Database Spotlight
New Temple-only database, provides scanned images of newspapers from throughout the British Isles printed between 1600 and 1900. Includes two sub-databases: 17th & 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers and 19th Century British Library Newspapers.
EuroDocs
EuroDocs is an online directory of primary documents in Western European history compiled by Richard Hacken, librarian at Brigham Young University.
Highly recommended.
Gallica
The Digital Library of the National Library of France (compare with American Memory, Library of Congress)
U.K. National Archives
BOOKS: Primary-Source European History Databases
The following databases provide electronic reproductions of full-text primary-source books and other texts. See also the Find Books tab.
- Early English Books Online (EEBO)
From the first book published in English through the age of Shakespeare, this collection contains over 100,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475 - 1640), Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700), and the Thomason Tracts. - Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
With the recent acquisition of ECCO II, this combined database now contains over 180,000 titles (200,000 volumes) — in essence, every significant English-language and foreign-language book printed in the United Kingdom during the 18th century, along with thousands of titles printed in America. - Google Books This open-access database offers thousands of titles published prior to 1900. The Advanced Book Search, while not as flexible as Diamond or OCLC's Worldcat, nevertheless permits a researcher to limit by title (e.g., Berlin) and date published (e.g. 1865-1890).
- Library of Latin Texts This database contains texts from the beginning of Latin literature (Livius Andronicus, 240 BCE) through to the texts of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
- Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) The Thesaurus Linguae Graecae contains virtually all Greek texts surviving from the period between Homer (8th century BCE) and CE 600, as well as the majority of surviving works up to the fall of Byzantium in CE 1453.
PERIODICALS: Primary-Source European History Databases
The following databases -- seven Temple-only, one open-access -- index and in most cases provide electronic reproductions of full-text primary source journals and newspapers.
- British Newspapers, 1600-1900 British Newspapers, 1600-1900 is a comprehensive digital newspaper archive. It provides access to historic newspapers, newsbooks, ephemera and national & regional papers from the British Isles.
- British Periodicals Online, Collections I and II The two collections combined currently consist of over 460 journals (500 eventually) published between the 1680s and 1930s.
- C19: The Nineteenth Century Index C19 indexes millions of documents published between 1790 and 1919. It is comprised of numerous sub-databases. Click on the "i" icon for more information.
- Eighteenth Century Journals (ECJ) I and II A database of about 150 British periodicals highly complementary of ECCO and EEBO (see BOOKS box, above). Click "i" for more information.
- Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports, 1974-1996 FBIS is an important new digital archive of full-text translations of foreign news sources from all areas of the world. Click "i" for more information.
- Google News Archive Paper of Record was a freely accessible database of historical newspaper images from around the world. In January 2009 the site's content disappeared after having been purchased by Google for its Google News Archive, causing much consternation among historians. Click "i" for more information.
- ICON: International Coalition on Newspapers (CRL) "This page highlights and links to past, present, and prospective digitization projects of historic newspapers. The focus is primarily on digital conversion efforts, not full-text collections of current news sources" (Center for Research Libraries).
- Internet Library of Early Journals (ILEJ) The purpose of this now concluded open-access project was to digitize "substantial runs of 18th and 19th century journals, and make these images available on the Internet, together with their associated bibliographic data".
- Periodicals Archive Online (PAO) PAO "is a major online periodical archive that makes the [full-text] backfiles of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences available electronically." PAO currently offers access to 450 journals spanning some 300 years.
- Periodicals Index Online (PIO) PIO "is an electronic index to millions of articles published in over 5,000 periodicals in the humanities and social sciences. It is unique in combining a broad subject base with deep chronological coverage going back over 300 years."
- Times [of London] Digital Archive (1785-1985) A searchable, full-text image archive of every page of the (London) Times from 1785 to 1985. Complements Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO), above.
MISCELLANEOUS Primary-Source European History Databases
The following Temple databases provide electronic reproductions of full-text primary-source documents including maps, letters, diaries, oral histories, memoirs and other personal narratives. Many of these databases are relevant to the history of other parts of the world including Africa, the Americas, and Asia.
- China: Trade, Politics & Culture, 1793-1980 This full-text digital collection is based primarily on unique manuscript materials held at the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), the British Library in London, and supplemented by Cambridge University Library and others.
- Conditions & Politics in Occupied Western Europe Conditions and Politics in Occupied Western Europe, 1940-1945, features full-text documents received in the British Foreign Office from all European states under Nazi occupation during World War II.
