan. Dedicated issues to World War I and one-off special issues were also published.

Supplements are a good source in English on domestic and foreign affairs relating to countries included. Published in the years 1910-1916 the supplements include:

  • The South American Supplements (42 issues, 732 pages)
  • The Russian Supplements (26 issues, 560 pages)
  • The Japanese Supplements (6 issues, 176 pages)
  • The Spanish Supplement (36 pages) as a one-off
  • The Norwegian Supplement (24 pages) as a one-off
  • Supplements associated with World War I (4 issues, 96 pages)
  • Special Supplements (2 issues, 16 pages)
Screenshot of the cover of the Russian Supplement, Issue 9, 27 July 1914.

Cover of Russian Supplement, issue 9, 27 July 2014. Brill, 2018.

‘Each title was tailored to support The Times’ broad editorial position and ongoing Foreign Office priorities. The Japanese Supplements, for example, were aimed at reinforcing the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902-22, in the context of growing German influence in Japan. Talented artists and contributors were engaged in filling the supplements, ranging from foreign statesmen to expatriate journalists and publicists, including those hired by the nations concerned.

These supplements would likely have continued beyond 1917, but were affected by acute paper shortages in that year and, in the case of the Russian Supplements, by the 1917 Revolution. The Times also issued some one-off special issues.’

An extensive background article by P.A. O’Connor and P. Robinson is available via https://primarysources.brillonline.com/browse/the-times-supplements.

Source: The Times Supplements, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2018

Related links:

New eresources: more newspapers, early modern, modern and global history collections

In line with the Bodleian Libraries’ strategy to enhance our collections, we committed substantial funding to a set of purchases of electronic research resources deemed to be important to researchers in the University.

I am therefore delighted to announce access to the following new eresources which are of interest to Oxford historians. They will be most relevant to early modern, modern and global historians. Usage of some of these resources will be reviewed in the course of the next 3 years to assess which will be permanently retained.

All databases can be found in SOLO and Databases A-Z. Oxford researchers should use SSO to gain remote access. Non-Oxford historians are welcome to register with Bodleian Libraries to gain access to these resources and many others.

New online newspaper and magazine resources: British & US

Screenshot of the landing page of Punch Historical Archive 1841-1992

Screenshot of the landing page.

The Independent Historical Archive 1986-2016: Ever since it was launched in 1986, The Independent has enjoyed a reputation for quality and innovation, something Andreas Whittam-Smith and his two co-founders, Stephen Glover and Matthew Symonds, made as a guiding principle when they conceived the idea of a new, upmarket British newspaper.

International Herald Tribune Historical Archive, 1888-2013: Sold in over 160 countries and read worldwide, the International Herald Tribune is one of the most innovative and original newspapers, famous for its objective and clear coverage. Bringing an international perspective, it provides a valuable counterpoint to the Anglo-American press, adding a new dimension to research. This resource features the complete run of the International Herald Tribune from its origins as the European Edition of The New York Herald and later the European Edition of the New York Herald Tribune. The archive ends with the last issue of the International Herald Tribune before its relaunch as the International New York Times.

The Jet Magazine Archive: Covers the civil rights movement, politics, education, and other social topics with an African American focus. It includes over 3,000 issues providing a broad view of news, culture, and entertainment from its first issue in 1951 through to 2014. Users can search across the articles using full-text search, or select specific issues, years or themes. Each article is indexed with relevant keywords. Researchers can also view images and advertisements within each issue. Current coverage covers in the 1980s decade, with additional issues being released over the next coming months.

The Listener Historical Archive, 1929-1991A weekly magazine which was established by the BBC in 1929 under its director-general, Lord Reith. It was developed as the medium for reproducing broadcast talks, initially on radio, but in later years television as well, and was the intellectual counterpart to the BBC listings magazine Radio Times. The Listener is one of the few records and means of accessing the content of many early broadcasts. In addition to commenting on the intellectual broadcasts of the week, the Listener also previewed major literary and musical shows and regularly reviewed new books.

Picture Post Historical Archive, 1938-1957: The Picture Post Historical Archive comprises the complete archive of the Picture Post from its first issue in 1938 to its last in 1957—all digitized from originals in full colour.

