Hilary term 2025 information skills training: learn to finding sources & cite them, understand Open Access or dip your toes into AI

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photo (c) John Cairns

This coming term Bodleian Libraries offers an exiting information skills programme covering classes, workshops and briefings on a whole range of topics. All our workshops are free to attend, and some may have additional dates available. We recommend early booking, esp. reference management classes which are very popular.

Finding & using primary sources

Weds22/01/2514:00 – 16:00Introduction to online resources for historians: show and tellOnline
Tues04/02/2515:00 – 16:30Keeping up to date with researchOnline
Tues11/02/2510:00 – 12:00Data sources for research – discovery, access and useIn person
Tues18/02/2514:30 – 16:00Discovering archives and modern manuscripts at the Bodleian LibrariesIn person
Weds19/02/2511:30 – 13:00Newspapers and other online news sources from the 17th-21st centuriesOnline
Tues25/02/2510:00 – 12:00Working with sensitive research dataIn person

 Reference Management

Weds22/01/2513:30 – 16:30Choosing and using software for referencingIn person

 Zotero

Weds15/01/2515:30 – 17:00Introduction to ZoteroOnline
Tues28/01/2509:30 – 11:00Introduction to ZoteroOnline
Thurs13/02/2512:30 – 14:00Introduction to ZoteroOnline
Mon24/02/2515:30 – 17:00Introduction to ZoteroOnline
Fri14/03/2509:30 – 11:00Introduction to ZoteroOnline
     
Weds19/02/2513:30 – 16:30Referencing: ZoteroIn person
Thurs06/03/2514:30 – 16:00Referencing: ZoteroOnline

 Endnote

Weds22/01/2515:00 – 16:30Introduction to EndNoteOnline
Weds05/02/2510:00 – 11:30Introduction to EndNoteOnline
Thurs13/02/2515:30 – 17:00Introduction to EndNoteOnline
Fri28/02/2510:00 – 11:30Introduction to EndNoteOnline
     
Mon03/02/2509:30 – 12:30Referencing: EndNoteIn person
Thurs20/02/2514:30 – 16:30Referencing: EndNoteOnline

 Refworks

Thurs06/02/2510:30 –11:30Introduction to RefWorksOnline
Tues04/03/2513:00 – 14:00Introduction to RefWorksOnline
Weds19/03/2513:00 – 14:00Introduction to RefWorksOnline
     
Tues11/02/2514:30 – 16:30Referencing: RefWorksOnline

Open Scholarship

REF2029 briefings

Thurs06/02/2510:00 –11:00REF open access policy briefingOnline
Weds12/02/2515:00 – 16:00REF open access policy briefingOnline

 Fundamentals of open access

An introductory session which explains what open access, its key terms (Gold, Green, Article Processing Charges) and where to get help.

Tues14/01/2510:00 – 11:30Fundamentals of open accessOnline
Tues11/02/2510:00 – 11:30Fundamentals of open accessOnline
Mon03/03/2510:00 – 11:30Fundamentals of open accessOnline
Thurs10/04/2514:30 – 16:00Fundamentals of open accessOnline

Logistics of open scholarship

A follow-up session which covers depositing work, securing funding for publishing charges, registering an ORCID, funder policies.

Thurs23/01/2514:30 – 16:00Logistics of open scholarshipOnline
Thurs27/03/2510:00 – 11:30Logistics of open scholarshipOnline

Forum of open scholarship

A forum which discusses current changes in the field of open scholarship

Mon17/02/2514:00 – 15:00Forum of open scholarshipOnline

Open Access Monographs

Weds05/03/2510:30 – 11:30Open MonographsOnline

ORCIDs

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a researcher-controlled persistent identifier that is being adopted by publishers, funders and other scholarly communications infrastructures. Learn how to set it up and use it.

