Sessions on digital images and open access plus Thesis Fair this week

Posted on 6 May 2013 by iholowaty

Workshops

There are two WISER sessions coming up in weeks 3 and 4 this term:

Digital images: ARTstor, Bridgeman Education and VADS for teaching and learning (Tue 07 May 14:00-16:00) (wk 3)

The course examines two major digital image collections subscribed to by the University – ARTstor and Bridgeman Education – and a third resource, free for educational use, VADS. All of these are geared to research and teaching in the humanities, history of science and medicine, and social sciences. Viewing, presenting and managing images are also covered.
Presenters: Clare Hills Nova and Vicky Brown > Book Now

WISER: Open Access Oxford – what’s happening? (Thu 16 May 11.00-12.00) (wk 4)

A briefing on open access for research publications and Oxford’s position: Green vs. Gold; funder mandates and publisher policies; Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; new OA website/ helpline.

Presenters: Craig Finlay and Andy Kernot > 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.

Not a member of Oxford University?
If you are not a current member of Oxford University but would like to attend a workshop please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Please quote your Bodleian readers card barcode number.

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

Thesis Fair for 2nd year historians

Thursday 9 May 2.30-4.30pm
North Writing Schools, Exam Schools, High Street, Oxford

The Thesis Fair is running on Thursday afternoon and is an opportunity to talk to expert librarians, archivists and other subject specialists about how to find resources for your subject. Whether you’re still picking your topic or have already started researching, advice is available on resources, skills training, reference management and tips on how to manage your thesis from a fellow student. This is a drop in session throughout the afternoon, 2.30-4.30pm and no booking is necessary.

Oxford Bibliographies Online: Military History – now available

Posted on 3 May 2013 by iholowaty

Looking for secondary critical publications?

Back in October 2011 I announced that Oxford users had access to three Oxford Bibliographies Online modules relevant for history: Medieval Studies, Atlantic History and Renaissance and Reformation.

I am pleased to report that Oxford Bibliographies OnLine (Military History) is also available.

The study of military history has evolved into a multidisciplinary effort to go beyond the history of military operations to consider broader political, cultural, and social questions. It spans across several disciplines and genres, including sociology and political science, biography, war and battle narratives, the history of technology, foreign affairs and international relations, and various national histories. From ancient military history to contemporary studies of international conflict, a great deal of this work has moved online with the most recent scholarship, research, and statistics appearing in online databases and often only discoverable through online search tools.

Looking for more online bibliographies

There are many more online bibliographies available in Oxford. Key ones are:

Other modules in the Oxford Bibliographies Online series are:

OBO Medieval Studies: “The field of Medieval Studies explores European and Mediterranean civilization from the 4th to the 15th centuries. This period, which has a critical importance for the understanding of Western culture, can best be approached through a combination of several disciplines from history to English literature. “

OBO Reformation and Renaissance: “The period of the Renaissance and Reformation, which spans roughly from the 14th through 17th centuries, is rich in history and culture. The field of Renaissance and Reformation studies, which has a critical importance for the understanding of Western culture, can best be approached through a combination of several disciplines including history, the arts, and literature.”

OBO Atlantic History: “The study of Atlantic History examines the transnational interconnections between Europe, North America, South America, and Africa, particularly in the early modern and colonial period. Through this lens, a wide range of national perspectives must be considered. Thus, there are consistently new discoveries, new interpretations, and new theoretical ideas to take into account.”

HFL Delicious lists also many free and specialists online bibliographies.

Electronic resources available in the British Library

Posted on 3 May 2013 by iholowaty

Using the BL #3

Although Oxford’s e-resources collections are very good and have expanded recently, there are still many databases which are not held in Oxford. This is usually for reasons of cost. The good news is that the British Library provides access to many of those to its readers in its reading rooms.

The following history eresources are available in the BL but not in Oxford. See the BL’s Electronic resources in our reading rooms for detailed descriptions. Additionally a small selection of databases can be accessed remotely if you are a registered reader (also marked with * below).

