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Arts and Humanities

Browse our best resources, organized by subject

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Showing 98 Databases

Additional Databases
  • Newspapers

This collection of newspapers, pamphlets, and books belonging to the Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817) is the largest collection of early English news media, and documents the development of the concepts of 'news', 'newspapers', and the "free press".
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This collection comprises over 20,000 digitized pamphlets including the Wilson Anti-Slavery collection and Hume tracts.
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Provides an in-depth view of British life in the Victorian ages, specifically the impact of publishing and its effect on literacy and leisure activities.
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a-n The Artists Information Company is a UK-wide arts organisation that supports visual artists and their employers by widening access to professional information, resources and support. Covering art and design, visual arts, fine art, applied art, public art, art history and cultural policy, this resource contains critical and practical content suited for vocational and academic students.
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The Audio Engineering Society is the only professional society devoted exlusively to audio technology. Its resources include journals, conference papers, online tutorials, industry standards documents and technical specialist publications.
A source of information about more than 19,000 people from all eras who have influenced and shaped American history and culture.
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A comprehensive survey of current publications in the fields of visual and applied arts, including architecture, interior design, contemporary art, and photography.
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ABM is the only specialist bibliography available for the study of modern and contemporary art. It covers all art forms, including fine art, digital art, crafts, design, and photography.
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This database provides the full text of articles from hundreds of journal titles in the fields of Art, Architecture, Design, History, Philosophy, Music, Literature, Theatre, and Cultural Studies.
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Over 900 programmes from the BBC’s archive of Shakespeare’s plays, poems and sonnets.
Berg Fashion Library is the leading resource for students and researchers of fashion studies. Interdisciplinary in nature, with great visual and integrated content, it is invaluable for researchers in the areas of fashion, museum studies, cultural studies, anthropology, and more.
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Provides bibliographic data on historical writing dealing with the British Isles, and with the British Empire and Commonwealth, from 55BC to present.
The first comprehensive online collection for the interdisciplinary study of dress and costume history, design and making, and offers an indispensable scholarly and educational resource to support the study of dress history, costume studies and costume design.
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  • Requires individual account registration
This service enables all staff and students to select, view and record streaming radio and television programmes broadcast from over 60 Freeview channels.
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Please note: For use only within the United Kingdom.
  • Open Access / Free resource
This resource is based upon an archive of over 140,000 pieces of cartoon artwork, supported by a reference library of newspaper cuttings, books, catalogues and magazines.
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A digital library of printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain and Ireland, with a focus on the period between 1300 and 1800.
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  • Newspapers

Find influential national and regional newspapers representing different political and cultural segments of British society.
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Please note: Access to the British Library Sounds website is currently unavailable, as a result of a cyber-attack at the British Library. There is further information available here: Cyber incident update.

This British Library collection includes recordings from the world of music, drama, literature, oral history, and wildlife.
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Provides facsimile page images and searchable full text for nearly 500 British periodicals published from the 17th century through to the early 21st.
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Contains over 60,000 British, European, and adopted international standards.
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Please note: BSOL is licenced for educational purposes only. Use for university business processes (including but not limited to Health & Safety, Estate Management) is prohibited.
Broadcast is the essential source for business information about the British TV Industry, at home and around the world.

It is optional to register a personal account. It is not necessary to register a personal account to access the full text content.
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A tool to help prepare cost plans, provide early cost advice to clients and benchmark costs for both commercial and residential buildings.
Provides a series of ebooks about composers, musical instruments, and music topics. Each volume provides comprehensive essays by leading authorities.
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CUP publishes over 380 peer reviewed journals a year for distribution worldwide. CUP journals cover a broad range of subjects including all the main subjects in the humanities, social sciences and hard sciences. Their key areas are applied science, environment and conservation, agriculture, neuroscience and biomedicine, history, area studies, language and linguistics, political science and international relations.
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This website holds detailed information on over 6000 films showing images of life in the British colonies. Over 150 films are available for viewing online. You can search or browse for films by country, date, topic, or keyword.
A comprehensive database covering building regulations, legislation, technical reports, and sustainability issues.
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Index of articles covering a wide range of arts subjects including fashion, textiles, and design.
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  • Newspapers

