NEW eresource: San Francisco Chronicle, 1865-1984

We’re delighted to announce that Oxford users now have access to the digitised archive of the San Francisco Chronicle from 1865-1984 via Readex’s America’s Historical Newspapers platform. Access is now available via SOLO or OxLIP+ (remote access for University members via single sign-on).

Though it was Northern California’s “newspaper of record,” the San Francisco Chronicle’s influence was so far-reaching that it was known as the Voice of the West. With colorful reporting and commentary on news ranging from the aftermath of the Gold Rush to the effects of World War II to the counterculture boom of the 1960s, the Chronicle offers an unparalleled glimpse into the issues and events that shaped the West Coast for over a century.

Founded by two teenage brothers with a $20 gold piece borrowed from their landlord, the San Francisco Chronicle soon boasted the largest circulation of any West Coast newspaper. In its early years, the paper relied on a mixture of advertisements, anecdotes and satire by the likes of Mark Twain to capture life in the wlid boomtown of San Francisco. As the first transcontinental railroad came to town and capitalism and corruption boomed in equal parts, the Chronicle made it a mission to expose crooked politicians and support honest ones. This practice resulted in a shootout in the paper’s office that killed one of the founding brothers. The Chronicle dutifully reported the news.

By the turn of the century, the San Francisco Chronicle was so successful it was able to provide firsthand reports from the Klondike Gold Rush, sponsor free concerts in the streets and send reporters to cover sporting events as far away as Reno. When the 1906 earthquake devastated the city, the Chronicle kept publishing. Its coverage of the stock market crash, the Great Depression and labor strikes won the paper its first Pulitzer. Later in the 20th century, the paper became known for colorful columnists like Herb Caen and the original “Dear Abby,” as well as its astute observations of the counterculture movement, gay rights and the onset of the AIDS crisis.

You can browse the newspaper by date, or search the full text from the initial screen. Individual issues may be read page-by-page and can also be downloaded as PDFs.

Take a look at our LibGuide for information on other US newspaper archives available in Oxford and online.

NEW eresource: American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection (1684-1912)

We’re delighted to announce that Oxford users now have access to all five parts of the American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection from EBSCO.

The collection provides digital access to the full text of thousands of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912, digitised from the collections of the American Antiquarian Society. Titles cover a broad range of subjects and interests related to every aspect of American life and culture, from politics to religion, science, law, literature and the arts.
>>More information on the AAS periodicals collection

Access is available via OxLIP+ – use single sign-on for remote access.

Vacation hours begin Monday 12th March

From Monday 12th March the library will revert to vacation hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-7pm, closed weekends.

Term hours will begin again on Monday 16th April, with the first weekend opening on 21st-22nd April.

The library will be closed for Easter from Friday 30th March to Monday 2nd April.

iSkills coming up: Getting started, RefWorks, Google for academic research

iSkills logoIn Week 7 we are running the following FREE workshops. Please follow the links below to book your place:

Bodleian iSkills: Getting started in Oxford Libraries (Mon 26 Feb 14.00-17.00)
An introduction to Oxford Libraries including guidance on which libraries to use; accessing e-journals and other online resources; SOLO and other finding aids and making the most of Library services.
Who is this session for? Anyone who would like an introduction to Oxford Libraries.

Referencing: RefWorks for Humanities (Tue 27 Feb 14.00-17.00)
RefWorks is an online tool which allows you to manage your citations/references, insert them into your work as footnotes or intext citations, 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.