- Defining Gender, 1450-1910 This online collection contains scanned images of rare and important printed manuscripts on various aspects of gender, sexuality and culture in Great Britain.
- Empire Online A collection of primary-source documents in Empire Studies. Includes thematic essays, written by leading scholars in the field of Empire Studies to introduce the material, placing the documents within a broad historical, literary and cultural context. Click on the "i" icon for more information.
- Europeana (free from the European Union) "Europeana offers a journey through time, across borders, and into new ideas of what our culture is. More than that, it will connect people to their history and, through interactive pages and tools, to each other."
- In The First Person (FIRP) FIRP indexes and links to "first-person" material in selected Alexander Street Press databases including Oral History Online and the free web. It indexes oral histories, letters, diaries, autobiographies, etc.
- Justis This database provides access to United Kingdom, Irish and European Union case law and legislation dating back to 1163.
- Letters & Diaries Online Letters and Diaries Online: Social and Cultural History from Alexander Street Press in its entirety forms perhaps the largest online archive of social experiences over time. Click the "i" icon for more information.
- Making of Modern Law: Legal Treatises 1800-1926 (MOML) Access the full-text of over 21,000 Anglo-American legal works including casebooks, local practice manuals, form books, works for lay readers, pamphlets, letters, and speeches. The material has been separated into 99 distinct subject areas to aid in searching.
- Making of Modern Law: Trials 1600-1926 (MOMLT) Books, pamphlets, official and unofficial trial documents, legal transcripts, administrative proceedings, and arbitrations. Covers trials from all countries and languages, but the majority are English-language and published in Great Britain or the U.S.
- Oral History Online This database indexes over 2,700 oral history collections in English from around the world. Click "Places" on the Homepage, followed by the plus (+) icon next to the word Europe on the resulting page. Also links to some 4,100 audio and video files.
- Slavery, Abolition, and Social Justice, 1490-2007 Important resource for slavery and abolition studies, this database brings together documents and collections covering an extensive time period 1490-2007, from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world.
- The Gerritsen Collection: Women's History Online, 1543-1945 This database constitutes a tremendous collection for the study of women's history around the world, including in the U.S. It contains both books and periodicals spanning roughly the first 400 years of the Modern Era.
GOV DOCS: Primary-Source European History Databases
These databases provide electronic reproductions of full-text primary-source documents originating from government agencies.
- AccessUN AccessUN is a commercially published index to United Nations documents and publications. It indexes resolutions, treaties, and UN periodicals and includes some full text. Covers the years 1945 to date.
- House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (HCPP): The 18th and 19th Centuries The Papers are vital to the historical record of Britain, its former Colonies and the wider world. They are among the richest and most detailed primary sources for the history of the Modern Era. Full-text searchable with detailed subject indexing. Update: Now includes sessional papers from 1715 and supplementary material dating to 1688.
STILL IMAGES: Primary-Source European History Databases
These collections of still photographs and other images constitute an invaluable record of the past.
- AP Images About 800 photos per day feed into this photo archive moments after moving onto the AP's spot picture system. Over 3 million U.S. and international photos, from 1826 to present. Also includes over 60,000 graphics, charts, and timelines.
- ARTstor ARTstor is a digital library of art images, associated information, and software tools designed to enhance teaching, learning and scholarship. ARTstor contains approximately 500,000 images of art, architecture and archeology from a wide range of cultures.
- CAMIO: Catalog of Art Museum Images Online Contains images of works of art from prominent museums around the world. Showcasing a wide range of fine and decorative art, CAMIO provides high-quality art images for education, research and enjoyment. All content is rights-cleared for educational use. Every work in CAMIO is represented by at least one high-resolution image and a description. Many have additional views of the work, sound, video and curatorial notes.
Reference Librarian |
David C. MurrayChat requires JavaScript. Try one of the other communication options below.
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Contact Info:
Paley Library, Room 319
(M-F, 10-6) AND
History Dept., GH, Room 937
(M & Th, 11-noon)
Phone: 215-204-4250
Send Email
Subjects:
History, Latin American Studies (particularly Ancient Mesoamerica), Spanish & Portuguese
 |  |  |
Contact Info:
Paley Library, Room 319
(M-F, 10-6) AND
History Dept., GH, Room 937
(M & Th, 11-noon)
Phone: 215-204-4250
Send Email
Subjects:
History, Latin American Studies (particularly Ancient Mesoamerica), Spanish & Portuguese
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