The Daily Mail has been at the heart of British journalism since 1896, regularly changing the course of government policy and setting the national debate. As well as providing access to the regular edition of this path-breaking newspaper, the archive also contains the Atlantic Editions, printed on board the transatlantic cruise liners between 1923 and 1931.
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  • Requires individual account registration
Digimap delivers Ordnance Survey maps and geospatial data, available either via download facilities for use with appropriate application software such as GIS or CAD, or as maps generated by Digimap online. The mapping tool (Roam) allows users to view and print maps of any location in Great Britain at a series of predefined scales as well as enabling the user to specify a map scale, area and content.
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A comprehensive collection of professionally filmed performances, documentaries, interviews, and educational materials related to theatre, dance, and the performing arts. With a diverse range of classical plays, contemporary works, musicals, and dance performances from around the world, users can immerse themselves in the captivating world of live theatre through the platform's high-quality recordings.
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Early English Books Online (EEBO) features page images of almost every work printed in the British Isles and North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere from 1470-1700. From the first book printed in English through to the ages of Spenser, Shakespeare and of the English Civil War, EEBO's content draws on authoritative and respected short-title catalogues of the period and features a substantial number of text transcriptions specially created for the product.
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Early European Books traces the history of printing in Europe from its origins through to the close of the seventeenth century, offering full-colour, high-resolution facsimile images of rare and hard-to-access printed sources.
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Early Modern Books covers material from the British Isles and Europe for the period 1450-1700. An integrated search across both Early English Books Online (EEBO) and Early European Books allows scholars to view materials from over 225 source libraries worldwide. EEBO's content draws on authoritative short-title catalogues of the period and features many text transcriptions specially created for the product. Content from Europe covers the curated Early European Books Collections from 4 national libraries and London's Wellcome Library.
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Provides digitised images of some of the world's oldest surviving volumes of printed music, including over 300 volumes of 16th century music from the British Library.
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Ebook Central provides authoritative, full-text e-books in a wide range of subject areas along with powerful tools to find, use, and manage the information.
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English Heritage has a long tradition of producing highly illustrated archaeological monographs about key sites and topics of importance to the understanding of the historic environment in England. Many of the past titles have long been out of print and yet are still of value for reference purposes.
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Please note: Access to the English Short Title Catalogue is currently unavailable, as a result of a cyber-attack at the British Library. There is further information available here: Cyber incident update.

The English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) lists over 480,000 items:
- published between 1473 and 1800
- mainly, but not exclusively, in English
- published mainly in the British Isles and North America
- from the collections of the British Library and over 2,000 other libraries
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Contains primary sources for the study of the history of film and entertainment industries from vaudeville to 2000.
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This bibliographic database is a comprehensive guide to printed records about the Americas written in Europe between 1493-1750. It covers the history of European exploration as well as portrayals of Native American peoples. A wide range of subject areas are covered, from natural disasters to disease outbreaks and slavery.
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An essential resource covering the entire range of fashion education from the creative to corporate, Fairchild Books Library offers content that covers a full spectrum of topics in fashion including construction, draping, fashion business management, history, illustration, journalism, marketing, promotion, theory, pattern making, styling, product development, sustainable fashion, textiles, and more.
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  • Newspapers

A complete online, fully searchable facsimile, the Financial Times Historical Archive delivers the complete run of the London edition of this internationally known daily paper, from its first issue through 2010 (part 1) and through 2016 (part 2). Every article, advertisement, and market listing is included – shown both individually and in the context of the full page and issue of the day. Each item has been subject- or topic-categorized for fast retrieval and review.
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The FT provides authoritative news and analysis on global business, finance and politics, from over 700 journalists around the world. 

First time users: Please click here to complete a registration form using University email address 

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Tool to search all of our subscribed Gale primary sources, incorporating 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection; 19th Century UK Periodicals; British Library Newspapers, 1800-1900; Daily Mail Historical Archive; The Financial Times Historical Archive; The Illustrated London News Historical Archive' Picture Post Historical Archive; and, The Times Digital Archive.
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GDC Vault is a trove of in-depth design, technical and inspirational talks and slides from the influencers of the game development industry, taken from over 20 years of the worldwide Game Developers Conferences.