General

Ancestry.com (Library edition)
Book Review Digest Retrospective: 1908-1982
Index Translationum

British & Irish sources

BBC handbooks, annual reports and accounts, 1927-2001/2
BBC Listener Research Department, 1937-c.1950
British Politics & Society (part of Nineteenth Century Collections Online)
British Theatre, Music and Literature: High and Popular Culture (part of Nineteenth Century Collections Online)
British Records on the Atlantic World, 1700- 1900
Chamberlain Papers
Chatham House Online Archive, 1920-2008
Communist Party of Great Britain archives (British Online Archives)
Industrial Revolution (British Online Archives)
Prize Papers Online
Secret Files from World Wars to Cold War
State Papers Online 18th Century, 1714-1782
War diaries from the Imperial War Museum: The Great War (British Online Archives)

Newspapers & magazines

Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive 1880-2000
Le Monde, 1944-2000
The Tablet: the international Catholic news weekly 1840 to date

European sources

Akten des Kaiserlichen Reichshofrats 1486 to 1766
Archivum Secretum Vaticanum, Registra Vaticana
Registra Vaticana
L’Affaire Dreyfus et la Création de la France modern
Journaux de la Revolution de 1848 (Newspapers of the French Revolution 1848)
La France pendant la guerre 1939-1945: Resistance et journaux de Vichy (Voices from Wartime France 1939-1945: Clandestine Resistance and Vichy)
National Socialism, Holocaust, Resistance and Exile 1933-1945
Prize Papers Online

US sources

American Civil War: Letters and Diaries *
American Consumer Culture: market research & American business 1935-1965
Black Freedom Struggle in the 20th Century: Organizational Records and Personal Papers, Parts 1 & 2
Early American Newspapers, Series I
US Congressional Hearings Digital Collection, 1824-1979

Global sources

Global Commodities: Trade, Exploration and Cultural Exchange
Colonial and Missionary Records (British Online Archives)

World Newspaper Archive: African Newspapers, 1800-1922 *
Apartheid South Africa 1948-80

Middle East Manuscripts Online 1: Pioneer Orientalists

Asia: Official British Documents 1945-65
Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange (part of Nineteenth Century Collections Online)
The Indian papers of Colonel Clive and Brigadier-General Carnac, 1752-1774
Records of the Raj
Southeast Asia in the Ming Reign Chronicles (14th-17th Centuries)
China: Trade, Politics and Culture, 1793-1980

Mass Culture and Entertainment in Russia
Mass Media in Russia, 1908-1918
The Current Digest of the Russian Press Digital Archive 1949 to the present

What next?

Before using these eresources in the British Library, you will need to be a registered user of the BL. Get started with Using the BL #1.

If you need guidance on using the collections, check out Using the BL #2 for details of guides, training and enquiry services.

Quick links

History eresources and desiderata: Find out more about electronic resources for History being considered for purchase, details of current trials and give feedback.

If a database or ejournal is not yet on the History Desiderata, you can Recommend an e-resource.

Expert support and training in the British Library

Posted on 2 May 2013 by iholowaty

Using the BL #2

This latest blog in the Using the BL series looks at the support and training that is available to students. You will need to be a registered reader (see Using the BL #1) if you want to benefit from the support though many enquiries can be made in advance and remotely.

So, if you have an enquiry, contact the BL’s Reference team. They can help you with bibliographical enquiries, advise you which collections are best to use and how, and provide a range of workshops and introductory sessions to help you make best of the library. You can also search their Knowledge Base for answers to questions asked by readers in the past.

The British Library runs Training programme 2013 which are free workshops covering “Finding Early Western Printed Books in the British Library”, “Information Skills-Navigating research in the British Library”, “Making the most of the Humanities Reading Room” and Wikipedia workshops. You will need to book a place.

Usually in winter, Doctoral Open Days “offer specially tailored workshops and networking opportunities, focusing on your research subject, to help you get the most out of our resources and facilities.” Details of dates will be emailed to the History Faculty graduate training mailing list. They are very popular and early booking is strong advised. The next ones are not until late autumn.

Lost looking for sources in the BL maze? A good starting point are the guides. Search by subject, time-period, geographic location, language or resource type. The video “Exploring the collections: the researcher” is an informative introduction what is around – as well as being artistic, creative and a 2 minute joy to watch.

How to register and use the British Library: introductory videos

Posted on 30 April 2013 by iholowaty

Using the BL #1

Starting work on your thesis?

The time comes when a historian will simply have to make a trip to the British Library. This may be because you need to consult a book which nobody else in the UK has or because you want to make use of their extensive archival collections, which span all periods and formats (manuscripts, rare books, philatelic collections, maps, sound). Whatever your reason, it’s a fabulous experience in an amazing building with exquisite collections – so this blog is to encourage you to make the next step.

Starting out

You may be daunted by the thought of using the British Library. In the beginning, true, you will have go through the trouble of registering. You will need proof of id and address, proof of your status at Oxford University, have a list of the books or archives you want to consult and finally a supporting statement from your supervisor. My advice is to get that precious letter from your supervisor before he/she runs off to exotic but sadly internet-free places!

