U.K. Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) This link opens in a new windowThe 'English Short Title Catalogue' (ESTC) is an international project established at the British Library in 1977. Its aim is to create a machine-readable bibliography of books, serials, pamphlets and other ephemeral material printed in English-speaking countries from 1473 to 1800, based on the collections of over 2,000 institutions world-wide.
In 2006, the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) lists over 480,000 items: * published between 1473 and 1800 * mainly in Britain and North America * mainly, but not exclusively, in English * from the collections of the British Library and over 2,000 other libraries.
The ESTC now also includes records for early English serials, annuals, newspapers, and news-books. The geographical scope for these is the same as for books, and coverage is from the beginning of serials printing (around 1620) through to the end of 1800.
This version should be more up-to-date than the 2003 ed. but the search interface is different.
This is not a full-text database; for full-texts see the electronic resources entry for Early English Books Online (EEBO)for imprints from 1470s through 1700 and Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) for imprints from 1701-1800.
Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window**Now on the ProQuest interface**
EEBO, Early English Books Online, provides digital access to citations and facsimile full texts made from several microfilm sets. The works included were printed in England or other English-speaking places from the 1470s to 1700. The database may be searched by author, title, keywords, L.C. subject headings, imprint, date, type of illustration, film reel ID number, STC number, source library, language, or combination of these. There are browse indexes for authors' names, titles, and subject headings. Use these for best retrieval.
Some of the full text items in EEBO have been marked up so as to be searchable by individual words in their texts by the TCP, Text Creation Partnership Project, at the University of Michigan, which is supported by M.S.U. and other libraries. Use the EEBO TCP entry in MSU Libraries' Electronic Resources to access this version of the database. Here it is possible to enter modern spellings of words and retrieve words from ye olden days.
Not every item for which bibliographical details are present in EEBO has full text available here. In these cases, one must use the microfilm reel referred to in the entry by reel and position number. M.S.U. Libraries has the three microfilm sets mentioned: STC I, STC II, and the Thomason Tracts.
STC I (this is the call number) contains items printed up through 1640.
STC II (this is the call number) contains items printed from 1641-1700.
14458 (this is the call number) contains items in the Thomason Tracts, a set of broadsides from the English Civil War, 1640-1660.
The microforms are now located in the library's Remote Storage.
ESTC is a publicly available online bibliographical database containing library locations for the actual early printed works from the 1470s to 1800.
These are the printed bibliographies from which the film sets were made:
- Pollard and Redgrave, Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland and of English Books Printed Abroad, 1475-1640, Consulting Reference Z 2002 .A27 c. 2 and oversize Z 2002 .A27 1976.
- Wing, Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English Books Printed in Other Countries, 1641-1700, Consulting Reference Z 2002 .W52 v. 1-3 and Main Z 2002 .W52 1994.
- Thomason Tracts, 1640-1661..., Main Z 2018 .T49 1981.
For help using EEBO contact Agnes Widder, widder@msu.edu.
Eighteenth-Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new windowEighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) contains digital versions of 150,000 works published or printed from 1701-1800 in England, and other English-speaking places around the world (including the rest of the British Isles, the American colonies, and the early United States).
Look here to find full texts of primary source materials in history, geography, literature, language, religion, philosophy, social science, fine arts, music, architecture, medicine, science, technology, and law, as well as general reference works from the 18th century.
The database also includes works in other western European languages which were published or printed in England or other English-speaking places during this time.
Index to the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, 1901-1996 J 301 .K25 1996 CD-ROM in DMC Digital and Multimedia Center 4th floor West
This CD ROM index covers House of Commons Papers, Command Papers, bills, accounts, acts, and returns, all of which are included in the microprint set of the Libraries' set of Sessional Papers from 1731-1978/1979 (microprint #10, Hollander MakeCentral 2 west). From 1978/1979 to 1992 the Sessional Papers are on microfiche at J 301 .K5 (bills), J 301 .K6 (House papers), and J 310 .K6 (Command Papers) all in Hollander MakeCentral 2 west.
Search by keyword, title of the document sought, subject category, subject, subject keyword, committee chairperson or other author, session, paper type, or paper number. There are browse indexes for each of these types of searches, allowing the user to "cut and paste" keywords, topics, etc. into a search work screen. There are also online help screens available. Examples of subject categories are foreign affairs and diplomacy, education, Empire and Commonwealth, and environment. Subjects are more specialized words and phrases, names of documents, or names of places. Subject keywords are one word entries. Searches may be confined to from a certain date, up to a certain date or between particular dates (years). After inputting the search, brief citations are displayed, which include only date and title of document. Full display provides the information needed to locate the document in the microprint or microcard sets: session year, paper number, volume number, and page number.
Colonial State Papers, Collection I This link opens in a new windowColonial State Papers provides access to thousands of papers concerning English activities in the American, Canadian, and West Indian colonies between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries.
Also included is a digitised version of The Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies 1574-1739, which contains bibliographic records and extracts for thousands of additional documents.
