Library Blog

This year, the Library has obtained access to hundreds of new digital archives, including the full collection from British Online Archives. These include new collections covering missionary, military, trade union, trade and political records including many collections covering the British Communist Party and some new collections on the East India Company. Overall, they offer a fantastic trove of resources for students and staff to explore. 

Other notable recent acquisitions include the Royal Anthropological Institute Archive, and the archive of the Hindustan Times newspaper, which covers 1924-2010.

We have also updated our access to collections from Adam Matthew Digital: this includes the final part of the Mass Observation archives (covering the 2000's), a new archive on interwar culture and other new archives on Victorian film and the East India Company coming soon.

In addition, we have secured a deal with Gale Cengage to access a large number of their digital archives, maximising access for staff and students. These new archives include collections on China, Latin America, U.S. History, U.S. and U.K. declassified documents, political extremism and radicalism and the final part of the State Papers Online. Added to these are numerous newspaper archives, topping up existing access and adding access to the Picture Post magazine archive.

All new resources are available via our A-Z list, or you can browse by theme, time period or country on the Primary Sources Guide. Newspaper and magazine archives are listed on the News Archives Guide.

About Sage Research Methods

For several years, the University has made use of the Sage Research Methods database.  This database comprises numerous modules and prior to summer 2021 the modules were primarily in written form; journal entries, books and encyclopaedia.  For 2021/2022, an enhanced portfolio of over 3,000 additional materials has been made available and encompasses video, datasets and research cases, together with learning activities to test understanding

Educators can call on multimedia and lesson content to assist students to build their research methodology understanding and skills throughout their module activities.  Students can explore the realities of research through working with practice datasets and learning from real life research experiences that are featured in the  video and cases content.  This helps bring the research experience to life in a way that is not possible through the book and journal content.

Access Sage Research Methods

Login with your University username and passwords to SAGE Research Methods.

More about the new content

The new content includes datasets, cases and video

SAGE Research Methods Datasets

A collection of sample datasets and instructional guides that can be used to support the teaching and independent learning of quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques.

SAGE Research Methods Cases

Detailed records of how real research projects are conducted, written by the researchers themselves. They explain why the researchers chose the research methods, how they overcame challenges, what went well, and what they might have done differently

SAGE Research Methods Video

A streaming video collection created to support undergraduate teaching, student reference, research projects and higher level academic interest material. Content includes tutorials, interviews, video case studies, and mini-documentaries covering the entire research process.

Click to see more info on datasets, cases and video

Help and Support

For online help and support, take a look at Sage's Training Centre.

If you are completely new to the Sage Research Methods database then you may like to join one of the upcoming webinars which will give you an introduction to the service.  Upcoming dates are: 

Mon 11 October @ 14.00 BST - RSVP

Mon 15 November @ 14.00 GMT - RSVP

Your liaison librarians are also available for help and support.  Just get in touch if you have questions about the database and how you might use it within your teaching.

One of the most comprehensive collections of Chinese and Japanese ancient books including volumes of ancient books covering historical, political, economic, religious, philosophic, literary, ethnic and geographic documents. (Chinese language)

Si Ku Quan Shu
This is the largest collection of ancient books in China's history, spanning from the Pre-Qin period to the early Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, covering many academic fields.

Qing Dynasty Archives
This archive includes precious historical collections such as Qing shi lu, Wu cao hui dian, Da qing jin shen quan shu, Da qing fu zheng yao lan quan shu, Da qing zhong shu bei lan, Huang di yu pi, and more.

“A magazine devoted to social and political problems, literature and art… .”  

Published initially under the aegis of the of Soviet Women’s Anti-Fascist Committee and the Central Council of Trade Unions of the USSR, it began as a bimonthly illustrated magazine tasked with countering anti-Soviet propaganda by introducing Western audiences to the lifestyle of Soviet women, their role in the post-WWII rebuilding of the Soviet economy, praising their achievements in the arts and the sciences. Originally published simultaneously in Russian, English, German and French, the magazine went on to add more foreign language editions aiming to reach even wider audiences both in the West and elsewhere to balance the Western narrative about the Soviet Union in these countries with a pro-Soviet ideological counterweight.

Over the years the magazine developed regular sections covering issues dealing with economics, politics, life abroad, life in Soviet republics, women’s fashion, as well as broader issues in culture and the arts. One of its most popular features was the translations of Soviet literary works, making available in English, (and other languages) works of Russian and Soviet writers that were previously unavailable, allowing readers worldwide a peek inside the hitherto insular Soviet literary world. An important communist propaganda outlet, the magazine continued its run until the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

  
LGBT Thought and Culture is an online resource hosting the key works and archival documentation of LGBT political and social movements throughout the 20th century and into the present day. The collection contains rare archival content, including seminal texts, letters, periodicals, speeches, interviews, and ephemera. 

Key highlights include:

- The Pat Rocco Collection: Acquired from the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, this collection features ephemora and correspondence from gay rights organizer and filmmaker Pat Rocco, documenting his impact in Southern California and Hawaii in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Includes letters from SPREE (The Society of Pat Rocco Enlightened Enthusiasts)
- The Jeanne Cordova Papers: The collection offers ephemera documenting the 1970’s activism of editor Jeanne Cordova. It includes correspondence regarding her magazine The Lesbian Tide, and other letters that provide insight into her role as a leader for Los Angeles-based LGBT and feminist movements.
- The Magnus Hirschfeld Collection:  Including the professional correspondence, publications, confidential reports, news clippings, court documents, and other materials from renowned German sex researcher Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935).

The MLA has created an online course to help students use the MLA International Bibliography.

They have just released the fifth module of the course, Literary topics.

• Sign up online (you'll need to create a new account) and find out how to perform searches on particular literary works and authors, as well as broader topics.
• The module should take around 45 minutes to complete.
• You'll need to use the MLA Bibliography to complete all aspects of the online course. You can access it here https://libguides.exeter.ac.uk/mla.

If you need any help using the MLA International Bibliography, please get in touch with your liaison librarian.