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  • Newspapers
This historical newspaper provides genealogists, researchers and scholars with online, easily-searchable first-hand accounts and unparalleled coverage of the politics, society and events of the time.
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An ebook collection that covers a range of subjects, such as History, Politics, and Social Sciences.
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  • Newspapers

The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003 is the complete digital edition (over 260,000 full colour pages) of the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper. Celebrated for its vivid pictorial commentary on global news, the The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003 is a unique resource for the history of the last 150 years.
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The definitive resource for scholarly literature on Western art, IBA is the successor to the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA), and retains the editorial policies which made BHA one of the most trusted and frequently consulted sources in the field.
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Provides access to over 60,000 journal articles, books, and dissertation abstracts covering various aspects of theatre and performance.
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An international association of Higher Education institutions dedicated to promoting excellence in teaching and learning in fashion.
A multidisciplinary bibliography of articles on the Middle Ages. It covers Europe, North Africa and the Near East (300 - 1500) and contains more than 380,000 records. The database incorporates articles, collected essays and conference proceedings from 1967 to the present.
  • Newspapers
Comprehensive access to news stories and other content from newspapers across the globe. Includes The Guardian (1821-2003) and Observer (1791-2003) archives.
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JSTOR provides access to academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines, as well as the 'Artstor on JSTOR' collection of images and media.
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Apparel, garment & textile industry news, analysis, and research.
  • Newspapers
Archive of full text news articles from a range of UK national and regional newspapers. Updated daily.
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Please note: Authorised Users do not include internal legal department employees or employees who perform an in-house legal function.

Online access to the catalogues of almost 120 UK and Irish academic, national & specialist libraries, hosted by Jisc. Incorporates the former Copac and SUNCAT services.
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Research monographs, edited collections and scholarly critiques from Manchester University Press covering the social sciences and humanities.
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From the terror of the Black Death to the drama of the Norman invasion, Manchester Medieval Sources provides access to essential texts that bring alive the reality of life in the medieval world through these first hand accounts.
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Migration to New Worlds showcases unique primary source material recounting the many and varied personal experiences of 350 years of migration.
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UK market research reports on a wide range of sectors including finance, leisure, retail, and travel & tourism.
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Music Ally is a leading global provider of music industry intelligence and insights. With a focus on digital transformation, they offer research, analysis, consulting, and training services to help music businesses succeed in the rapidly changing music landscape. Accessibility statement
If you have any problems with access please click here for an alternative option
  • App available
  • Audio
The most comprehensive collection of classical music available online, with over a million tracks of classical, jazz, world, and folk music.
Access is also available via optional mobile app.
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Please note: this resource permits up to 10 users to access the site simultaneously.
  • App available
  • Audio
Literature and poetry, best sellers and classics from medieval times to the twenty-first century; many original productions supplement a range of non-fiction; a variety of unabridged and skillfully abridged audiobooks.
Access is also available via optional mobile app.
Accessibility Statement
Please note: this resource permits up to 3 users to access the site simultaneously.
  • Newspapers
International Newsstream provides the most recent news content outside of the US and Canada, with archives which stretch back decades featuring newspapers, newswires, and news sites in active full-text format. It provides information from more than 660 of the world's top newspapers.
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UK newspaper archive spanning 17th to 21st centuries including The Times and Picture Post.
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  • App available
  • Requires individual account registration
nkoda is the world’s largest digital library of sheet music on subscription. With over 100,000 titles from more than 50 leading publishers, nkoda is as relevant for the beginner playing their first notes as for the leader of a symphony orchestra.
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Digital Accessibility Statement for Nkoda
Please note: this resource permits up to 10 users to access simultaneously.
Oxford University Press is a major international publisher of academic and research journals that brings high quality research to the widest possible audience. The collection consists of online journals from arts, social sciences, scientific, technical, medical, and professional and humanities disciplines.
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The national record of significant, influential or notorious figures who shaped British history. The Dictionary offers concise, up-to-date biographies written by named, specialist authors.
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A guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both past and present.
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A resource presenting Richard Taruskin's account of the evolution of Western classical music. Providing the full text of the 2009 edition, along with notes, bibliographies, and further readings, including numerous illustrations and musical examples.
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A reference source, including Grove Music Online, The Oxford Companion to Music, and the Oxford Dictionary of Music. Including over 50,000 articles and 30,000 biographies on composers, performers, conductors, instruments, musical works, and genres.
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Periodicals Archive Online is a major archive that makes the backfiles of scholarly periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences available electronically, providing access to the searchable full text of hundreds of titles. The database spans more than two centuries of content, 37 key subject areas, and multiple languages.
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  • Images
Photoworks commissions new photography, produces exhibitions and events including the Brighton Photo Biennial, publishes books, and an annual magazine.
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The Picture Post Historical Archive comprises the complete archive of the Picture Post from its first issue in 1938 to its last in 1957 - all digitized from originals in full colour.
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A library of digital humanities and social sciences content; includes journals and books on film, theatre, and performing arts. [NB: Recent content may not appear in Library Search but can be accessed through the database itself.
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  • Open Access / Free resource
A comprehensive annotated bibliography of the books, exhibition catalogues, pamphlets and journals on the literature of British architecture and decorative art of the late 19th and early twentieth century.
A music journalism archive containing over 25,000 articles spanning a range of musical genres.
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Includes international, peer-reviewed journals, including high-impact research titles published on behalf of over 500 scholarly and professional societies across a wide range of subject areas, including business, humanities, social science, and science, technology and medicine.
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SciELO provides scholarly literature in sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities published in leading open access journals from Latin America, Portugal, Spain and South Africa. It can be searched in Spanish, Portuguese, or English.
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A leading full-text scientific database offering journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 journals and almost 20,000 books.
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A large abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature from more than 18,500 journals. 
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Explore journals covering the breadth of science, technology, medicine and social sciences through thousands of titles specific to their disciplines including the Springer, Palgrave Macmillan and Adis imprints.
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A free resource which organizes scholars from around the world in philosophy and related disciplines to create and maintain an up-to-date reference work.