Thurs06/03/2510:00 – 11:30ORCIDs from ScratchOnline

Copyright

Thurs06/02/2514:30 –16:00Foundations of Copyright for TeachingOnline
Thurs13/02/2510:00 – 11:30Playing in the open: Getting familiar with Creative Commons licencesIn person
Tues25/02/2515:00 – 16:00Your thesis, copyright & ORAOnline
Thurs27/02/2509:00 – 12:00Copyright the card gameIn person
Tues04/03/2510:00 – 11:30Foundations of Copyright for ResearchersOnline

AI and critical thinking

Weds05/02/2514:00 –16:30Using AI to find, analyse, and share information sourcesIn person
Mon03/03/2514:00 – 16:30Using AI to find, analyse, and share information sourcesIn person
Mon17/02/2510:00 – 12:00Unlocking critical thinking for undergraduatesOnline

If you have any queries at all regarding our workshops, or booking your place, please contact us at the Information Skills Office: usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

History of Writing

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Banner reading "History of Writing" in black text over a light grey background. In the background, there are illustrations in white depicting: a lighthouse with a wave next to it, a bouquet of violets, and a manor surrounded by blighted trees and framed by heather flowers and buds.

This January marks the birth month of many widely acclaimed writers, such as J.R.R. Tolkien, J.D. Salinger, Virginia Woolf, Anne Brontë, A. Milne, Edgar Alan Poe, Isaac Asimov and many more contemporary writers like Haruki Murakami. It is also the beginning of the 250th year since Jane Austen’s birth, which will be celebrated in December 2025.

To celebrate this, a display showcasing the history of writing has been prepared in the Radcliffe Camera. It will follow the broad history of writing as a medium of storytelling, from ancient times to the modern world as well as the print and publishing processes that go along with it. An e-book display, which can be accessed below by clicking on the book cover pictures, goes into more detail with the historical context of the writers mentioned above, as well as following the histories of writing outside of Europe.

These e-book resources can be accessed via SOLO, which will require an Oxford University SSO login. Alternatively, they can be used through a Bodleian reader account for external readers who can access the material by connecting to the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or logging on to the reader PCs within the library.

Book cover for "Virginia Woolf in context" edited by Bryony Randall. Cover includes a sketch of Virginia Woolf in the background.
Version 1.0.0
Book cover for "Tolkien the medievalist" edited by Jane Chance. Cover depicts a medieval manuscript style ink illustration of a procession of people walking over a precarious bridge with dismembered bodies in the water below.
Book cover for "Routledge Handbook of Ancient, Classical and Late Classical Persian Literature" Photograph on cover depicts architecture with a dome and columns behind a canal.
Book cover for "J. D. Salinger's The catcher in the rye : a cultural history" by Josef Benson. Background depicts a photograph of carousel horses edited in red.
Book cover for "East of Delhi: Multilingual Literary Culture and World Literature" by Francesca Orsini. Gold text on a burgundy background.
Book cover for "Bleak houses : marital violence in Victorian fiction" by Lisa Surridge. Illustration depicts a sketch of a man holding a sword while throwing a newspaper at a woman on the floor in bandages.
Book cover of 'A history of Chinese literature' by Zhang Longxi, with an illustration of trees and mountains done in ink.
Book cover for "A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe" edited by J. Gerald Kennedy. Depicts an illustration of a woman lying in a bed with flowers.
Banner reading "History of Writing" in black text over a light grey background. In the background, there are illustrations in white depicting: a raven on a branch with twigs and branches in the background and a dragon on a pile of sparkling treasure including goblets, crowns and jewels.

LGBTQ+ History Hackathon or…How to crowdsource almost 500 web resources!

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On the last Friday of November (29th Nov 2024), the LGBTQ+ History Hackathon was held at the History Faculty. Co-hosted by Faculty academics and the History Faculty Library, over 70 people (students, staff, and members of the public) participated, both in person and online. The aim of the event was to crowdsource resources for a new Oxford resource guide for LGBTQ+ history. It very much followed the model of the Disability History Hackathon, held two years ago, which was a great success and provided resources for the disability history LibGuide.

Opening remarks to participants ahead of event in History Faculty lecture theatre
Welcome to event in lecture theatre – Professor Martin Conway (Chair of the Board of the Faculty of History) and Isabel Holowaty (Deputy Head of Humanities Libraries and Bodleian History Librarian Research).

