Category Archives: Uncategorized

Referencing and Citation Guidance Drop-ins for History Undergraduates

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Are you a history undergraduate? Do you get confused by how to format references for footnotes or bibliographies, and don’t know where to turn? Drop in to the staff office in the Upper Radcliffe Camera on any Wednesday during Full Term between 1-2pm, to get some quickfire 1-to-1 advice on the best resources to help you!

We can help with:

  • Where to find History Faculty guidance on citation and referencing
  • How to use reference management software
  • Where to check citation style conventions for particular source types

This is not a proofreading service, and we can’t check or create your footnotes or bibliographies, but we can show you where to find answers to your referencing conundrums. And try to explain why referencing doesn’t have to be a source of anxiety!

Check the Oxford Historians Hub (SSO required) for all Faculty guidance: https://ohh.web.ox.ac.uk/writing-advice

Wednesdays during Full Term, 1-2pm
Upper Radcliffe Camera Staff Office

Any queries? Get in touch at library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Black History Month 2025

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This month we are celebrating Black History Month! This years theme is “Standing Firm in Power and Pride”, which aims to highlight those people and communities who have resisted racism, lead social change, and stood firm in their pride for the Black community in Britain.

Cherron Inko-Tariah MBE, the Editor in Chief of the Black History Month UK Magazine, wrote in this years issue that “The need to stand firm is especially clear against a backdrop of rising nationalism and systemic inequalities… Yet the story of power in Black history is not only about struggle — it is also about resilience and pride.” To read more of Inko-Tariah’s thoughts, and learn about Black History Month, go to their website, here.

Our physical display takes material from the History Faculty collection and tackles a range of eras, with a focus on resistance, liberation in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Books on the display above, from left to right:

Making the revolution global : black radicalism and the British socialist movement before decolonisation by Theo Williams | Police power and black people by Derek Humphry | Black for a cause– not just because : the case of the “Oval 4” and the story it tells of Black Power in 1970s Britain by Winston N. Trew | Slaves to fashion : black dandyism and the styling of black diasporic identity by Monica L. Miller | Ambivalent affinities : a political history of Blackness and homosexuality after World War II by Jennifer Dominique Jones | There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack: The cultural politics of race and nation by Paul Gilroy | We were there by Lanre Bakare | Britons through negro spectacles by A.B.C. Merriman-Labor | Black voices on Britain : selected writings edited by Hakim Adi | Black England : a forgotten Georgian history by Gretchen Gerzina | Rhodes must fall : the struggle to decolonise the racist heart of empire by the Rhodes Must Fall Movement (Oxford) | A black boy at Eton by Dillibe Onyeama | Black Liverpool : the early history of Britain’s oldest Black community, 1730-1918 by Roy Costello | The struggle is eternal : Gloria Richardson and black liberation by Joseph R. Fitzgerald | Black Tommies : British soldiers of African descent in the First World War by Ray Costello | The motherland calls : Britain’s black servicemen & women, 1939-45 by Stephen Bourne | The other special relationship : race, rights, and riots in Britain and the United States edited by Robin D.G. Kelley and Stephen G.N. Tuck

Accessing these e-resource materials will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library.)

As part of Black History Month, Oxford University will be holding their annual lecture, this year given by Dr José Lingna Nafafé on the topic of Lourenço da Silva Mendonça early abolitionists. Please check out the website here for more information and to book tickets.

Welcome to New History Undergraduates! Discover our Library Induction Programme

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photo (c) John Cairns

We warmly welcome all new History undergraduates starting in Oxford!

Libraries will play a big part during your time at Oxford, whether providing access to online articles on your reading list or helping you find that elusive book on the open shelves. There are over 100 libraries in Oxford and it can be quite confusing (and daunting) as you learn how to best use them.

Within the Bodleian Libraries, the main university library system, the chief History collections for your study are available online 24/7 or are located in the Radcliffe Camera (which houses the History Faculty Library, whose books can be borrowed). College Libraries also have extensive collections for your course. To know where to find the books, journals and databases you might need, use SOLO, which is Oxford’s discovery tool for libraries.

We also have organised a number of welcome sessions to help you get started! For a more detailed overview of the induction and support we offer students in the first few weeks, see the relevant page on our online teaching portal Canvas (requires your oxford Single Sing-On for access): Canvas – Library Induction and Information Skills training.