Bodleian iSkills: Google for academic research (Thu 1 Mar 10.00-12.00)
Google is often dismissed as being irrelevant to the academic literature search. However, changes to the nature of the dissemination of scholarly research and official information in recent years mean that a wealth of relevant information can be accessed via standard Internet search engines such as Google. Too often however such information is lost amongst thousands of irrelevant, spurious and misleading results.  Based on an understanding of how the Google search engine works this practical workshop will show you the basic techniques to quickly filter your results for high quality academic material.  A couple of other search engines will be considered briefly, including DuckDuckGo which has become a popular alternative to Google in the light of concerns about the privacy costs of a ‘free’ search within search engines such as Google or Bing.
Who is this session for? All DPhils and Research Students in the Social Sciences

In addition we still have spaces left on the following courses this week:

Bodleian iSkills: Open Access Oxford – what’s happening? (Tue 20 Feb 11.00-12.00)
A briefing on open access publishing and Oxford’s position including guidance on how to comply with the Open Access requirements for the REF and mandates from key funding bodies whilst respecting your publisher’s rights and policies.
Who is this session for? Current Oxford researchers and academics, research support staff and librarians

Referencing: Mendeley (Tue 20 Feb 14.00-17.00)
Mendeley is a reference management tool that helps you build libraries of references and then add citations and bibliographies to word processed documents. This session gives an overview of Mendeley and is run in two parts. Part 1 covers the basics of using Mendeley for reference management and part 2 covers more advanced functionality.  To attend the basic and/or more advanced part of the class please book by following the link above.  Once you have booked a place you will be advised re the content and coverage of each part and what to do if you only want to attend part 1 or part 2.
Who is this session for?  Students, researchers and university staff

Bodleian iSkills: Research impact – citation analysis tools (Wed 21 Feb 14.00-15.30)

During this introduction to citation tracking and bibliometrics we will use a range of ‘impact factor’ tools to find top journals and conferences, count citations and measure the impact of publications and researchers.
Who is this session for?  Researchers, Academics, Research Support Staff and Research Postgraduates in Sciences and Social Sciences.

Referencing: Zotero (Thu 22 Feb 14.00-17.00) Week 6
Zotero is a reference management tool that helps you build libraries of references and add citations and bibliographies to word processed documents using your chosen citation style. This introductory session covers the main features of Zotero.
Who is this session for?  Students, researchers and staff needing to manage references and create bibliographies

Join our weekend invigilator team!

We’re looking for two new invigilators to join a team of four, providing cover on a rota basis for our Weekend Library Assistant’s lunch break (30 minutes).

Your role will include staffing the enquiry desk and responding to reader enquiries. You will have the ability to communicate effectively and courteously with readers and visitors, and have basic IT skills to learn our library system and troubleshoot basic problems with our PCs and equipment. Sufficient training will be provided. Familiarity with the library and collections and familiarity with SOLO and other Oxford library resources is desirable.

These roles will involve lone working in the library, and may also involve helping with fire evacuation or reporting to emergencies.

These are one academic year fixed-term, variable hours posts, and anticipated to be 4-5 Saturdays or Sundays per term.

You will be required to upload a supporting statement as part of your online application. Your supporting statement should list each of the essential and desirable selection criteria, as listed in the further particulars, and explain how you meet each one. CVs will not form part of the selection process.

Only applications received online before 12.00 midday (GMT) on Monday 26 February 2018 can be considered. Interviews are expected to take place on Friday 9 March 2018.

For more details, a copy of the job description and to apply online, please see: https://www.recruit.ox.ac.uk/pls/hrisliverecruit/erq_jobspec_version_4.jobspec?p_id=133358

Trial until 8th February: American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection

We now have trial access to the full American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection until Friday 8th February.

The collection provides digital access to the full text of thousands of American periodicals published between 1684 and 1912, digitised from the collections of the American Antiquarian Society. Titles cover a broad range of subjects and interests related to every aspect of American life and culture, from politics to religion, science, law, literature and the arts.
>>More information on the AAS periodicals collection

Access is available via OxLIP+ – use single sign-on for remote access.

Please send comments and feedback to jane.rawson@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Trials now available: Women’s History eresources (until 10 February)

By Unknown – http://www.hastingspress.co.uk/history/sufpix.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15154048

The History Faculty Library is currently running trials of three women’s history collections, two of which contain material relating to the United States. Access is available via OxLIP+ until 10 February.