The event was opened in the Faculty lecture theatre by Prof. Martin Conway, Chair of the Faculty Board. After introductions, an outline of the scope of the proposed LibGuide, and a brief presentation on Bodleian Libraries Academic Library Services’ EDI activities by Helen Worrell, participants were shown useful advanced Google searching techniques by Rachel D’Arcy-Brown, History Librarian (Teaching). Participants then spread out across various rooms in the faculty, and began searching the internet to find relevant resources. In total, almost 500 resources were recommended, covering a wide range of topics and a variety of historical periods. These resources included journal articles, archives, and newspapers. This is a really fantastic result, representing a great effort on the part of all who got involved.

The event closed with a presentation of a snapshot of initial results by Zac Draysey, History Faculty Library Graduate Trainee, and final remarks and thanks by Prof. Matthew Cook, Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexuality.

The Hackathon provided a fun and inclusive way of amassing quality resources. It enables us to draw on the interests and expertise of a diverse group of people from Oxford but, thanks to technology, also from people across the UK and even North America. This will allow us to add a broad range of resources to the LibGuide.

The next steps will involve assessing and organising the recommended resources collected during the hackathon and create an easy-to-use guide, which places this wealth of high-quality information into a helpful context. This LibGuide will be accessible not only to University students and staff, but to anyone all over the world. In this spirit, the Hackathon focused on publicly available and open access material.

Our current plan is to launch a beta version of the LibGuide by June 2025, in time for pride month. Updates and further information will be posted here on the blog, as well on the Hackathon page itself.

Enormous thanks go to all participants for giving to freely their time and effort. Thanks also go to the History Faculty for hosting the event, sponsoring refreshments, and to their staff for supporting its organisation.

Zac Draysey, Bodleian Libraries Graduate Trainee (History Faculty Library) 2024-25

Trial until 1 Jan 2025: Trade in Early Modern: London Livery Company Records, 1450-1750

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Home page of Trade in Early Modern London: Livery Company Records, 1450-1750. Showing decorative digitised documents and a single search screen.

(c) AM. Trade in Early Modern London: Livery Company Records, 1450-1750

Trade in Early Modern: London Livery Company Records, 1450-1750 is useful for the study of the history of early modern London through the lens of the livery companies and trade. It provides access to the various livery companies’ records, providing a unique overview of trade in early modern London over a key three-hundred year period. They are also a useful commentary on pivotal events such as the Reformation, the Civil War, the Great Plague, and the Great Fire of London.

Oxford students and researchers need to use SSO for remote access. The resource is accessible via SOLO.

Livery companies evolved from London’s medieval guilds, becoming corporations under royal charter responsible for training in their respective trades, as well as for the regulation of aspects such as wage control, labour conditions, and industry standards. The companies’ rich and varied records document the central role that these institutions played in the economic, political, social, and cultural life of the city.

The documents provide a rich source for a variety of aspects of early modern trade but also beyond the purely mercantile aspect. The resource is also useful for the study of early modern…

• Charity and Philanthropy
• Citizenship
• Civic Ceremonies, Music, Drama and Pageantry
• Civic Government
• Commerce
• Craft and Regulation
• Education
• Immigration
• Politics
• Prices and Wages
• Property and Estates
• Religion

Archives included

Three archives contribute the content to this database:

  1. The Drapers’ Company
  2. The Goldsmiths’ Company
  3. The London Archives, from which source is included:
    • The Fishmongers’ Company collection
    • The Merchant Taylors’ Company collection [accounts go back to late C14]
    • The Skinners’ Company collection
    • The Vintners’ Company collection

Highlighted collections include:

  • Institutional records of churches, workplaces, alms-houses, and schools detailing the daily lives and work of a large proportion of the city’s inhabitants
  • Company records documenting the livery companies’ involvement in the Lord Mayor’s Show, providing a wealth of material relating to civic culture and pageantry, including payments to musicians and performers
  • Beautifully illuminated ordinances and memoranda books, including the Goldsmiths’ Company Books of Ordinances, the Book of the Fraternity of the Assumption of Our Lady (Skinners’ Company), and The Book of the Fraternity of Corpus Christi (Skinners’ Company)
  • A range of contextual features bring the resource to life for students and researchers, including a Chronology, a Glossary of Terms, a Guide to Reading Early Modern Records, and Livery Company Histories

There is a range useful supplementary materials such as contextualised essays by leading historians, including Ian Archer (University of Oxford). There is also a glossary and chronology, and helpful information on weights & measures, and the Julian (OT) and Gregorian (NT) dating systems.