Welcome Webinars

Webinars are taking place Wednesday to Friday of 0th Week (8 – 10 October) and have been scheduled into your timetable with further details provided by your college. If you miss your slot, you are very welcome to join any of the timetabled sessions. Further details (and MS Teams link) are available via Canvas – Welcome to Bodleian Libraries webinars.

Tours

Like most other Bodleian Libraries, we are running in-person tours during noughth week of both the Old Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera. To see the timetable, visit Getting started: Undergraduates and taught postgraduates | Bodleian Libraries.

Undergraduate tours to do not require booking and are run on a drop-in basis. They last 30 minutes.

Note that there are two different tours, one that starts in the Radcliffe Camera (and stays there) and one that starts in the lobby (Proscholium) of the Old Library.

Of course, you are also very welcome to just come along to the library at any time, and staff will be more than happy to help you if you have any questions.

Online Guidance

See the library’s ‘Getting started’ documentation for guidance on how to find resources, the different library services we offer, etc.

See also our general ‘How To’ Guides to help you navigate your way around Bodleian Libraries’ collections and finding aids.

We also have a series of online subject and research guides (called LibGuides) to help students find out about books and online resources for their discipline, including ebooks, ejournals and bibliographic databases. There are multiple guides for different areas of History, all accessible from the general History LibGuide: Home – History – Oxford LibGuides at Oxford University.

Help

The libraries are here to help you in your studies. If anything is not clear or you are struggling to find or access your readings, please do get in touch with library staff. You can do so in a variety of ways:

We wish you all the very best as you start a new chapter of your life in Oxford!

Welcome to New History Postgrads! Discover our Library Induction Programme

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photo (c) John Cairns

We warmly welcome all new History postgraduates to Oxford libraries!

Libraries will play a big part during your time at Oxford, whether providing access to online articles, helping you find that elusive book on the open shelves or finding source materials. There are over 100 libraries in Oxford and it can be quite confusing (and daunting) as you learn how to best use them.

The History Librarians, Isabel and Rachel, aim to attend as many of the Faculty induction sessions for Graduates as possible in 0th week to introduce ourselves and help you find your feet quickly.

We also provide an induction programme for new graduates, including talks, tours, and research and information skills training. For a more complete overview, see the History Faculty’s Canvas page (Single Sign On required).

Library tours & visits

  1. Bodleian Old Library and Radcliffe Camera – Monday and Wednesday-Friday in 0th week. Sign up through Canvas. PLEASE NOTE that the timings of these tours differ from the drop-in tours organised for new undergraduates. Booking for the postgrad tours is essential!
  2. Vere Harmsworth Library tour (at the Rothermere American Institute) – Wednesday 15 October, 11am – Sign up through Canvas.
  3. Introduction to the Rare Books and Manuscripts Reading Room – daily in 1st week (13-17 October) – Sign up through Canvas.

Talk & Training

  1. Welcome talk: Introduction to Bodleian Libraries for History Postgraduates – Monday 6th October, 12-1pm via Teams. Joining link is on Canvas.
  2. Information skills training in Michaelmas Term: for the workshops most relevant to historians, see Canvas. For a an exhaustive overview of all research training on offer, check the Bodleian iSkills website: iSkills workshops | Bodleian Libraries

Online Guidance

Have a look at our ‘Getting Started’ guides for taught postgraduates and research postgraduates.

See also our general ‘How To’ Guides to help you navigate your way around Bodleian Libraries’ collections and finding aids.

We also have a series of online subject and research guides (called LibGuides) to help students find out about books and online resources for their discipline, including ebooks, ejournals and bibliographic databases. There are multiple guides for different areas of History, all accessible from the general History LibGuide: Home – History – Oxford LibGuides at Oxford University.

Help

The libraries are here to help you in your research. If anything is not clear or you are struggling to find or access your readings, please do get in touch with library staff. You can do so in a variety of ways:

We wish you all the very best in your studies and research!

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

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First observed in Haiti on August 23rd 1998, this remembrance day reflects on the lives of the victims of the Atlantic slave trade, as well as the institutional machinations that perpetrated it. In doing so, this project reveals the depths, the causes, and the continued legacy of ramifications that find their roots in this atrocity.