Picture Post’s innovative use of photo-journalism captured the imagination of the British people, with readership at its peak estimated at 80% of the population. In the era before television, it became the window on the world for ordinary people, bringing the major social and political issues of the day into popular consciousness.

Punch Historical Archive, 1841-1992: From 1841 to 1992, Punch was the world’s most celebrated magazine of wit and satire. From its early years as a campaigner for social justice to its transformation into national icon, Punch played a central role in the formation of British identity—and how the rest of the world saw the British nation.

We have also purchased access to additional years of newspaper content for the following:


New online newspaper resources: global

Screenshot of the landing page of Caribbean Newspapers 1718-1876

Screenshot of the landing page

Afghan Central Press Digital Archive: The Afghan Central Press collection brings together four national, Kabul-based publications of Afghanistan whose long runs and prominence provide a concentrated vantage point for understanding developments in Afghanistan for much of the twentieth century. The English-language Kabul Times is presented alongside Pushto publications Anīs (انیس, Companion), Hewād (هیواد, Homeland), and Iṣlāḥ (اصلاح, Reform). Together, the archives of these newspapers provide a chronicle of events from the fall of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, the establishment of the People’s Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, the Soviet invasion, the rise of the Mujahedeen, the establishment of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, invasion by the United States and the ensuing period of reconstruction from the view of the capital.

Al-Ahram Digital Archive (1875-2020): Founded in 1875, Al-Ahram (الأهرام‎) is one of the most prominent Arabic newspapers in the Middle East, with a legacy as Egypt’s most authoritative and influential national daily. Al-Ahram established itself as a high-quality journalistic venture during the mid-20th century reporting across the political, social, economic and cultural scope of the nation. After President Nasser nationalized the Egyptian press in 1960, readers generally considered the paper the de facto voice of the central government. Al-Ahram has long featured contributions from many of the Arab world’s most important literary figures and intellectuals: Naguib Mahfouz, Edward Said, Yusuf Idris, Taha Hussein, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, and Azmi Bishara among them, as well as nationalist leaders such as Mustafa Kamil and Saad Zaghlul. Influential forward-leaning contemporary writers such as Sabah Hamamou are also affiliated with the paper. The newspaper over its history successfully expanded to circulate content from around the world, printing international editions as well as Arabic-language editions of the daily. The Al-Ahram Digital Archive features full page-level digitization, with page-views and searchable text. It offers scholars Arabic and English interfaces, options to download or print pages in high resolution, and features to crowd-source improvements to the OCRed text.

Caribbean Newspapers, Series 1, 1718-1876: Created in cooperation with the American Antiquarian Society, this collection gives scholars access to more than 150 years of Caribbean and Atlantic history, cultures and daily life. Featuring more than 140 newspapers from 22 islands, it chronicles the region’s evolution across two centuries through eyewitness reporting, editorials, legislative information, letters, poetry, advertisements, obituaries and other news items. Most titles are in English but a number of Spanish, French, and Danish language titles are also provided. Also included are newspapers from the North Atlantic island of Bermuda.

Cumhuriyet Digital Archive (1924-2020): Established in May 1924, Cumhuriyet (“The Republic”) is the oldest secular Turkish daily newspaper and is widely considered one of the last remaining opposition newspapers in Turkey. Founded by journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu at the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Cumhuriyet was the first newspaper of the Turkish Republic and promoted a belief in democracy, secularism and the rule of law.

Since its foundation, Cumhuriyet has stood witness to the changing landscape of Turkey’s political, social and economic environment. Despite the challenges of these times, the institution of Cumhuriyet has sustained its coverage of domestic and international news, providing critical documentation of Turkey’s dynamic history and its relations with the global community. The newspaper has a daily circulation of over 30,000 and receives roughly 25 million visitors to its website each month. It is one of the most influential newspapers in Turkey and is regarded by domestic and foreign readers as a reliable source for impartial, intelligent news reporting.

Latin American Newspapers, Series 2 (1805-1922): This second series of digitised Latin American Newspapers significantly expands the number of searchable titles made available from this region in Series 1. It provides issues from more than 250 additional titles and contains newspapers published in English, Spanish and Portuguese from 20 countries, including some countries and cities not represented in the first series. Together, both series offer unprecedented coverage of the people, issues and events that shaped this vital area during the 19th and early 20th centuries. [Through eyewitness reporting, editorials, legislative information, letters, poetry, advertisements, matrimony notices and obituaries, this unique collection chronicles the evolution of Latin American culture and daily life across two centuries. In addition, these newspapers provide a wide range of viewpoints from diverse cultures.]

