Training opportunities coming up for historians

Posted on 14 May 2013 by iholowaty

Training opportunities in the Bodleian Libraries

During the next few weeks, the Bodleian Libraries will running workshops on open access, sources for historians, RefWorks and reference managements:

Open Access Oxford – What’s Happening? (various dates – see below) Researchers in receipt of grants from RCUK funding councils issued after 1April 2013 are required to make their research papers open access. Come along to one of our briefing on open access to find out about Green vs. Gold open access publishing; funder mandates and publisher policies; the Oxford Research Archive (ORA) and Symplectic; and how to find more information and help on open access. Who are these sessions for? These session are open to current members of Oxford University only and are designed for research support staff, librarians, academics and researchers.

Dates:

WISER: Open Access Oxford – what’s happening? (all subjects) (Thurs 16 May 11.00-12.00) (wk 4) > Book Now
WISER: Open Access Oxford – what’s happening? (all subjects) (Wed 29 May 11.00-12.00) (wk 6) > Book Now
Open Access for historians – (Wed. 5 June, 13:00-14:00, Rees Davies Room, History Faculty) > no booking required

WISER Workshops

WISER: Online Resources for Historians (Tue 28 May 9.15-10.30) (wk 6)– A general introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods for British and West European history including bibliographical databases, biographical and reference research aids, e-books and ejournals, web portals and collections of online primary source materials. > Book Now

WISER: Sources for US History (Tue 28 May 10.45-12.15) (wk 6) – Introduction to key information sources for the study of colonial America and US history up to 1990. Starting with finding tools to locate material, examples of source materials will then be shown including archival, microform, printed/online collections and useful web portals and audiovisual collections. > Book Now

WISER: Information Sources for African Studies , Fri 7 Jun 9.15-10.45 (TT week 7) – This session will cover finding tools for locating African Studies materials, key portals and gateways for African Studies and online archives of primary texts. Starting with a presentation the session will also include time for participants to try out some of the resources demonstrated. > Book Now

WISER: Sources for Medievalists, Wed 12 June 14.00-16.00 (TT week 8)
This interdisciplinary session will provide a general overview of e-resources relevant for British and Western European medieval studies. It will cover bibliographical databases, biographical and reference tools, web portals and collections of online primary source materials including Anglo-Saxon sources, Greek/Latin texts, chronicles, charters and literary works. > Book Now

RefWorks for Humanities (Wed 29 May 9.15 – 12.15) (wk 6) – RefWorks is an online tool which allows you to manage your references, insert them into your work, 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 and academics and undergraduates wishing to use reference management software > Book Now

For Historians: RefWorks for Your Thesis, Wed 5 June 14.00-16.00 (TT week 7) *repeated** Thur 13 June 10.30-12.30 (TT week 8)

This session is primarily aimed at 2nd year History Undergraduates and will give a basic introduction on how to use RefWorks for your dissertation and will highlight some of its key features. The session is also open other postgraduates and academics in the History Faculty. > Book now

WISER: Tech Tools – Reference Management (Fri 31 May 9.15-12.15) (wk 6) – Keeping track of your references and formatting them correctly for your thesis or publication is a chore. Reference management software makes it easy and is worth investigating. This introductory session gives an overview of how it works and the pros and cons of RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley.
Who is this session for? Postgraduates, researchers and academics and undergraduates wishing to use reference management software > 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

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

Training opportunities in the British Library

Finding Early Western Printed Books in the British Library (4 June, 11:00-12:15). This is a new workshop offered by British Library Rare Books Reference Specialists. It provides an overview of reference resources which can help trace hard-to-find early printed material (ca.1455- ca.1900) and enhance using the Library’s main catalogue, Explore the British Library.

Information Skills-Navigating research in the British Library (15 May and 12 June, 3-4pm). This course covers the basic skills needed for someone starting a research project. It will show you how to locate information on your subject within the British Library Collections.

These sessions are free. You can book a place by email (hrs-training@bl.uk).

History Database of the Month Confidential Prints: Africa

Posted on 1 May 2013 by iholowaty

The database of the month for May is Confidential Prints: Africa 1834-1966.

What is this database?

Confidential Print: Africa offer full text access to complete volumes of all British Government Confidential Print for Africa, from the Colonial, Dominion, Foreign and War Offices from the National Archives. The series originated out of a need for the Government to preserve all of the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices. Some of these were one-page letters or telegrams; others were large volumes or texts of treaties. All items marked ‘Confidential Print’ were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet and to heads of British missions abroad.