In accordance with this, a display featuring History Faculty Library material relevant to this topic has been arranged in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera for perusal. Alternatively, there is an e-book collection to browse through at the bottom of this page, please scroll down and click on the book covers to be taken to the SOLO record of each resource.

Books on the display above, from left to right:
“Maroon Nation: a History of Revolutionary Haiti” by Johnhery Gonzalez | “Slave Religion: The ‘Invisible Institution’ in the Antebellum South” by Albert J. Raboteau | “The Ragged Road to Abolition: Slavery and Freedom in New Jersey, 1775-1865” by James J. Gigantino II | “The Slave’s Cause: a History of Abolition” by Sinha Manisha | “Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation” by Kris Manjapra | “All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family’s Keepsake“ by Tiya Miles | “Black Ivory: a History of British Slavery” by James Walvin | “Fugitive Slaves and Spaces of Freedom in North America” ed. Damian A. Pargas | “Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America’s Coastal Slave Trade” by Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie | “Spain and the Abolition of Slavery in Cuba, 1817-1886” by Arthur F. Corwin | “Beyond Bondage: Free Women of Colour in the Americas” by David B. Gaspar and Darlene C. Hine | “Romantic Colonization and British Anti-Slavery” by Deidre Coleman | “Slave Portraiture in the Atlantic World” by Agnes I. Lugo-Oritz and Angela Rozenthal | “Deep Like the Rivers: Education in the Slave Quarter Community, 1831-1865” by Thomas L. Webber


Accessing these e-resource materials will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library.)

Book cover for: Junteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration by E. T. Cotham Jr. Text on red background with a photograph of a group of men in formal dandy attire holding musical instruments above it
Book cover for: "Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp" by J. Brent Morris. Text overlaying a digital illustration of a couple wading through water with foliage all around them.
Book cover for "Ar'n't I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Plantation South" by Deborah Gray White. Text on top of a Sepia tone painting of a black woman wearing an apron standing on a porch doorway.
Book cover for "Slavery in the North: Forgetting History and Recovering Memory" by Marc H. Ross. Text overlaying a patchwork-style illustration of a mansion with a collection of multi-coloured coffins in front of it
Book cover for "Recovering Scotland's Slavery Past: The Caribbean Connection" ed. T.M. Devine. Text on a brush-textured navy and black background with a pencil drawing in the middle of captives being loaded onto a ship.
Book cover for: "Gendered Resistance: Women, Slavery and the Legacy of Margaret Garner ed. M. E. Frederickson and D. M. Walters. Text above a portrait of a black woman wearing a white hair covering.
Book cover for "She is Weeping: An Intellectual History of Racialised Slavery and Emotions in the Atlantic World" by Dannelle Gutarra Cordero. Gold and grey text on a white background with an illustration of a black woman carrying a white child in the middle.
Book cover for "Slavery at Sea: Terror Sex and Sickness in the Middle Passage" by Sowande' M. Mustakeem. White text overlaying a digital illustration of a ship on a blood-red sea backed by grey storm clouds.

The National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House under Royal Museums Greenwich will be holding their annual exhibition with a range of talks and activities on the 23rd of August for Slavery Remembrance Day. Click here for more details on the itinerary.
In addition, this date coincides with the anniversary of the opening for the International Museum of Slavery in 2007, a part of the collective of National Museums Liverpool. Which, in partnership with the black community of Liverpool, participates in events for Slavery Remembrance Day. There are a range of in-person events and online resources, click the link here for details on this.

South Asian Heritage Month 2025

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From the 18th July to the 17th of August, we are marking South Asian Heritage month at the HFL. SAHM was set up to celebrate South Asian identity and history in diaspora communities in the UK.

This display aims to explore a variety of backgrounds within diaspora communities, as far as is possible with our current physical collection. We highly recommend you check out our online reading list below, as it provides work on a variety of topics we do not currently have in the library itself.

Explore how the South Asian diaspora shaped the sound of BBC Radio, in Liam McCarthy’s book online, or how South Asians made modern Britain the country it is today through our physical display.

Accessing these e-resource materials will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library.)

Historical Musicals Display!