Easy introduction to using the BL

Check out this lovely British Library video series to learn about how to register and how to use the library. I hope you are re-assured that it is worth the effort:

Quick links:

Finding the BL (map)
Plan your visit
Expert support and training in the British Library (Using the BL #2)
Finding books: search their catalogue Explore the BL (which looks a bit like SOLO!) before you even go there.
Finding newspapers: limit your search in Explore the BL to Newspaper Library. You can also search by locations (e.g. city or country) to find newspapers associated with it.
Finding archives: Use their special archives catalogue
Finding eResources: the BL has extensive eresources collections, many of which are not held in Oxford. The forthcoming blog post “Using the BL #3” will list those of particular use to historians.

Courses coming up this week and next week

Posted on 23 April 2013 by iholowaty

original image Simon Bentley

There are lots of courses coming up this term to help historians get the best out of the resources available at Oxford.

Week 1 (this week)

Social Media for Historians: effective online communication & career development (Wed 24 April 14.00-15.30) (wk 1)
This 1.5 hr course will demonstrate the range of social media tools which are increasingly used by individual historians, learned societies, libraries, to communicate and share information and research. The key tools which will be shown are: blogs, Twitter, academia.edu, Flickr, Delicious. They are also increasingly used to maintain an online profile and for networking. The session will show examples of other historians, allow for group discussion and practical play time. > Book now
Course leader: Isabel Holowaty
Venue: IT Room, History Faculty

Week 2 (next week)

During week 2 Bodleian Libraries will be running workshops on RefWorks and on finding a range of scholarly materials including journal articles, conference papers, theses and dissertations and library materials on SOLO.

WISER: Finding stuff – Journal Articles (Monday 29 Apr 9.45-11.15) – an introduction to finding journal articles to support your research and learning. We will focus on searching for articles by subject and keyword and will cover sophisticated bibliographic databases and journal indexes as well as more basic search engines such as the SOLO ‘Journal Articles’ services. The session will include time for you to practice using a scholarly database in your subject area. This session is designed for Oxford postgraduates and researchers but is open to all members of Bodleian Libraries. Please book your place at http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/TZW3

WISER: Finding Stuff – Conferences (Monday 29 Apr 11.15-12.15) – ever had difficulty tracking down a conference paper? This session introduces the secret art of tracking down conference proceedings and papers. In addition we will introduce tools for keeping up to date with up and coming conferences in your research area. This session is designed for Oxford postgraduates and researchers but is open to all members of Bodleian Libraries. Please book your place at http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/TZW5

RefWorks for Sciences and Social Sciences (Wednesday 1 May 2.00-5.30) introduces the main features of RefWorks including:adding references to RefWorks from a range of databases and online resources, inserting references into Word documents, formatting (and reformatting) references using citation styles and creating bibliographies. The sessions include plenty of opportunities for participants to use RefWorks. This session is designed for all members of Oxford University with an interest in reference management. Please book your place at http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/TDBL

WISER: Finding stuff – books etc on SOLO (Friday 3 May 9.30-10.30) – introduces SOLO for searching Oxford Libraries and effective ways of using SOLO to find books, journal titles and other library materials in print and online. The workshop will also cover placing “hold requests” for materials in the bookstacks, how to use your SOLO “MyAccount” for book renewals and other administration and using the SOLO e-shelf and alerts. We will also talk about the new Electronic Legal Deposit service. This session is designed for all Oxford Libraries readers. Please book your place online at http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/TZWA

WISER: Finding Stuff – Theses and Dissertations (Friday 3 May 10.45 – 12.15) – An introduction to finding theses in Oxford and from Universities around the World. The session will cover SOLO for theses, EThOS and Proquest’s Dissertations and Theses. This session is designed for Oxford postgraduates and researchers but is open to all members of Bodleian Libraries. Please book your place at http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/TZW4

New Online Guides

LibGuides – Bodleian Libraries have published new guides on “South Asian Studies” (http://ox.libguides.com/southasia) and “Creative Writing for Continuing Education (http://ox.libguides.com/conted-creative-writing)

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

New content and new look: Medieval Sources Online

Posted on 22 April 2013 by iholowaty

Medieval Sources Online, produced by Manchester University Press, has had a make-over.

A newer and fresher platform offers RSS feeds and regular new content updates.

Even more exciting – and just in time for second-year UGs looking for thesis topics – Medieval Sources Online also has more content. Oxford users can now find 24 ebooks printing medieval primary sources in authoritative translations.