An archive of 16th- and 17th-century State Papers. Domestic, Foreign, Scotland, Ireland and Registers of the Privy Council for research and teaching projects in politics, government, social, economic, and religious history.
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The renowned statistics database is well-known and acknowledged throughout the world as basis for fast and comprehensive search for numbers, data, and facts. Explore the whole world through numbers with Statista
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eBooks in science, technology, engineering, medicine, humanities and social science,
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Access to over 1450 journals, including the world’s largest program of Social Science and Humanities journals published by Routledge.
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  • Open Access / Free resource
Biographical Dictionary of British and Irish Architects 1800-1950 is an ongoing project which contains profiles of over 3,000 architects and a detailed guide to online resources, many of which are free-to-access; and a detailed annotated guide to print sources on British and Irish architectural history.
  • Open Access / Free resource
The History of the Poster – An Annotated Bibliography and Online Survey documents the development of the Poster as a medium for communication, propaganda and artistic expression from the early 19th century to the present day.
  • Newspapers

First published in 1785, The Times of London is widely considered to be the world's 'newspaper of record'. The Times Digital Archive allows users to search over 200 years of this invaluable historical source.
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Includes over 200,000 House of Commons sessional papers from 1715 to present, with supplementary material going back to 1688.
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This resource covers social, economic, political and cultural aspects of the history of towns and cities in the form of a cumulative bibliography going back to 1974. It contains over 34,000 items, available online as a fully searchable database, updated annually, free through our journal subscription to Urban History.
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  • Open Access / Free resource
  • Newspapers
Over 100,000 images that are freely available and copyright cleared for use in learning, teaching, and research in the UK.
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VLeBooks is Askews and Holts eBook service for academic libraries offering access to an extensive collection of new and backlist content; for teaching, learning and research, across all disciplines.
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A complete archive of American Vogue, from 1892 to present. Every page, advertisement, cover, and fold-out has been included, with rich indexing enabling you to find images by garment type, designer, and brand names.
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WGSN is the leading online trend-analysis and research service providing creative and business intelligence for the apparel, style, design and retail industries.
Wiley publish a range of journals and cover the full spectrum of life, health and physical sciences, social science and the humanities.
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