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As we head into the Summer Vacation, we’ve decided to do a light hearted display theme. Inspired by the viral success of Rachel Zegler’s West End performance in Evita, in which the Hunger Games star portrays the former First Lady of Argentina, Eva Peron, we have selected a variety of books from the History Faculty collection with connections to musicals. Most are currently running in London!

See if you can guess which musicals inspired the selected books!

From left to right, top to bottom, we have:

  1. ‘The Vietnam War From the Other Side’ by Ang Cheng Guan.
  2. ‘The Revolution of 1905 and Russia’s Jews’ by Stefani Hoffman.
  3. ‘Six Wives’ by David Starkey.
  4. ‘The Price of Greatness’ by Jay Cost.
  5. ‘Argentina: A Modern History’ by Jill Hedges.
  6. ‘Gay Berlin’ by Robert Beachy.
  7. ‘Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism’ by Richard L. Bushman.
  8. ‘The Age of Revolutions’ by Nathan Perl-Rosenthal.
  9. ‘Let the Record Show’ by Sarah Schulman.
  10. ‘Protesting About Pauperism’ by Elizabeth T. Hurren.
  11. ‘Marching to the Fault Line’ by Francis Beckett and David Hencke.

And for our ebook selection:

Titanic
Queer Oz: L. Frank Baum's Trans Tales and Other Astounding Adventures ...

In the meantime, we hope everyone has a wonderful summer vacation!

Pride Month Display

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Banner reading "pride month" in alternating rainbow colours. The banner features an illustration of a bumblebee hummingbird with its feather colours altered to resemble the Gilbert Baker rainbow pride flag

This Pride month, the History Faculty Library has arranged a display commemorating the history of LGBT+ communities throughout the world. This display aims to address diverse experiences throughout the LGBT+ spectrum, as well as across many different cultures and time periods. The display can be browsed in the Upper Gladstone Link of the Radcliffe Camera, in addition to the collection of e-books which can be accessed by clicking on the book cover pictures further below.

Explore the activism of black members of the LGBT+ community and their relations to the civil rights movements post-WW2 with Jennifer Dominique Jones’ book “Ambivalent affinities,” featured in the on-shelf display or read analysis about the desires between ancient women of the greek and roman worlds with Sandra Boehringer’s book on the e-book display below, plus many more.

Check out the events that are being held by Oxford University for pride by clicking here and scrolling to the second sub-section, or head to Oxford Pride to see the itinerary of events throughout Oxford and how to get involved.

photograph of a display of 14 books along with 2 posters promoting the e-books linked further down in this article. The books, from the top left are: 1) As good as marriage : the Anne Lister diaries, 1836-38 / [edited by] Jill Liddington. 2) Unmaking sex : the gender outlaws of nineteenth-century France / Anne E. Linton. 3)The Stonewall Riots : a documentary history / Marc Stein. 4)LGBT Victorians : sexuality and gender in the nineteenth-century archives / Simon Joyce. 5)Unsuitable : a history of lesbian fashion / Eleanor Medhurst. 6) Ambivalent affinities : a political history of Blackness and homosexuality after World War II / Jennifer Dominique Jones. 7) Surpassing the love of men : romantic friendship and love between women from the Renaissance to the present / Lillian Faderman. 8) On queer street : a social history of British homosexuality, 1895-1995 / Hugh David. 9) No bath but plenty of bubbles : an oral history of the gay liberation front, 1970-73 / Lisa Power 10) Not a passing phase : reclaiming lesbians in history 1840-1985 / Lesbian History Group 11) James VI and I and the history of homosexuality / Michael B. Young. 12) Ambiguous gender in early modern Spain and Portugal : inquisitors, doctors and the transgression of gender norms / François Soyer. 13) Same-sex sexuality in later medieval English culture / Tom Linkinen. 14) Before homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic world, 1500-1800 / Khaled El-Rouayheb.

Accessing these e-resource materials will require a Single-Sign-On Login for Oxford University members. External readers will need to log in with their Bodleian accounts while using the Bodleian libraries network (either the Bodleian Libraries Wi-fi network or using the reader PCs within the library.)