The introduction to the database provides an overview of the collections covered within the database and also gives some examples of the types of material included. There are telegrams noting the South African government’s support for sanctions against Italy after the Italian conquest of Abyssinia and despatches discussing newly independent Ghana’s slide into authoritarianism.

An example map result of British Somaliland in 1926

The collections include

Reports
Dispatches
Correspondence
Descriptions of leading personalities
Political summaries
Economic analyses
hundreds of colour maps

How can I access it?
University of Oxford members can access this subscription resource on and off campus via OxLIP+. Remember to sign on to OxLIP+ with your single sign on when accessing the database off-campus.

Other similar databases

WISER courses in Week 5

Posted on 16 May 2012 by iholowaty

Bodleian Libraries will be running the following workshops during week 5:

WISER: Information Sources for African Studies [Monday 21 May 09.15 – 10.45] – This session will cover finding tools for locating African Studies materials, key portals and gateways for African Studies and online archives of primary texts. Starting with a presentation the session will also include time for participants to try out some of the resources demonstrated. Presenters: Sarah Rhodes and Lucy McCann. Please book your place online.

WISER: Electronic Enlightenment – Letters & Lives Online [Monday 21 May 10.45 – 12.15] – This new workshop introduces EE’s full-text collection of early 17th to mid-19th century correspondence. An extraordinary social network covering topics from religious tolerance to animal rights, from vulcanology to classical archaeology, and from economic modelling to celebrity culture. Presenters: Dr Robert McNamee & Mark Rogerson. Please book your place online.

Bodleian Libraries workshops– Check http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/workshops for the full WISER programme and for details of other training opportunities offered by Bodleian Libraries. Why not follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oxwiser , visit the BodWiser blog at http://bodwiser.wordpress.com or join our mailling list by sending an empty email to wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk

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.

If you have any questions please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

History Thesis Fair in 3rd week

Posted on 26 April 2012 by iholowaty

Thesis Fair: Thursday 3rd Week in Trinity Term – 10 May 2012, 2-4pm, Exam Schools

All 2^nd year history undergraduates are encouraged to drop in on the Thesis Fair which will give you the opportunity to discover the University’s vast information resources including library, archive and electronic materials.

Library experts and academic historians will be on hand to provide expert assistance and tips on the information available to you for your research and how to search through it.

Stalls cover a range of information including:

Medieval sources
Early modern & Modern sources
British & European sources
African & Commonwealth sources
Latin American sources
Indian sources
US sources
History of Science & Medicine
History of Art & Visual resources

And many more…

Meet 2 History Finalists at the Top 10 Tips stall to learn from their experience. They will also give a talk in Room 1, School, 14:45-15:00.

Further courses

Courses to help prepare you for writing your thesis will be run later in the term. These include:

Online resources for historians
Information sources for African Studies
Manuscripts
US studies sources for historians
Medieval sources for historians
Using RefWorks for your dissertation
Information Skills Minimum Kit – a session designed to help you use a variety of information sources and tools to search effectively and carry out your literature review

More information about these sessions and online booking is available from: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/history/thesisfair

Call for papers: Dis/connects: African Studies in the Digital Age: Oxford, 25–26 June 2012

Posted on 10 October 2011 by iholowaty

SCOLMA (UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa)

50th Anniversary Conference: Oxford, 25–26 June 2012

The digital revolution is profoundly affecting African studies. New digital resources are making available large areas of content, as well as greatly improving access to bibliographies. In Africa, governments and NGOs are publishing online, some publishers are moving to print on demand and e-books, and international academic journals are increasingly becoming available in university and national libraries.

Yet the story, as is well-known, is far from straightforward or unproblematic. This conference will mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of SCOLMA by taking a critical look at the field of African studies and how it is changing.

> Call for papers

Next SCOLMA seminar:

November 9th 2011: Dr Lotte Hughes on a project concerning museums and heritage in Kenya.

Check seminar information.

WISER: Information Sources for African Studies

Posted on 25 May 2011 by iholowaty

WISER: Information Sources for African Studies

Tuesday 31 May, 10:45-12:00

This session will introduce key information sources for African Studies. You will be shown useful finding tools to locate relevant material via SOLO and how to search them, as well as important portals and gateways to libraries and archives of online primary texts. There will be time for a brief hands-on at the end.

Presenters: Sarah Rhodes and Lucy McCann

OUCS – Book Here

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Tag Archives: African history