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Explore print and digital resources at Cambridge University Library's Rare Books Department. Discover major databases, provenance searching, and specialist collections. Access ESTC, EEBO, and ECCO for historical research.
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Cambridge University Library Rare Books resources for historians Emily Dourish Rare Books department, Cambridge University Library
Today’s session • Introduction to print resources • The major databases for English language material • Specialist databases for different subjects • Hands-on practice • Anything you have found particularly useful?
Print bibliographical resources • B 3-figures collection in the Rare Books Reading Room • Lists available as classification scheme or subject index • http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/rarebooks/b3figsclassification.html • http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/rarebooks/b3figssubject.html • Reference books from other reading rooms can be transferred to Rare Books
Card catalogues in the Rare Books room • Royal Commonwealth Society • Provenance: Class Adv, general ownership • Chapbooks • War reserve collection • Almanacs • Ballads
Searching for provenance online • Incunabula ownership indices • “former owner”, “annotator”, “donor” in Newton search as ‘Relator term’ • British armorial bindings database http://armorial.library.utoronto.ca/
ESTC: Everything English to 1800 • ESTC: the English Short-Title Catalogue • Based on print works; online is much larger with much more functionality • 2000+ libraries, 470,000+ titles, 3 million+ items • Freely accessible anywhere in the world • http://estc.bl.uk
Titles in ESTC Image by Olaf Simons, Wikimedia Commons
Where they were published Olaf Simons, Wikimedia Commons
Using ESTC • Searchable by numerous fields • Limits can be added • Holdings listed where known; there may be others. Classmarks and copy specific information incomplete • Limiting searches by holding library: UL is bC (can be very slow, we have 80,000 holdings) • Save your records, then email them to yourself
Moving from ESTC to digital copies • EEBO: Early English Books Online • For books up to 1640, note the “STC number” eg 12345 • For books 1641-1700, note the “Wing number” eg A1234 • ECCO: Eighteenth-Century Books Online • For books 1701-1800 note the “ESTC citation number” eg T12345
EEBO: up to 1700 • Search directly or link from ESTC where available • 130,000 digitised books • 40,000 with searchable keyed text: very reliable • Images mostly taken from microfilms, so black and white only • Can save or print individual pages
ECCO: 1701-1800 • Search directly, or link from ESTC where available • 200,000 digitised books • All have been OCRed so full text searchable; can be less reliable • “Subject area” to narrow your search • Result of free text search highlights your hit on the page – easy to find • Email/bookmark/save pages, make citations
Specialist resources • See handout for resources by subject area • Have a go! • Any questions?
What do you use? • Are there any resources you find particularly useful? • Anything you think we should cover next time? • Staff in the Rare Books Room can always help ejm25@cam.ac.ukor rarebooks@lib.cam.ac.uk