Book cover for "Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World" edited by N. S. Rabinowitz and L. Auanger featuring black and white freize illustrations with a red border.
Book cover for "Trans Historical: gender Purality Before the Modern" edited by G. LaFleur, M. Raskolnikov and A. Klosowska featuring a stylistic illustration of a woman with red hair in a black dress
Book cover for "Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture and the Making of the Gay Male World 1890-1940" by G. Chauncey featuring an illustration of two men in suits wearing top hats and smoking sigars on a pastel yellow background darkened in the corners to convery illumination.
Book cover for "Not Straight, Not White: Gay Black Men from the March on Washington to the AIDs Crisis" by K. J. Mumford featuring white text on a black background with a photograph of a man standing with his back to the viewer.
Book cover for "The Libertine's Friend: Homosexuality & Masculinity in Late Imperial China" by G. Vitello featuring an ink illustration of two men in a forest
Book cover for "Female Homosexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome" by S. Boehringer featuring a painting of three young women
Book cover for "Emerging Lesbian Voices from Japan" by S. Chalmers featuring a kanji character on a teal background
Book cover for "TransAntiquity: Cross-dressing and Transgender Dynamics in the Anicent World" It features a photograph of a relief wall carving of four figures on a black and blue background.

History Thesis Fair for undergraduates on Wed 30 April

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We are delighted to run the History Thesis Fair for second-year undergraduates this year on Wednesday 30 April, 3-5pm at the Examination Schools (North Writing School).

All info can be found here: History Thesis Fair for Undergraduates

The Fair is aimed at 2nd year history undergraduates embarking on their thesis research and who are looking to explore the wealth of research source material available for their field of study.

It is the ideal opportunity to learn about resources you may not yet have considered for your undergraduate thesis, and to connect with librarians, archivists, researchers, and collection curators who can guide you towards relevant material or useful finding tools. You can also speak to other students who have previously written dissertations and learn about their TOP 10 TIPS.

30 stalls will cover many areas:

Topical stalls, e.g.

  • Biography
  • Disability History
  • Legal History
  • LGBTQ+, Gender and Sexuality
  • History of Science & Medicine
  • Maps and Mapping
  • Medieval History
  • Oral History
  • Visual Culture
  • and more

Special Collections, libraries and archives, e.g.

  • Archives and Manuscripts 1500-1800
  • Archives and Modern Manuscripts 1800-
  • College Libraries (Special Collections)
  • College Archives
  • Digital primary source providers: Gale Primary Sources, AM – Adam Matthew Digital
  • Early Printed Books
  • Oxford Brookes University Special Collections & Archives
  • Oxfordshire History Centre
  • Printed Ephemera (John Johnson Collection)
  • UK Government and International Intergovernmental Publications

Geographical stalls, e.g.

  • Africa & Commonwealth
  • East Asia & South Asia
  • Eastern Europe and Russia
  • Great Britain & Western Europe
  • Middle East, Hebrew & Judaica, Caucasus & Central Asia
  • Latin America
  • United States

Plus, at our Information Skills stall, learn what courses are laid on to help you develop the research and referencing skills you will need.

The format of the Fair encourages you to explore and discover new materials at your own pace, to be curious, to network and to make connections to experts and your peers.

Accessibility

The main entrance to the Examination Schools is stepped. There is a ramped entrance immediately to the left of the main entrance. There is lift access throughout the building, two wheelchair accessible toilets and hearing support systems that can be deployed where needed throughout the building. Most areas of the building have level access.

The accessible toilet is gender neutral and is at the bottom of the staircase opp. Room 8.

If you have any queries, please email library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Research skills training

Working on your thesis means that you will need to learn new or improve existing research skills, including:

  1. Effective searching for information;
  2. Awareness of the rich sources available in Oxford (and beyond) and how to access them;
  3. Ability to correctly handle physical source material, such as archives;
  4. Correct citation practices, ethical research practice, etc.;
  5. Awareness of the relevant experts in Oxford libraries and archives.

The Bodleian Libraries have many classes and workshops set up to help you learn the skills you need – check out the research training page on this Libguide: 

Research Training for Historians

We hope to see you at the Fair!

2nd year UG Historians: Get Ready for Your Thesis Research in Trinity Term!

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Throughout Trinity term, the Bodleian Library is offering a range of classes, events and workshops designed to support Oxford second-year UG historians who are working towards their thesis.