Kavkaz Digital Archive (DA-KVZ): ‘The newspaper Kavkaz (Кавказ, The Caucasus) was published during 1846-1918. It was the first Russian-language newspaper in the Caucasus, published in Tiflis (Tbilisi), Georgia. The main purpose of the newspaper was, on the one hand, to promote the Russian culture and Russian influence in the Caucasus, and on the other hand “to acquaint the Russian public with the life, habits and traditions of the tribes populating the province of the Caucasus.” Kavkaz published official documents of the Russian Empire, as well as many historical, cultural and archeological writings by prominent public and cultural figures of the local intelligentsia.’
Kavkaz Digital Archive is available on the Universal Database (UDB) platform and the Global Press Archive (GPA) platform; they provide a slightly different viewing experience but include the same content.

Middle Eastern and North African Newspapers Premium Collection (CRL-WIDE1): The MENA Premium collection package complements the freely available Middle Eastern and North African Newspapers Open Access collection. Comprising five prominent in-copyright newspapers from across the region, the MENA Premium collection spans the period of 1956-2019 and represents a collaboration between East View and the publishers of each title to make current, in-copyright material available to a global audience. MENA Premium Collection Titles include al-Akhbār (االخبار ,Lebanon, 2006-2019), al-Dustūr (الدستور ,Jordan, 1967-2000), al-Jumhūrīyah (الجمهورية ,Egypt, 1962-1986), al-Riyāḍ (الرياض ,Saudi Arabia, 1972-1996) and Filasṭīn (فلسطين , Israel/Palestine, 1956-1967).


Tip: To learn more about our newspaper eresources and how best to locate and find them, check out the Newspapers and other online news sources from the 17th – 21st centuries (LibGuide)


Modern British and US history

Screenshot of landing page of Archives of Sexuality and Gender I

Screenshot of landing page

Archives of Sexuality and Gender, part I: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940 This resource spans the sixteenth to twentieth centuries and is the largest digital collection of historical primary source publications relating to the history and study of sex, sexuality, and gender research and gender studies research. Documentation covering disciplines such as social, political, health, and legal issues impacting LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) communities around the world are included, as well as rare and unique books on sex and sexuality from the sciences to the humanities to support research and education. Oxford only has access to part I.

Chatham House Online Archive: Module 1: Publications and Archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1920-1979 contains the publications and archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the world-leading independent international affairs policy institute founded in 1920 following the Paris Peace Conference.The Institute’s analysis and research, as well as debates and speeches it has hosted, can be found in this online archive, subject-indexed and fully searchable.

Nineteenth Century Collections Online: British Politics and Society: The British Politics and Society archive of Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO) is packed with primary source documentation that enhances 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. The archive is composed of a number of individual collections, drawn together from a variety of sources.

Foreign Office Files for Japan: Module II: Occupation of Japan, 1946-1952: Published in three parts, this collection makes available extensive coverage of British Foreign Office files dealing with Japan between 1919 and 1952, shedding light on Anglo-Japanese ties in a time of shifting alliances. This second module covers the Occupation period (1946-1952). Following surrender at the end of the Second World War, Japan was occupied by Allied Powers for the first time in its history. The files for this period offer a British perspective on the creation of a democratic state in Japan and the enforcement of a new constitution. They include key British communications and reports covering topics such as war crime trials, reparations, and Japan’s economic recovery. They conclude in 1952, the year the Treaty of San Francisco normalised Anglo-Japanese relations and the first post-war British Ambassador to Japan, Esler Dening, was appointed. The majority of documents in this section are sourced from FO 371, with a smaller number from FO 262.

Topics covered include: disarmament, war crime trials, Japanese economy, trade and industry, occupational forces, liberation and the New Constitution, Japanese Post-War Political Parties, Peace Treaty and reestablishing diplomatic ties.


Global history

Screenshot of East India Company Catalogue of Original Correspondence, vol 1 1602-1613.

Screenshot of page 1, East India Company Catalogue of Original Correspondence, vol 1, 1602-1613, Adam Matthew Digital.