Documents on British Policy Overseas This link opens in a new windowDocuments on British Policy Overseas offers researchers the opportunity to see beneath the surface of the major events of the twentieth century. Users can access contemporary accounts and follow the detailed exchanges that shaped British foreign policy from the origins of the First World War and beyond.
Upon completion this resource will contain 56,000 U.K. government documents relating to Britain's international relations, including foreign policy instructions, letters and memos, business reports, and more. These primary source materials have been selected by the official historians of Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and, in many cases, have been declassified at their request for inclusion in this series.
This resource offers single-point online access from three print series: British Documents on the Origins of War, 1898-1914 (Main stacks D 505 .G68 v. 1-11 contains material on the tensions that led to WWI), Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939 (Main stacks DA 566.7 .A18 Ser 1-3 v. 1-65 interwar period with items on Italo-Ethiopian War and German affairs), and Documents on British Policy Overseas (Main stacks DA 588 .D63 1984 Series 1-4 17 volumes plus cds and microfiche with items on atomic energy, the Korean conflict and the Cold War).
Hathi Trust offers limited view (search only) for the second print set listed above, covering 1919-1939.
English Historical Documents This link opens in a new windowEnglish Historical Documents Online is the online version of a significant set of print books (Main DA 25 .E55 or .E56). The database contains copies of over 5,500 primary source documents from the British government. Documents about all aspects of life are represented: society, economics, labor, education, politics, military/war, diplomacy, administration, religion, culture, health, etc. Search for particular documents by their title or by names of persons associated with their creation. Browse by date, theme, or place.
BOPCAS, British Official Publications Current Awareness Service.
The most current six months worth of documents may be searched for free.
UK Official Documents
This is a new service being developed by The Stationery Office Ltd. to assist Internet users in locating official documents. This site provides access to the Stationery Office's own full-text materials available online, as well as links to the UK Parliament web site's documents (described below) and to some departmental online publications. SELECTIVE COVERAGE; NOT COMPLETE. Includes only items published since the mid-1990s. Links are offered to acts, bills (public bills before Parliament), budget information, command papers, consultative documents, green papers, House of Commons' and House of Lords' debates, House of Commons papers, House of Lords' minutes, select committee reports of both Houses, the Sessional Information Digest, the Weekly Information Bulletin, white papers, and more.
United Kingdom Parliament World Wide Web Service
A database of Parliamentary full-text material, searchable in its entirety or by type of publication. Has separate pages for House of Commons and House of Lords. In the Commons pages researchers find debates from Nov., 1988 on, a number of public bills before Parliament and a complete list of all the public bills introduced in the current session, select committee reports, the Weekly Information Bulletin from 1996/97, and the Sessional Digest from 1995/96. The House of Lords' page leads to their debates from July, 1996, some select committee reports, and House of Lords' judgments since Nov., 1996.
British History Online This link opens in a new windowBritish History Online is the digital library of British historical sources for historians of Britain located worldwide seeking access to texts and information about people, places, and businesses from the medieval through modern periods. It is being created jointly by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust. Texts from the Centre for Metropolitan History, the Victoria County History Project, Survey of London, and early journals of the Houses of Commons and Lords are also present. IN THIS, the Parliamentary History portion offers versions of the House of Lords Journals, 1509-1717 and 1832-34 and House of Commons Journals 1547-1699 and 1830 as well as other Parliamentary primary sources. The Office Holders in Modern Britain portion provides lists of the officials who served in the departments of central government from the Restoration 1660-1870. Each volume contains a short introduction discussing the development of the department with which it is concerned and notes explaining the various offices and grades within it, as well as lists of appointments and an alphabetical list giving details of the periods of service of each official.
HMSO (Her Majesty's Stationery Office)
Following the privatization of the Stationery Office in 1996, HMSO kept responsibility for the publication of certain statutory material in full-text form, including the texts of all new Public General Acts from 1996 on, Statutory instruments from 1997 on, and measures of the General Synod of the Church of England. The statutes related to the U..K., Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales may be searched. There are links on this site to the new Scottish Parliament, the new National Assembly of Wales, and the new Northern Ireland Assembly. There are also links to the Cabinet Office's materials and to the London Gazette, the oldest, continuously published newspaper in the U.K. (since 1665). Its two most recent issues may be searched for free.
BAILII, The British and Irish Legal Information Institute
The British and Irish Legal Information Institute web site is the first site to provide free access to British case law and legislation from numerous British and Irish courts and legislatures with a single search engine and uniform data formats. Law and legislation from these courts and jurisdictions are presently included: United Kingdom House of Lords Decisions, Employment Appeal Tribunal Decisions, and Social Security and Child Support Commissioners' Decisions; Court of Appeal and High Court of Appeal of England and Wales Decisions; Scottish Court of Sessions Decisions, High Court Decisions, and Sheriff Court Decisions; Northern Ireland Court of Appeal Decisions, High Court Decisions, and Legislation; and Supreme Court Decisions, High Court Decisions, and Legislation of Ireland (Eire). Some 75,000 searchable documents.