The challenge of using archival material

The two digitised documents are displayed side-by-side on the screen.

(c) AM – Comparison of The Fishmongers’ Company Committee minutes of 13 Oct 1741 with the Letter A in the Index to committee minute books (1731-1758).

Like other AM databases, Trade in Early Modern London uses Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) technology to allow full-text searching of manuscript documents. Users can download the transcript (where it exists) but should note that the HTR technology is still developing and that it’s advisable to check for accuracy. The database allows users to compare the original with the transcript or with other related documents.

Searching and reading the documents will be challenging to the non-expert. The resource provides various ways to find material and guidance is available how to best search and browse. Additionally, uses can view side-by-side related documents, such as contemporary indices.

The trial ends on 1 January 2025. Please send any feedback to isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

While you are here, other early modern databases might be useful:

  1. British History Online
  2. The Cecil Papers
  3. Early English Books Online
  4. Eighteenth Century Collections Online
  5. Electronic Enlightenment
  6. Making of the Modern World
  7. Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online (MEMSO)
  8. Medieval and Early Modern Studies (AM Scholar)
  9. Proceedings of the Old Bailey, The: London’s Central Criminal Court, 1674 to 1913 (free on the web)
  10. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Burney Newspapers Collection
  11. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Nichols Newspapers Collection
  12. State Papers Online I – IV: The Tudors, Stuarts & Commonwealth 1509-1714 (Foreign & Domestic)

Or, to find more early modern materials, check out our LibGuide for Early Modern History (British & West European).

Christmas Vacation Loans

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We are almost at the end of Michaelmas Term and so the History Faculty Library has moved into the vacation loan period. From Monday 2nd December (8th week), all books issued from the library won’t need to be returned until Tuesday 21st January (1st week, Hilary).

This also applies to any online renewals of current loans that take place from Monday 2nd onwards. However, if there is a hold request on a book you have, it will need to be brought back by the original due date.

As always, you can check due dates and renew books through your SOLO account. And if you have any questions please come and speak to staff in the Radcliffe Camera or drop us an email at library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Happy Christmas reading!

Disability History Month

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Banner with a gold background with "Disability History." written in black in the middle. The background is decorated with black and white triangles in shadow and reflection patterns

Disability History Month is an annual event that endeavours to document the history of inequality experienced by people with disabilities. The purpose of which, as stated by the official Disability History Month organisation, is to encourage for greater social change and human rights protections to improve the lives of those at present and in the future. It will be running from the 14th of November until the 20th of December.

This year, the official theme is “Employment and Livelihood,” which examines the factors that impact the employment of disabled people and how they have made a living throughout history, as well as in the present day. This will hopefully create a better understanding of these issues, so that a fair and just future might develop.

From our collections in the History Faculty Library, we have selected five books to work in accordance with this theme, as well as a further eight e-books which will be linked below. The remainder of the display commemorates the lives, accomplishments of people with disabilities as well as studying the challenges and attitudes they have faced throughout the world and over millennia.

Photograph of the Disability History Month display in the Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera, 12 books and 3 posters.

Banner with a gold background with "Online Resources." written in black in the middle. The background is decorated with black and white triangles in shadow and reflection patterns

To view the SOLO catalogue record for each of these online resources, please click on the front cover pictures! Please note that you will need to log in to SOLO with your Oxford University Single-Sign-On in order to access the full text. External readers will be able to access these resources by using the Bodleian Wi-fi network within the library or by using our reader PCS with their Bodleian Log-in details.