Cambridge Archive Editions Online: presents a wealth of historical reference materials in the form of many thousands of original documents of the National Archives (UK) represented in facsimile, including numerous maps, on the national heritage and political development of many countries. The value and discoverability of this content is enhanced immeasurably through CAE’s document-level citations and rich indexing. For many years CAE has specialized in the history of the Middle East, Russia and the Balkans, the Caucasus, Southeast Asia, and China and the Far East. Now, through collaboration between Cambridge University Press and East View, these materials are made searchable and accessible in e-book form.

Includes China Political Reports, 1911-1960 and China Political Reports, 1961-1970, which draw together the periodic political reports sent by British officials based in China back to the British Foreign Office.

Chatham House Online Archive: Module 1: Publications and Archives of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1920-1979 (see above)

Database of Chinese Classics 中國基本古籍庫 (Erudition): includes 10,000 titles in 12,500 editions from the pre-Qin period through to the Republican period. All texts are provided in full text and image format, allowing for a direct comparison both between digitized text and original text image, and in some cases between different editions of the text. The full-text and images from a variety of subject areas organized into four sections: Philosophy and Science, History and Geography, Art and Literature, and General Works.

Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library: Literature, Grammar, Language, Catalogues, and Periodicals: Early Arabic Printed Books from the British Library (1475-1900) is the first full-text searchable digital library of early printed books in Arabic script. It is presented in 3 modules with this module (number 3) including periodicals, folktales, pre-Islamic literature (Antar, Bani Hilal, Imru’l qays), Islamic poetry and prose (al-Burdah), poetry and prose (maqamat), Kalilah wa-dimnah, Luqman, proverbs and sayings, Thousand and one nights, later literature, poetry and prose, general literature, as well as language and lexicography, dictionaries, grammar, syntax, rhetoric, ‘ilm al-bayan, catalogues and manuscript catalogues amongst others.

East India Company Part IV which covers the correspondence of the early voyages and formation and conflictbetween 1600 and 1858. This module consists of 793 volumes, comprising original, draft and abstracted correspondence from IOR Class E plus their associated H- and Z-class indexes, and the Z-class indexes for the Madras and Bombay Presidencies.

It includes correspondence between the East India Company and the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India, the Company’s various settlements and Presidencies throughout Asia, government departments, and European houses of agency. The records offer a fascinating insight into the early voyages of the Company and its shifting interests from trade to the gaining of territorial power, and are interspersed with a number of petitions, reports (including quarterly ‘Narratives of Proceedings’ produced by regional administrations), financial accounts, inventories and other documents.

Oxford now has East India Company (Modules I-IV).

Foreign Office Files for Japan: Module II: Occupation of Japan, 1946-1952: (see above)

Grand Secretariat Archives: The archives of the Grand Secretariat currently housed at the Institute were originally kept at the Grand Secretariat Storehouse in the Ch’ing imperial palace. They were removed from the Storehouse when it underwent renovation in 1909. After the overthrow of the Ch’ing, these archives changed hands several times, and were, at one point, even sold to a paper recycling factory. Eventually, the Institute purchased them from Li Sheng-to, a book collector, in1929 thanks to the efforts of Fu Ssu-nien, the Institute’s first director.
There are over four thousand Ming (1368-1644) documents and more than three hundred thousand volumes of Ch’ing (1644-1911) archival materials in this collection, including imperial decrees, edicts, memorials, tribute document, examination questions, examination papers, rosters of successful examination candidates, documents from the offices of the Grand Secretariat, documents from the offices for book compilation, and old documents from Mukden. Memorials make up the bulk these documents.
The archives contain valuable source materials for institutional, social and economic historians. They record general administrative activities and legal cases, many of which cannot be found in Ch’ing legal compendia.
Related links:

Trial until 7 May: Afghan Serials Collection

Logo of EastViewThe Bodleian Libraries are running a trial of The Afghan Serials Collection: Partisan Publications from the Wahdat Library.

This resource is an essential collection of partisan serials from the most comprehensive private collection of rare newspapers and journals from Afghanistan. The Afghan Serials Collection includes over 45 newspapers and journals published in, largely, Persian, Pushto, and Arabic, but also some in Urdu and English from the early 1970s to the late 1990s—a critical period for the history of Afghanistan.

Screenshot of the list of newspaper included in this resource.

