LibGuides: Drama DRA2045: Finding &amp; using library resources: Primary Source Databases

Primary Source collections

Use the Primary Sources Libguide to explore the Library's extensive range of online primary source collections, and quickly find the most relevant sources for your research. The collections include digitised copies of manuscripts, letters, books, photographs, newspapers and other key primary sources from archives around the world.

Our comprehensive online news collections range from local news to news publications from around the world and span a wide range of dates.

Find out more on the News Archives LibGuide

The Library's Special Collections department houses primary sources in many formats including letters, diaries, manuscripts and photos, which can be accessed via their dedicated reading room in the Research Commons, Old Library.

Visit the Archives and Special Collections LibGuide for more information.

Find out how to search the archives for rare books and materials here.

Use the Archive Catalogue Search to find out what is available.

Devon & Cornwall have a number of local archives that you can use when searching for primary sources. Find out more here.

These databases are nationally significant archives of the UK, covering many different themes, subjects and sources.

Archives Hub This link opens in a new window
A gateway to archive collections held in UK universities. Subject coverage includes the arts, humanities, social science, sciences and health, and source materials include personal writings, documentation, images and ephemera.
British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue This link opens in a new window
Search for information about the British
Library’s rich and unique archive and manuscript collections.
The catalogue contains descriptions of the majority of the British Library's manuscripts,
paper-based archives, photographs and an increasing number of digital archives.
The Library's sound archive collections and moving image collections are not included and Asian and African manuscripts are only partially represented.
British Library Digitised Manuscripts This link opens in a new window
A collection of digitised manuscripts and archives in the British Library’s collections.
British Library Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full text UK and Irish national, regional and local newspapers from the mid 18th to the mid 20th century. Cross searchable with other newspaper archives via Gale NewsVault. We have access to the full collection (parts 1-6). Digitised article and full page scans and OCR text. Date coverage: 1714-1950
View more info about the collections
British Library Sounds This link opens in a new window
Sound recordings from the British Library collections. Recordings include music, drama and literature, oral history, wildlife and environmental sounds as well as an interactive sound map of regional accents and dialect.
Digital Bodleian This link opens in a new window
A collection of primary and contemporary material across a wide range of subjects, with scanned images of the Bodleian Libraries special collections, including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
Discovery, the National Archives Catalogue This link opens in a new window
Full catalogue of the holdings of the National Archives and thousands of other archives in the UK. The National Archives is home to millions of historical documents, which were created and collected by UK central government departments and major courts of law. Wide subject coverage.

National Register of Archives for Scotland
The NRAS provides details of papers of historical significance in private hands in Scotland. The Register now contains over 4,200 surveys of private papers including the records of landed estates, private individuals, businesses, law firms and societies.

UK Government Web Archive This link opens in a new window
Archive of UK government information published on the web, from official documents, policy and acts, to a twitter archive.

Archival news sources

A wide range of archival news sources are available at the University.

Find out more by visiting the Archival News Sources LibGuide.

You can browse through the listing to see the wide range of news resources that are available to you.