LibGuides: History: Specialist resources

Specialist resources for History

The Library has subscriptions to a large number of databases providing full-text digital access to original historical documents. The best way to see them all is to go to the Databases tab on FindIt@Bham and then select either Historical Sources or Original Texts from the drop-down Type filter. The following is a representative selection:

Gale Primary Sources
Discover documents from over 500 years of world history. Covers 15 Gale Databases ranging from Archives of Sexuality and Gender to U.S.Declassified Documents
British History Online
Digital library of primary and secondary sources for British history from the Institute of Historical Research. It includes information covering all periods of history from sources such as the Victoria County History, Calendars of State Papers, House of Commons journals and debates, along with maps and other resources.
State Papers Online - Parts I to IV, 1509-1714 This link opens in a new window
Users can cross-search almost 3 million documents housed in separate collections from The National Archives and the British Library. Parts 1 -4
Mass Observation Online
Archive of the Mass Observation project which recorded everyday life in Britain in the 1930s and 1940s.
Chamberlain Papers
Part of Archives Bound,the collection comprises The Papers of Joseph Chamberlain; The Papers of Neville Chamberlain; and The Papers of Sir Austen Chamberlain.
Empire Online This link opens in a new window
A collection of digitized primary source material related to the British Empire.
Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007
Contains documents and collections covering the period 1490 - 2007, from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world.
Victorian Popular Culture
Database of original documents and images relating to Victorian popular culture - particularly theatre, music hall, circuses, popular entertainment, magic and spiritualism.
Documents on British Policy Overseas
Documents on British Policy Overseas (DBPO) is a fully searchable collection of primary source documents from Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), shedding light on diplomatic history throughout the 20th C. It is based on three print series which form a record of British peacetime diplomacy since the end of the 19th C: British Documents on the Origins of the War 1898-1914, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1918-1939 and Documents on British Policy Overseas. DBPO is produced in collaboration between ProQuest and the FCO.
Testaments to the Holocaust This link opens in a new window
Digitized primary source documents from the Wiener Library, contains 1,200 eyewitness accounts gathered in the 1950's and early 1960's; 4,000 photographs and Nazi propaganda material.
Monumenta Germaniae Historica
Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH) is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500. The collection consists of historical writings, treaties, laws, and correspondence, largely in Latin, from this period.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture, 1793-1980
Digital collection of English-language sources relating to China and the West, 1793-1980.
Churchill Archive
Digital library of more than 800,000 pages of original documents, produced between 1874 and 1965, ranging from Winston S. Churchill's personal and official correspondence.
Women in the National Archives
'Women in the National Archives' is a finding Aid to Women's Studies Resources in The National Archives, Kew, combined with original documents on the Suffrage Question in Britain, the Empire and Colonial Territories.

National Archives Discovery This link opens in a new window
Catalogue for material held in the National Archives, including the Documents Online service (Please note only approx. 5% of material is available online).

JISC Archives Hub

This is another directory and description of archives held in the UK: https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/.

Cadbury Research Library

The Cadbury Research Library, housed in the basement of Muirhead Tower, holds the University's manuscripts, archives and older printed books. Many of the archives relate to individuals and organisations in Birmingham and the Midlands, but there are also archives of the Chamberlain family, the Church Missionary Society, YMCA and other organisations. Please visit its website at https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/specialcollections/index.aspx.

There is guidance on how to search for material in the CRL here.

Public Information Online
Includes Command Papers, House of Commons Papers, House of Lords Papers, Bills of both Houses, Explanatory Notes and Public Bill/Standing Committee Debates. Begins with 2006/07 session and updated daily.
UKOP (UK Official Publications) This link opens in a new window
This does not have full text, but is a useful source for tracing details of official publication from sources other than the House of Commons.
GOV.UK This link opens in a new window
Gateway giving access to UK central and local government websites. "Quick Find" lists central and local government websites alphabetically by name and by subject and has details of Government policy consultations. The rest of the site arranges access to government information by major topics.
UK Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window
Contains searchable full text of House of Commons Papers, Command Papers, Bills, Reports of Committees and Commissioners. Use this or Lawtel, BOPCRIS, or UKOP.
Hansard Online This link opens in a new window
Hansard is a substantially verbatim report of debates in both Houses of Parliament. It also reports decisions taken during sittings and records how Members voted to reach those decisions in Divisions. Records of debates are available from the early 19th century to the present.
Office for National Statistics
The UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and the recognised national statistical institute of the UK.
Europa
Portal of the European Union with access to Web sites of EU institutions and large numbers of EU publications.
Eurostat
Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg. Its mission is to provide high quality statistics for Europe.

Box of Broadcasts (BoB) This link opens in a new window
BoB is an off-air recording and media archive service which stores recorded TV and Radio programmes in an archive indefinitely.
Nexis Advance UK
Text of newspapers from across the world as well as UK national and local newspapers; Company information and reports. Information regarding a particular country can also be found in this database, as well as bibliographies on a range of people.
Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Provides fully searchable access to the full text of The Times newspaper
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian (1821-2003) & The Observer (1791-2003) This link opens in a new window
Provides full text access to The Guardian (1821 - 2001) and The Observer (1791 - 2003)
British Library Newspapers: 1732-1950, Parts I-V This link opens in a new window
Reflecting the social, political and cultural events of the times, British Library Newspapers is a database that allows access to a comprehensive range of regional and local newspapers in Britain between the mid eighteenth and mid twentieth centuries.
Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003
With its debut in 1842 the Illustrated London News became the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper, sparking a revolution in journalism and news reporting. The publication presented a vivid picture of British and world events - including news of war, disasters, royalty, social affairs, the arts and science. Containing over 260,000 full colour pages, fully searchable and browseable, the ILN Historical Archive 1842-2003 provides users with unprecedented access to the entire run of this unique historical record.
Russian Central Newspapers This link opens in a new window
The Universal Database of Russian Newspapers (UDB-COM) provides comprehensive coverage of national news, current events, economic developments and cultural events in Russia. Official sources (Rossiiskaia gazeta, Krasnaia zvezda, ITAR-TASS), independent media and partisan publications are all represented on this database, thus offering a wide array of opinions and perspectives. Several English-language newspapers including the notable Moscow Times, widely read by the international community in the Russian capital, constitute an important part of the database.
African Newspapers: The British Library Collection
African Newspapers: The British Library Collection features nearly 60 newspapers from throughout Africa, all published before1901.
World Newspaper Archive: Africa 1800 1922 This link opens in a new window
More than forty historical African newspapers, searchable online.