Documenting the breadth of Afghanistan’s political epochs, the Afghan Serials Collection: Partisan Publications from the Wahdat Library covers the use of the press by many groups that sought to shape Afghanistan’s social and intellectual landscape during this turbulent time. Various ideologies are represented in these publications, published by opposing factions from the Taliban to anti-Taliban groups, to anti-Soviet jihadi and mujaheddin groups to the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan.

Please send any feedback on the trial to Lydia Wright and Emma Mathieson.

The trial ends on 7 May 2022.

Trial until 16 Nov: ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Le Monde And Global Newsstream

We are trialling two Proquest products until 16th November 2021.

Global Newsstream contains full text articles from over 3,000 news sources, providing current coverage from many sources as well as archives extending back to the 1980s. Included in it are a number of key UK, US and international titles such as The Guardian, The New York Times, El Mundo and Le Monde (2011 up to the present). This is the second trial this year of this database.

The historical archive of Le Monde – one of the newspapers of record for France – is now available in full-page digital image format from Proquest. We trialled this earlier in the year but the archive was not yet complete. This is the complete archive 1944-2000. It is cross-searchable with Global Newsstream.

The trials are taking place in Weeks 2-5 from Monday 18th October until Tuesday 16th November. Any feedback to nick.hearn@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Trials: Le Monde; Al-Ahram Digital Archive (1875-2020); Global Newsstream

Oxford historians are invited to trial the following newspaper resources. You will need SSO for off-campus access.

Global Newsstream (trial until 19 May 2021)

Global Newsstream contains full text articles from over 3,000 news sources, providing current coverage from many sources as well as archives extending back to the 1980s. Included are a number of key UK, US and international titles such as the Guardian, The New York Times, El Mundo and Le Monde.

Global Newsstream’s coverage of Le Monde from 2011 to the present complements ProQuest’s historical archive of Le Monde from 1944 to 2000. As both databases are on the ProQuest platform the two databases are cross-searchable. The trial of Global Newsstream will run for the same time as the trial of Le Monde (Historical archive) until 19 May 2021.

Please note that as only 25% of the historical archive of Le Monde is available for the current trial; there will be another trial of both databases in September 2021 (when the Le Monde historical archive database will be complete).

Please send any feedback to nick.hearn@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Le Monde (trial until 19 May 2021)  

The historical archive of Le Monde – one of the newspapers of record for France – is now available in full-page digital image format from Proquest. The period covered is from the foundation of Le Monde in 1944 up to 2000. It should be noted that only 25% of the content of this database is currently available. It is cross-searchable with Global Newsstream (also a ProQuest product) which covers Le Monde from 2011 up to the present (and also includes a range of other key UK, US and other international newspapers).

The Bodleian Libraries trial will end on 19 May. Another trial of both databases will be held in September 2021 when the Le Monde historical archive will be complete.

Please send any feedback to nick.hearn@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Al-Ahram Digital Archive (1875-2020) (trial until 15 May)

Founded in 1875, Al-Ahram (الأهرام‎) is one of the most prominent Arabic newspapers in the Middle East, with a legacy as Egypt’s most authoritative and influential national daily. Al-Ahram established itself as a high-quality journalistic venture during the mid-20th century reporting across the political, social, economic and cultural scope of the nation. After President Nasser nationalized the Egyptian press in 1960, readers generally considered the paper the de facto voice of the central government. Al-Ahram has long featured contributions from many of the Arab world’s most important literary figures and intellectuals: Naguib Mahfouz, Edward Said, Yusuf Idris, Taha Hussein, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, and Azmi Bishara among them, as well as nationalist leaders such as Mustafa Kamil and Saad Zaghlul. Influential forward-leaning contemporary writers such as Sabah Hamamou are also affiliated with the paper. The newspaper over its history successfully expanded to circulate content from around the world, printing international editions as well as Arabic-language editions of the daily. The Al-Ahram Digital Archive features full page-level digitization, with page-views and searchable text. It offers scholars Arabic and English interfaces, options to download or print pages in high resolution, and features to crowd-source improvements to the OCRed text.

Please send feedback to lydia.wright@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

New eresources: historical newspapers, Middle East, historical exploration, slavery

The Bodleian Libraries have committed substantial external funding to a one-off set of purchases of electronic research resources deemed to be important to researchers in the University.