The latest additions are:

The world of El Cid: chronicles of the Spanish reconquest
Ottonian Germany: The chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg
The lives of Thomas Becket
The English manor c.1200-c.1500
Popular protest in late-medieval Europe: Italy, France and Flanders
Joan of Arc: La pucelle
Saints and cities in medieval Italy
Eleventh-century Germany: The Swabian Chronicles
History and politics in late Carolingian and Ottonian Europe: The Chronicle of Regino of Prüm and Adalbert of Magdeburg
Crime, law and society in the later Middle Ages
Monasticism in late-medieval England, c.1300-1535
Friars’ tales: Sermon Exempla from the British Isles
The Papal reform of the eleventh century: Lives of Pope Leo IX and Pope Gregory VII

Access is via SOLO and OxLIP+.

Other medieval sources online at Oxford:

Archive of Celtic-Latin Literature

British History Online

Corpus de Littérature Médiévale des origines a la fin du 15e siècle

Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online (MEMSO)

Medieval Family Life

Medieval Travel Writing

Parliament Rolls of Mediaeval England, 1275-1504 (SDE)

8th Week Deadlines for 3rd Year History Undergraduations

Posted on 4 March 2013 by iholowaty

There are some key deadlines for 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate historians coming up at the end of this term.

Further Subject 32: Britain at the Movies: Film and National Identity Since 1914

Deadline for submitting essay
12.00 midday on Friday of 8^th week of Hilary Term

Method of submitting essay
Two copies to be handed in at Examination Schools, in a sealed envelope bearing only the candidate’s exam number, and addressed to the Chairman of Examiners, Honour School of Modern History. Copies should show on front cover the title, the candidate’s number (but NOT their name or college) and the word-count. Thesis must be accompanied by a certificate (available from the History Faculty Office) signed by the candidate and their College history tutor, declaring that the essay is the candidate’s own work etc. See Handbook for presentation guidelines (also available online via the WebLearn).

Compulsory thesis

Deadline for submitting thesis
12.00 midday on Friday of 8^th week of Hilary Term

Method of submitting thesis
Two copies to be handed in at Examination Schools, in a sealed envelope bearing only the candidate’s exam number, and addressed to the Chairman of Examiners, Honour School of Modern History. Copies should show on front cover the title, the candidate’s number (but NOT their name or college) and the word-count. Thesis must be accompanied by a certificate (available from the History Faculty Office) signed by the candidate declaring that the essay is the candidate’s own work etc. See Handbook for presentation guidelines (also available online via the WebLearn).

History and English Bridge essays

Deadline for submitting essay
12.00 midday on Friday of 8^th week, Hilary Term of final year

Method of submitting essay
Two copies to be handed in at Examination Schools, in a sealed envelope bearing only the candidate’s exam number, and addressed to the Chairman of Examiners, Joint School of Modern History and English Language and Literature. Copies should show on front cover the title, the candidate’s number (but NOT their name or college) and the word-count. Bridge Essay must be accompanied by a certificate (available from the History Faculty Office signed by the candidate, declaring that the essay is the candidate’s own work etc. See Handbook for presentation guidelines (also available online via WebLearn).

Attention all 3rd Years: submit your thesis titles by Friday of 6th week

Posted on 23 October 2012 by iholowaty

A message from the Faculty to all 3rd year undergraduate historians:

Your thesis titles must be submitted to the Undergraduate Office by Friday of 6th week.

You can find the form on the Faculty’s WebLearn page for Thesis.

Remember to get it signed by your tutor!

Get ready for your thesis – sessions for 2nd yr undergrads

Posted on 5 June 2012 by iholowaty

We have two sessions coming up this week and next week for second year history undergraduates.

Information Skills Minimum Kit for Undergraduates
Wednesday 6 June 14:00-16:00 (week 7)
Repeated Wednesday 13 June 14:00-16:00 (week 8)

This 2-hour session is designed to equip students working on their dissertation with key information skills in order to make best use of electronic information and discovery resources. A range of databases, e-journals and web portals will be explored as well as advanced features in SOLO and tools for literature searches. Hands-on practise will be offered. Book online

RefWorks for your dissertation
Friday 8 June 10:00-11:30 (week 7)
Repeated Friday 15 June 14:00-15:30 (week 8)

Made using Wordle

RefWorks is an online tool that makes it easy for students to keep track of their references and format them for inclusion in their work. This session for 2nd year History Undergraduates will give a basic introduction on how to use RefWorks for your dissertation and will highlight some of its key features. Book online

Related Links: Book online | HFL training webpages

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