History-Specific Databases - British History: Selected Electronic Resources

Introduction

BC Libraries have many online databases useful for locating material pertaining to aspects of British history. The following pages mention just some of the more prominent ones, as well a small number of selected websites.

It is always advisable to consult Holmes, the BC Libraries online discovery tool, to locate books and other materials at BC. For example, search Holmes by Keyword(s) in Subject

Go to Holmes Advanced Search for more search options.

Other Useful Guides

Major History Databases

The following are some major history-specific databases useful for conducting research in various aspects of British history.

Historical Abstracts
Annotated references to books, articles, and dissertations on world history (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Over 2,000 journals published worldwide are indexed, including key historical journals, as well as hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities that are of special interest to researchers and students of history.
Bibliography of British and Irish History
The Bibliography of British and Irish History provides bibliographic data on historical writing that deals with the British Isles, the British Empire and Commonwealth, the Republic of Ireland, and the Irish in America. Date of coverage ranges from 55 BC to the present.
Cambridge Histories Online
The complete full-text of over 250 volumes published since the 1960's. Numerous volumes relating to British history.
CQ Historic Document Series
Provides approximately one hundred documents per year covering that year's "most significant events." Documents include speeches, international agreements, court decisions, governmental reports, scientific findings, and cultural discussions.
International Medieval Bibliography
A bibliography of all aspects of the European Middle Ages including theology and philosophy. Coverage from 1967-present.
Iter Gateway to the Middle Ages
Iter is an electronic bibliography of interdisciplinary journal literature pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700) and includes citations for articles, bibliographies, catalogues, editions, abstracts, and discographies.
British Parliamentary Papers, Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Full text of the sessional papers presented to Parliament. Papers include reports of committees, royal commissions, public bills, and accounts and papers. Coverage: 1688-2005.
Northern Ireland : A Divided Community, 1921-1972 : Cabinet Papers of the Stormont Administration
Archive of the "Cabinet Conclusion" files from all the debates and transactions for the duration of the Stormont Administration, Northern Ireland, 1921-1972.
Colonial State Papers
This database represents thousands of papers that were presented to the Privy Council and the Board of Trade between 1574-1757, and that relate to the governance of, and activities in, the American, Canadian and West Indian colonies of England.
Mass Observation Online
A searchable collection of British social history material, 1937-1972. The database comprises a complete set (over 2,000) of File Reports, 1937-1972. The range of topics covered includes popular culture (cinema-going, radio and music, and the advent of television); consumerism, branding and fashion (including the rise of department stores and the New Look); sex, marriage, and the family, as well as attitudes to war, politics and America, Russia and Europe. All material is full text searchable.