We are therefore delighted to announce access to five major eresources which will be of interest to historians, as well as others researchers in Humanities, and researchers interested in politics, international relations, Middle Eastern studies, British Empire and de-colonisation, history of exploration, historical geography and climate change.

Use SSO for remote access.

Sunday Times Historical Archive, 1822-2016

Despite the similarity of names, The Sunday Times was an entirely separate paper from The Times until 1st January 1967, when both papers came under the common ownership of Times Newspapers Ltd. To this day, The Sunday Times remains editorially independent from The Times with its own remit and perspective on the news.

British Library Newspapers, Part V (1732-1950)

Providing access to more regional and local British newspapers, Part V completes the BL Newspapers collection (library edition). Please note that there are some newspapers in the British Newspaper Archive (public edition) which were never included in the library edition.

With a concentration of titles from the northern part of the United Kingdom, Part V deepens the database’s northern regional content, doubling coverage in Scotland, tripling coverage in the Midlands, and adding a significant number of northern titles to the British Library Newspapers series. Part V includes newspapers from the Scottish localities of Fife, Elgin, Inverness, Paisley, and John O’Groats, as well as towns just below the border, such as Morpeth, Alnwick, and more. Researchers will also benefit from access to important titles such as the Coventry Herald, which features some of the earliest published writing of Mary Ann Evans (better known as George Eliot).

Middle East Online: Arab-Israeli Relations, 1917-1970

This resource offers the widest range of original source material from the British Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office and Cabinet Papers from the 1917 Balfour Declaration through to the Black September war of 1970-1. Here major policy statements are set out in their fullest context, the minor documents and marginalia revealing the workings of colonial administration and, following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, British diplomacy towards Israel and the Arab states.

Royal Geographical Society – Wiley Digital Archives – (1478-1953, History of Geography, Colonization and Climate Science in the British Empire)

The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) covers history of geography
exploration, colonization and de-colonization, anthropology, law, climate science, gender studies, cartography, and environmental history throughout the British Empire from ~1478 to 1953. The archive contains manuscripts, correspondence, reports, conference papers, proceedings, maps, charts, atlases, photographs, surveys, data and ephemera, all presented as fully searchable digital images that can be analyzed, downloaded, manipulated, and compared with content from other societies and universities in the Wiley Digital Archives program.

Slavery, abolition and social justice

Covering the period 1490 to 2007, this resource brings together primary source documents from archives and libraries across the Atlantic world. It allows students and researchers to explore and compare unique material relating to the complex subjects of slavery, abolition and social justice.

In addition to the primary source documents there is a wealth of useful secondary sources for research and teaching; including an interactive map, scholarly essays, tutorials, a visual sources gallery, chronology and bibliography.

Temporary access: East View ebooks / Late Qing and Republican Era Chinese Periodicals and Newspapers database

Colleagues in other Bodleian Libraries have been busy setting up trials or temporary access to resources which will be of interest to historians working on modern Slavonic, Jewish history and Chinese history. As ever Oxford scholars need to use their SSO to gain remote access.

East View e-book collection (trial until 31 May 2020)

This resource gives you access to the East View Essential Classics Collection, the Dostoevsky Research series: Dostoevskii materialy i issledovaniia as well as East View’s Slavonic and Judaica collection. In addition it offers, reference works including encyclopedias and atlases as well as e-books from a wide range of different subject areas including linguistics, philosophy science, social science, history, business, economics.

It also includes biographical works. Some of the e-books in the collection are in Russian and others are in English.

Please send feedback to Nick Hearn.

Late Qing and Republican Era Chinese Periodicals and Newspapers database (until 28 July 2020)

The database offers full-text access to Chinese periodical publications (academic, popular, literary, professional) from 1832-1949 covering a whole range of subjects including politics, history, law, language and literature, humanities and social sciences.

In addition to Chinese periodicals, the database offers access to archives of several major newspaper titles published in English in China before 1949, including North China Herald and the China Press, among many others.

Please send feedback to Mamtimyn Sunuodula.

Full access to Gale Primary Sources until 1 Sept 2020

AMAZING NEWS! To support students and researchers during the COVID-19 crisis, Gale / Cengage very generously giving full access to a vast range of source databases and newspapers.

They are all relevant for early modern and modern historians and cover a wide range of topics.