 

Nineteenth Century Collections Online: Women: Transnational Networks (until 10 Feb 2018)

Concentrates on issues at the intersection of gender and class — from the late eighteenth century to the era of suffrage in the early twentieth century — through a transnational perspective. This collection deepens the already-comprehensive coverage of European movements included in Nineteenth Century Collections Online by adding sources from the United States and other regions. The focus of this collection is on major nineteenth-century trends, topics, and events as they relate to gender, including social reform, high and low culture, transnational networks, immigration, daily life, religion, and more. > More.
A list of titles in this resource is available.

Women’s Studies Archive: Issues and Identities (until 10 Feb 2018)

Traces the path of women’s issues from past to present, pulling primary sources from manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals. It captures the foundation of women’s movements, struggles and triumphs, focus on the social, political, and professional achievements of women throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century. Topics covered: History of Feminist Theory and Activism; domestic culture; lay and ordained church women; women in industry; women’s sexuality and gender expression; women’s education; women’s movement; women’s health and mental health; women and law; women and the control of their bodies; and women’s roles and interactions within society. > More.
A list of titles in this resource is available.

The third resource is Archives Direct: Women in the National Archives (until 1 Feb 2018) – more information is available on the HFL blog.

Please send any feedback on the content, functionality and usefulness to your research to isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. When doing so, also tell her your priorities for purchase and explain why. Your views matter!

Coming up: iSkills Research dissemination; Research Toolkits

Happy New Year, and welcome to a new term of iSkills and Referencing workshops.  We kick off in Week 0 with a session addressing the difficulties of disseminating research in the current UK ‘Open Access’ environment.  This is followed in Week 1 by our very popular series of Research Skills Toolkit workshops.

iSkills logoBodleian iSkills: Help! I’m an author get me out of here (A discussion about evolving research dissemination for Oxford authors and journal editors) (Thu 11 Jan 13.00-14.00) Week 0
This presentation and discussion focuses on research dissemination difficulties encountered by Oxford researchers, and invites authors and journal editors of the collegiate University to contribute their views. The current UK open access (OA) environment is extremely complex, and the concept of OA as a ‘good thing’ is being lost. Inefficient processes are unavoidable; an astonishing amount of money is changing hands; numerous new journals are being produced; OA policies and funding are regularly reviewed and open to change; and all the while, research dissemination is evolving. Authors are caught in the middle of a complicated, and sometimes conflicting, mixture of requirements from funders and publishers. Many researchers want to use new models to distribute their findings and discuss them with peers. University research support staff attempt to filter policy requirements and simplify instructions and procedures for authors, whilst supporting them in using all forms of dissemination. The event will comprise a presentation followed by time for questions and discussion.
Who is this session for?  Oxford University Researchers

Research Skills Toolkits in Week 1
Are you using the smartest tools and strategies to get your research organised? Need to brush up on your IT and information skills for research?  Why not come to a Research Skills Toolkit? These free 2-hour workshops introduce key software and online tools for your research, hone your searching and information skills and introduce you to subject specialists. Topics on offer include: finding articles, papers, conferences and theses;   keeping up to date and current awareness; using Endnote to manage your references; manipulating images using Gimp; managing your thesis with word; analyzising data with Excel pivot tables; podcasting with Audacity; plagiarism and how to avoid it; your thesis, copyright and ORA; finding highly cited journals and measuring research impact.

Each toolkit is subject specific to a Division. Choose one of the 2-hour sessions listed under your area of study, and book your place!

Social Sciences 16th January 10.00-12.00 Book your place
18th January 14.00-16.00 Book your place
Humanities 15th January 14.00-16.00 Book your place
17th January 14.00-16.00 Book your place
19th January 10.00-12.00 Book your place

Or visit https://ox.libguides.com/workshops/skills-toolkit for list of dates and times.