It’s a very exciting time for all budding historians, as it offers you the opportunity to engage in primary research on a subject of your own devising, and to work out arguments which are entirely your own (not a synthesis of the conclusions of others). You will work as a historical scholar in your own right and will taste the kind of academic work undertaken professionally by your tutors.

To understand more about the requirements and support for your thesis, check out the History Faculty guidance on the compulsory thesis.

Doing research on your thesis also means that you will need to learn new skills, deepening your knowledge of resources and sources and how to go about locating and using them. This includes:

  1. Information searching and research skills;
  2. Awareness of the rich sources available to you in Oxford (and beyond) and knowing how to access them;
  3. The right way to handle material, including archives, correct citation practices, ethical research practice, etc.;
  4. Knowing the relevant experts in Oxford libraries and archives.

THE TRAINING SCHEDULE

Most sessions require SSO for bookings. You can find the training programme below – subdivided into research skills and referencing training.

Some sessions are open to other members of the University. Others are exclusively aimed at undergraduates of the History Faculty, University of Oxford.

If you have any queries regarding these or have problems with registration, please email library.history@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

A. RESEARCH SKILLS TRAINING

[Hist Fac UGs] History Thesis Fair – Wed 30 April 2025 (week 1) @ 3-5pm – In person, North Writing School, Exam Schools

This highly popular Fair has Librarians, Academics, Information Skills advisors, Subject Specialists and many more covering many different subjects and aspects of your Thesis prep. Come and talk to dedicated specialists and find out what there is on offer in Oxford and further afield! If you are in a college beginning letters B-N, please come at 3pm; all other colleges should try to come at 4pm – but if you can’t make it during your time slot, just come when you can.

Webinar: ‘Getting started with the new interface of Bibliography of British and Irish History‘ – Mon 28 April 2025 (week 1) @ 4pm-4.15pm – Free online training provided by Brepols 

This short and practical webinar will introduce the new interface of the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH). Advance registration required. 

Discovering Archives and Modern Manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries (Bodleian iSkills) – Thurs 1 May 2025 (week 1) @ 10-11.30 am – In person, Weston Library Lecture Theatre

This workshop will introduce participants to the key catalogues and finding aids for post-1800 archives and manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries. In particular the session will focus on Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts, the online catalogue for post-1800 archives and manuscripts. The session will also briefly introduce some of the major UK online gateways for discovering archives.

[Hist Fac UGs] Researching Bibliography – Wed 7 May 2025 (week 2) @ 12noon-1pm – On Teams

This online session aims to give you a head start on the skills you will need to track down secondary literature and primary source material for your thesis. A range of library catalogues, databases, web portals and more will be explored to help you make the best use of your time.

Introduction to Online Resources for Historians: Show and Tell (Bodleian iSkills) – Thurs 8 May 2025 (week 2) @ 2-4pm – On Teams

A general online introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods of British and Western European history. Learning outcomes are to: Gain an overview of some of the key online resources for Medieval, Early Modern and Modern British and Western European History. Know how to access subscription resources. Gain awareness of key examples of useful resources: bibliographic databases; reference sources; primary sources; maps; audio-visual resources, and data sources.

Using AI to Find, Analyse, and Share Information Sources (Bodleian iSkills) – Mon 12 May 2025 (week 3) and Mon 2 June 2025 (week 6) @ 9.30am-12pm – In person, IT Services, 7-19 Banbury Road

This beginner-friendly workshop introduces three GenAI tools (ChatGPT, Elicit, and Perplexity), showing how they can support information discovery and analysis. Designed for those new to AI, it will allow you to independently experiment with these tools and will explore their strengths, limitations, and suitability for different tasks.

Sources for Modern Global History (Bodleian iSkills) – Wed 14 May 2025 (Week 3) @ 2-3.45pm – In person, Weston Library Lecture Theatre

This in-person session introduces key archival, printed and electronic resources, such as finding aids, bibliographic resources and primary sources for post-1800 global history. The focus will be on non-European history but will draw predominantly on English and European language resources.

Newspapers and Other Online News Sources from the 17th-21st Centuries (Bodleian iSkills) – Wed 21 May 2025 (week 4) @ 11.30am-1pm – On Teams

Newspapers are a valuable resource for researching not only news but also many other aspects of political, economic, social and cultural life. In this online session we will introduce key online sources of news and how to make best use of them. The focus will be on historical and contemporary newspapers from the 17th century across most countries of the world.

