| Library Guide - history |
Hello, I'm Lydia Gibbs, the Liaison Librarian for History If you need help with finding and/or accessing any of the sources mentioned in this guide, I will be happy to help. Contact me in the library or as follows:
Email: lydia.gibbs@newman.ac.uk
Tel: 0121 476 1181 ex.1413
This subject guide is intended to help
you find key information sources useful for your
History assignments.It is not exhaustive and your
best bet is to read widely around a subject, exploring
different viewpoints and reaching your own conclusions
based on your research.Exactly the kind of behaviour
your lecturers are looking for!
The library catalogue is accessible at designated terminals in the library or online via the library homepage.
Use the catalogue to find books, journals and other resources in the History and Local History collections. A number of photographs from the Local History Images collection can also be viewed via the catalogue - use the Keyword search box to type in your subject.
Quick reference sources, which are available in the General Reference Collection in the library and increasingly online, can provide a useful starting point for your research, for example by providing factual and statistical information.
The following online reference sources may be useful for you as a History student. You can access these both on and off campus from the ‘Online Reference and Media Collections’ section of the Electronic Resources page of the library website:
• Britannica Online – Electronic version of this authoritative encyclopedia. Also links to some full-text journal articles on certain topics.
• Oxford Reference Online - Quick reference information together with authoritative, in-depth articles. Contains the full text of over 130 dictionaries, plus an encyclopaedia, thesauri, and guides to English grammar and usage. Includes a wide range of additional material such as maps, illustrations and timelines.
You may find the following items in the General Reference Collection useful:
• Who's who in History? England 1485-1603 (Routh);England 1603-1714 (Hill) - 942.06/ROU and 942.06/HIL
• English Historical Documents - 942/DOU
The Library uses the Dewey decimal system to classify and arrange its books by subject. The catalogue will give you the shelf number of the book you need, and tell you if it is in the library or out on loan. The following are some examples of shelf numbers relevant to History:
| England - History | 942 |
| Great Britain - History | 941 |
| France - History | 944 |
| General European History | 940 |
| World History | 909 |
| Primary History Education | 372.89 |
| Secondary History Education | 375.9 |
Some of the library’s most popular texts are now available to you electronically through our e-book service provided by Dawsonera.
Dawsonera can be accessed from the E-books section of the Electronic Resources page of the library website. You will need to be logged into Athens to access the full-text books which the library has purchased (details can be found in the ‘Athens information’ section of the Electronic Resources page on the library website). Individual titles can also be accessed via the library catalogue.
For some modules you may be required to purchase some or all of the texts from the ‘essential reading’ on your reading lists. You may find the following retailers useful:
Abebooks - Online bookshop especially useful for second hand and out of print books.
Amazon - Online books, often much cheaper than RRP!
Waterstones - Search and buy online or try their branch located on the University of Birmingham Edgbaston campus – they often have textbooks in stock that are difficult to obtain from elsewhere. Telephone them on 0121 472 3034.
Journals are an excellent source of information. They show evidence of wider reading, are important for research and help to keep you informed of any changes and developments in your field. Increasingly, journals are available in electronic (online) format and you can access these both on and off-campus.
You can search for journal titles on the A-Z Journals list on the Library's electronic Resources page.This will then tell you whether they are available in print or electronic format, or both. If we have electronic access to a journal you should be able to link directly to it from the e Resources page. If we only have a print subscription, you will need to look for the journal in the Journals Room, where they are shelved alphabetically by title.
Examples of journals that you may find useful for History are:
The Historical Journal
Historical Research
History Review
History Today
Journal of Modern History
Databases
The following databases, which are accessible from the Electronic Resources page of the library website, will help you find primary historical sources, journal article references and often full-text articles online:
British Newspapers 1600-1900 - A digital historical archive of British national and regional newspapers, including the 17th/18th century Burney Collection.
JSTOR -Includes bibliographic and full-text access to 240+ history journal articles. Note that JSTOR is an archival resource only and current journal issues are not generally available.
Project Muse - Full-text access to a wide range of journals. Select 'History' from the 'Browse journals by discipline' option to view the list of full-text journals available..
You will need to install the Athens cookie on your PC in order to be able to access these resources. Details can be found in the ‘Athens information’ section of the Electronic Resources page on the library website.
The Newsfilm Online resource in the Image and Sound collections (accessible from the Electronic Resources page) contains useful archival material which may be useful to you as a History student:
Intute - The Intute gateway provides a database of quality-assured and academic-reviewed internet resources in all academic subject areas. Note: From July 2011 Intute is no longer being updated.
Connected Histories - Digital resources relating to early modern and 19th century Britain. Research Guides help you explore these resources by theme or type, eg image searching.