Bodleian Libraries users have trial access to Sex and Sexuality from Adam Matthew until 28 February 2026. This collection explores changing attitudes towards human sexuality, gender identities and sexual behaviors from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries.

The resource investigates the breadth and complexity of human sexual understanding through the work of leading sexologists, sex researchers, organizations and personal accounts, and makes accessible the unpublished papers of prominent sexologists, sex researchers, societies, advocacy groups and campaigners working across America and beyond during the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries. The collection also includes a significant proportion of correspondence between professional and private individuals, autobiographical accounts, official records and literary works.

Module I is sourced solely from the Kinsey Institute Library and Special Collections, and makes available primary sources from the tenures of the first three Institute directors. Module II, sourced from archives in the US, UK and Australia, explores LGBTIQ+ personal histories, self-expression and community activism.

Please send any feedback on the trial to: Bethan Davies and Isabel Holowaty.

Bodleian Libraries users have trial access to LGBTQ+ Life in America from NewsBank until 28 February 2026.

The resource brings to light the voices and experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals throughout U.S. history. Drawing from more than 16,000 news sources, this archive empowers researchers to examine how LGBTQ+ communities have shaped—and been shaped by—society, politics, and culture over the last three centuries.

Advanced language-mapping and editorial methods decode historical euphemisms and references to LGBTQ+ people across centuries. This collection surfaces millions of documents from the early 18th century through modern developments like marriage equality and gender identity rights, bringing context, nuance, and visibility to stories that have long been concealed.

Please send any feedback on the trial to: Bethan Davies.

Bodleian Libraries users have trial access to the Encyclopaedia of Islam First Edition Online from Brill, until 1 March 2026.

The Encyclopaedia of Islam First Edition was originally published between 1913 and 1936. The demand for an encyclopaedic work on Islam was created by the increasing (colonial) interest in Muslims and Islamic cultures during the nineteenth century. The scope of this still unique reference work is philology, history, theology and law until early 20th century. Such famous scholars as Houtsma, Wensinck, Gibb, Snouck Hurgronje, and Lévi-Provençal were involved in this scholarly endeavour.

Please send any feedback on the trial to Lydia Wright (lydia.wright@bodleian.ox.ac.uk).

Bodleian Libraries users have trial access to Arabic Literature of Africa Online (ALA) from Brill, until 1 March 2026.

ALA is a bio-bibliography on the Arabic manuscript tradition in the African continent, which continued well into the 20th century CE. It offers information about African authors, the texts they wrote in Arabic, the manuscripts in which these texts are found, and the locations of these manuscripts, together with bibliographical references to the literature. ALA complements Brockelmann’s Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur.

Please send any feedback on the trial to Lydia Wright (lydia.wright@bodleian.ox.ac.uk).

Oxford users have trial access to BBC Monitoring: Summary of World Broadcasts: Essential Global Media, 1939-2001 from Readex, until 13 June 2025.

This is a primary source collection featuring nearly 70,000 multi-page reports. BBC Monitoring was founded in 1939 at the start of WWII. Its purpose was to listen to radio broadcasts and gather open-source intelligence to help Britain and its allies understand global dynamics and assess emerging global threats. Over the next 60 years, the scope of its monitoring grew quickly. Trained specialists transcribed broadcasts of speeches, current affairs, political discussions, and social and cultural events worldwide. Transcripts, in turn, were translated into English, then read by experts who carefully selected critical content for publication. Finally, selections were summarized and curated into daily reports that comprise the Summary of World Broadcasts. These original daily reports often included commentary and evaluation by subject matter experts, as well as synopses and specialist briefings.