The resources can be accessed and cross-searched in Gale Primary Sources (except State Papers Online), but can also be searched in their own native interface. You will need your SSO access these off-campus. They are of course in addition to the ones we already provide access to (see Databases A-Z).

These same titles (excluding State Papers) will be accessible through the Gale Digital Scholar Lab for digital humanities research.

Please note that access to the resources below will cease on 1 September 2020.

  1. Archives of Sexuality and Gender (ASG)
    1. LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, part I
    2. LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, part II
    3. Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century
    4. International Perspectives on LGBTQ Activism & Culture
  2. China and the Modern World
    1. part I: Missionary, Sinology and Literary Periodicals
    2. part II: Records of the Maritime Customs Service of China 1854–1949
    3. part III: Diplomacy and Political Secrets 1869-1950
    4. part IV: Hong Kong, Britain and China 1841-1951
  3. American Amateur Newspapers from the American Antiquarian Society
  4. American Historical Periodicals
  5. British Library Newspapers, part V: 1746-1950 (Oxford has Parts I-iV)
  6. The Independent Historical Archive 1986-2016
  7. International Herald Tribune Historical Archive, 1888-2013
  8. Liberty Magazine
  9. Mirror Historical Archive, 1903-2000
  10. Picture Post Historical Archive, 1938-1957
  11. Punch Historical Archive, 1841-1992
  12. Sunday Times Historical Archive, 1822-2016
  13. Making of Modern Law (MOML)
    1. Supreme Court Records and Briefs
    2. Trials 1600 – 1926
    3. Primary Sources
    4. Foreign Primary Sources
    5. Foreign, Comparative, and International Law, 1600-1926
    6. American Civil Liberties Union Papers
    7. Landmark Records and Briefs of the US Appeals Courts
  14. Making of the Modern World (MOMW)
    1. Oxford has part I: 1450-1850
    2. part II: 1851–1914
    3. part III: 1890-1945
    4. part IV: 1800-1890
  15. Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO)
    1. Asia and the West
    2. British Politics & Society
    3. Children’s Literature and Childhood
    4. Europe and Africa, Colonialism and Culture
    5. European Literature, the Corvey Collection, 1790-1840
    6. Maps and Travel Literature
    7. Photography
    8. Religion, Reform and Society
    9. Science, Technology and Medicine, part I
    10. Science, Technology and Medicine, part II
  16. Refugees, Relief and Resettlement: Forced Migration and WWII
  17. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926
  18. State Papers Online: Eighteenth Century (Oxford has Tudors & Stuarts)
    1. part I
    2. part II
    3. part III
    4. part IV
  19. State Papers Online: Stuart and Cumberland Papers
  20. Women’s Studies Archive

If you need any help in using these resources, just get in touch with library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

It would be helpful to get feedback, which of these resources are most useful. Email isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Thank you, Gale/Cengage, for helping in this very difficult time.

Trial until 25 March: British Library Newspapers, Part V (1746-1950)

We are currently running a trial until 25 March for British Library Newspapers, Part V (1746-1950). The Bodleian Libraries already have access to British Library Newspapers, Parts I-IV. (1732-1950).

Part V gives access to 36 regional newspapers from England and Scotland. They include, for instance:

  • Burnley Express 1877-1904
  • Cambridge Chronicle and Journal 1813-1871
  • Cheltenham Looker-On 1836-1920
  • Coventry Herald 1824-1911
  • The Elgin Courant, and Morayshire Advertiser 1839-1862
  • Fife Herald 1833-1885
  • The Gloucester Journal 1837-1950
  • The Hampshire Chronicle 1772-1830
  • The Hereford Times 1832-1899
  • Inverness Courier 1817-1892
  • Leicester Journal 1810-1881
  • The Lichfield Mercury 1883-1950
  • Manchester Mercury 1752-1830
  • Sherborne Mercury 1789-1867
  • Shields Daily Gazette 1855-1904
  • The Southern Reporter [Selkirk] 1863-1925
  • Sussex Advertiser 1746-1878
  • Western Daily Press [Bristol] 1858-1949
  • The Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald 1867-1904
  • Worcestershire Chronicle 1838-1903

Content in British Library Newspapers Part I-V is also available in British Newspaper Archive. You can search for free, but need a personal subscription to read the content.

Researchers are now invited to provide feedback by emailing isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

While you are here…