  Work requirements : race, disability, and the print culture of social welfare by Todd CarmodyNo Right to Be Idle : The Invention of Disability, 1840's to 1930's by Sarah F. Rose

Global histories of disability, 1700-2015 : power, place and people by Esmee Cleall Blind in early modern Japan : disability, medicine, and identity by Wei Yu Wayne Tan

Black disability politics by Sami Schalk Curating access : disability art activism and creative accommodation by Amanda Cachia

Out of the Horrors of War : Disability Politics in World War II America by Audra Jennings Disability and labour in the twentieth century historical and comparative perspectives by Radu Harald Dinu and Staffan Bengtsson

On the 22nd of December, the History Faculty at Lincoln College will be hosting a Disability Month Workshop which you can find out more about by clicking here.

Banner with a gold background decorated with black and white triangles in shadow and reflection patterns

 

 

 

Come & Hack: Help find resources for LGBTQ+ History – Hackathon on Fri 29 Nov 2-5.30pm

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Two hands holding hands in front of an LGBTQ+ flag. The logos of the History Faculty, Oxford and Bodleian Libaries are displayed at the top on either side.Are you interested in LGBTQ+ history? Do you want to be part of an informal collective research effort?

Join a group of volunteers at the LGBTQ+ History Hackathon to help locate historical resources for an LGBTQ+ history online research guide. All are welcome!

When: Fri 29 November 2024 @ 2-5.30pm, drinks’ reception 5.30-6.30pm
Where: History Faculty, George Street, Oxford or remotely via Teams

Image of a hand writing writing Register in blue.How does it work?

After a brief training session on advanced Google searches, you will work individually or in small groups to identify research resources (databases, archives, websites, etc.) on a particular aspect of LGBTQ+ history. You will create brief descriptions for each resource which will then be added to the LibGuide in the course of 2024/5. We expect to spend up to 2 hours on the Hackathon with a tea/coffee break in between – and will celebrate our joint achievement at a drinks’ reception!

You will be able to join in person in the History Faculty, George St, or remotely via Teams. You will need to register to attend.

Image of a woman working on a laptop. The image is in green.

What will you get out of it?

  • Discover research materials for LGBTQ+ history
  • Learn advanced Google search from a professional librarian
  • Network with other researchers
  • Join a community-led project to create an online guide for LGBTQ+ history

What do you need?

  • An interest in, knowledge of and enthusiasm in LGBTQ+ resources, esp. for historical study.
  • If dialling in from remote: computer with Teams or Zoom, camera and microphone
  • If onsite: a laptop; ideally Eduroam wifi account (wifi access can be provided)

This LGBTQ+ Hackathon follows the success of the Disability History Hackathon Home – Disability History Resources – Oxford LibGuides at Oxford University

Upskill your research skills this term: lots of courses for historians in MT24

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Student using a computer

photo (c) John Cairns

Historians, do you want to know what fantastic resources are available in Oxford?  Do you need to improve or speed up your research method to find sources?  Have you struggled to find anything in online newspapers?  Is managing citations like herding cats? Do you want to explore the use of AI for information searching?  Do you need or want to publish your research as Open Access but don’t know how to?

We can help you with all of these. See the list of courses on offer this term:

FINDING SOURCES & RESOURCES

  • Introduction to Online Resources for Historians: Show & Tell (Bodleian iSkills) – Tues 15 Oct 2024 (week 1) @ 10am-12pm – via Teams Book your place
  • Data sources for research – discovery, access and use – Tues 22 Oct 2024 (week 2) 2-4pm – in person Book your place
  • *New* Using AI for Research: Finding, Analysing, and Sharing Information Sources (Bodleian iSkills) Wed 23 Oct 2024 (week 2) @ 10am-12pm – via Teams Book your place
  • Newspapers & other online news sources from the 17th-20th centuries (Bodleian iSkills) – Tues 12 Nov 2024 (week 5) @ 2-3.30pm Book your place
  • *New* Drop-in: Exploring Bibliography of British & Irish History – Historical Abstracts Wed 13 Nov 2024 (week 5) @12.30-1.15pm. Join via Teams (Oxford members only)
  • Discovering archives and modern manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries (Bodleian iSkills) – Thurs. 14 Nov 2024 (week 5) @ 10-11.30am – In person Book your place
  • Presentation on the UN Archives Genva Platform (League of Nations Archive) (Bodleian iSkills) – Thurs 21 Nov 2024 (week 6) @ 12-1pm – Teams Book your place
  • Confidential Print & Foreign Office files: Sources for C19th & 20th studies (Bodleian iSkills) – Tues 26 Nov 2024 (week 7) @ 12-1pm – Teams Book your place