[Hist Fac UGs] Research Skills for your Thesis: a Workshop – Tues 27 May 2025 (week 5) @ 2-4pm – In person – Sign up required

This session is designed to equip you with key information skills in order to make best use of electronic information and discovery resources. A range of finding aids and databases will be explored, as well as advanced search techniques which can be used in SOLO and other online search tools.

Sources for US History (Bodleian iSkills) – Thurs 29 May 2025 (week 5) @ 2-3.30pm – On Teams

An online introduction to primary sources for the study of American history, from the colonial period to the 20th Century. The session will provide an overview of the different kinds of information sources (early printed books, newspapers, databases and official records), and guidance on locating material for research. Collections highlighted include physical materials available in Oxford, Bodleian databases and other online resources.

[Hist Fac UGs] Sources for Medieval History – Thurs 5 June 2025 (week 6) @ 11.30am-1pm – On Teams

This online session provides a general overview of a wide range of e-resources relevant for British and Western European medieval history: bibliographical databases, biographical/reference tools, web portals and collections of online primary source materials of Anglo-Saxon sources, chronicles, charters and more.

[Hist Fac UGs] Sources for Early Modern History – Mon 9 June 2025 (week 7) @ 2-3.30pm – On Teams

This online session provides a general overview of a wide range of e-resources relevant for British and Western European early modern history: bibliographical databases, biographical/reference tools, online collections of early printed books, newspapers, state papers touching on the political, social and religious upheavals during this period.

Working with Sensitive Research Data (Bodleian iSkills) – Tues 10 June 2025 (week 7) @ 2-4pm – In person, Information Skills Training Room, Social Science Library

A workshop outlining some of the key principles to bear in mind when working with sensitive or restricted research. Issues of confidentiality, informed consent, cybersecurity and data management will be covered. The role of support services at Oxford will also be outlined and in particular the role of the Bodleian Data Librarian.

[Hist Fac UGs] REPEAT: Research Skills for your Thesis: a Workshop – Tues 10 June 2025 (week 7) @ 2-4pm – In person – Sign up required

This session is designed to equip you with key information skills in order to make best use of electronic information and discovery resources. A range of finding aids and databases will be explored, as well as advanced search techniques which can be used in SOLO and other online search tools.

B. REFERENCING TRAINING: USING SOFTWARE TO CITE SOURCES

Referencing: Choosing and Using Software for Referencing (Bodleian iSkills) – Tues 29 April 2025 (week 1) @ 1.30-4.30pm – In person, IT Services, 7-19 Banbury Road

Formatting your in-text citations, footnotes and bibliography correctly for your thesis or publication is crucial. Reference management tools make this easier and save you time. This classroom-based session gives an overview of how reference management works, explores the advantages and disadvantages of a range of software packages and gives you the opportunity to try out four different packages (RefWorks, EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero) so that you can work out which one is best for you.

Referencing: Zotero (Bodleian iSkills) – In person: Fri 09 May 2025 (week 2) @ 1.30-4.30pm – IT Services, 7-19 Banbury Road | On Teams: Wed 28 May 2025 (week 5) @ 9.30-11.00am

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 introduction is available in both online and face-to-face formats.

Referencing: EndNote (Bodleian iSkills) – In Person: Mon 12 May 2025 (week 3) @ 1.30-4.30pm – IT Services, 7-19 Banbury Road | On Teams: Wed 21 May 2025 (week 4) @ 9.30am-11.30am

EndNote is a desktop-based reference management tool for Windows and Mac users. It helps you to build libraries of references and insert them into Word documents as in-text citations or footnotes, and to automatically generate bibliographies. This introduction is available in both online and face-to-face formats.

Referencing: RefWorks (Bodleian iSkills) – Wed 21 May 2025 (week 4) @ 2-4pm – On Teams

RefWorks is web-based and helps you to collect and manage references and insert them into your word processed document as in-text citations or footnotes, and you can generate bibliographies. Being web-based, RefWorks can be used with any operating system and, to cite your references in a document, provides a plugin for Microsoft Word on Windows or Mac computers.

Best of luck training and preparing for your thesis research!