Female student studying in a library with a laptop.

photo (c) John Cairns

MANAGING YOUR CITATIONS using reference management software

As you collect your references from catalogues, databases and websites, reference management software can be really helpful to export them into a single place, structure them, export them in a chosen citation style and, via a plugin, insert the citations into your writing. It’s best to learn about these tools as early as possible. If you don’t know which software to use, check out our comparison tables.

  • Zotero (Bodleian iSkills)
  • RefWorks (Bodleian iSkills) – Thurs 7 Nov 2024 (week 4) @ 2-4pm – Teams Book your place
  • Endnote (Bodleian iSkills)

All about OPEN SCHOLARSHIP

  • Fundamentals of Open Access (Bodleian iSkills) – Teams Book your place
    • Thurs 17 Oct 2024 (week 1) @ 10am-12pm – via Teams
    • Tues 19 Nov 2024 (week 6) @ 10am-11.30am – via Teams
    • Tue, 17 Dec 2024 @ 10-11.30am – via Teams
  • Logistics of Open Scholarship (Bodleian iSkills) Thurs 21 Nov 2024 @ 10-11.30am – via Teams Book your place
  •  Your thesis, copyright & ORA (Bodleian iSkills)  Tues 19 Nov 2024 (week 6) @ 3-4pm – via Teams Book your place
  •  Open Monographs (Bodleian iSkills) Book your place
    • Tue, 15 Oct 2024 (week 1) @ 10-11am – via Teams
    • Thurs 5 Dec 2024 (week 8) @ 2-3pm – via Teams

Other useful training

Keeping up to date with research (Bodleian iSkills) Wed 20 Nov 2024 (week 6) @ 10.30-11.30am – via Teams Book your place

Working with sensitive research data (Bodleian iSkills) Tues 5 Nov 2024 (week 4) @2-4pm in person – Book your place

Also of interest?

Michaelmas Term Welcome Tours

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Welcome to 0th Week, Michaelmas Term 2024!

The Radcliffe Camera (incl. History Faculty Library) will be holding welcome tours for new students during 0th Week and 1st Week. The tours will introduce you to the library spaces and services, and talk in a little more detail about the collections in the Camera and Gladstone Link, particularly the collections of the History Faculty Library.

The tours will take place at the times below. No booking is required and the meeting point will be in the Lower Camera reading room on the ground floor. Just ask staff to direct you should you need help.

0th week: Wed to Fri: 10:30 / 11:30 / 12:30 / 2:30 / 3:30 /4:30

1st week – Mon to Fri: 11:30 / 3:30

Information about all the welcome tours taking place across the Bodleian Libraries can be found here:

https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ask/getting-started/under-post-graduates

We look forward to welcoming you to the library!

Black History Month

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As of the start of October, we at the Radcliffe Camera History Faculty Library are celebrating Black History Month! The theme for this year is “Reclaiming Narratives,” which aims to highlight underexplored aspects of black history and experience, as well as encouraging aspects of global history to be examined and told by members of the black community through their perspectives. Another goal of this theme, as mentioned by the official UK Black History Month organisation, is to honour the work of black people throughout history with accomplishments in fields such as the arts, sciences, law, and of everyday life, the “unsung heroes.”  In accordance with this, we have curated a collection of History Faculty Library material in the Gladstone Link to suit this theme, as well as an array of online material which will be linked below.

Our online collections can be accessed via SOLO with a Single-Sign-On Oxford University Login, as well as from our reader PCs and Bodleian WIFI network within the library for Bodleian card holders. If you are a member of the university and would like to access our online collections remotely, then please check out our remote access service (note that this service is not available to external readers.)

Click on the images to be directed to the SOLO record for each resource!

Oxford University will be running a series of events and lectures during this month, which you can find through this link. In addition to this list, Kellogg College will be hosting its annual Black History Month lecture on the 15th of October, which you can find details for here.