ale supplies many primary historical resources: searchable collections of scanned documents, photographs and other footage from ages past up until the end of the last century. In this video, Gale’s experts explain how to get the most from Declassified documents, their collection of secret papers that have since been declassified and made available for study.

We are excited to begin the new year by presenting you with the archives of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) covering 1482-2010.
Funded by research funding from our success in the last Research Excellence Framework exercise, this archive of historical geography is extensive and includes Maps, Atlases, Charts and Plans; Expedition Reports; Fieldnotes, Correspondence and Diaries; Grey Literature; Photographs, Artwork and Illustrations; Journal Manuscripts; Photographs; Proceedings, Lectures, and Ephemera. The collection spans a wide variety of interdisciplinary research areas, and supports educational needs in Anthropology, Area Studies; Cartography and Visualizations, Colonial, Post-Colonial & Decolonisation Studies; Development Studies; Environmental Degradation; Historical & Cultural Geography; Historical Sociology; Human Geography; Identity, Gender & Ethnic Studies; Geology; International Relations; Trade and Commerce, and Law and Policy relating to Colonization and over a hundred special collections.

Gale Primary Sources and AM are both fantastic sources of primary resources for anyone studying the history of many subjects. Documentary sources run the gamut from British and US intelligence to crime, punishment and popular culture in the 19th century, and from the history of sexuality to political extremism, taking in many 18th and 19 century British and US newspapers along the way.

We are delighted to announce that we have just added another eresource from AM Digital (formerly Adam Matthew) that is very relevant to Portsmouth: Life at sea. This new database gives you access to three centuries of archives from the UK and America that chronicle the lives of ordinary seamen, merchants, whalers, and pirates.

Summer is here, the weather is great (today!) and we all have a little more time to relax and take a break. We will be open over the summer though, so pop in, say hi, and pick up some holiday …

What’s on in the Library over the Summer Read more »

Lauded by LGBTQ+ celebrities from activist Peter Tatchell to author Patrick Gale, the book includes a diverse range of perspectives and topics from a historian’s perspective on the scarcity of recorded LGBTQ+ history to a summary of local newspaper representation of LGBTQ+ issues over the past 120 years, a celebration of the Island’s leading LGBTQ+ heroes and heroines over the past century, as well as critical discussions of the development and impact of the infamous Section 28 and of suicide amongst LGBTQ+ people, pairing factual historical and journalistic research with reflections on personal experience and verbatim oral history extracts from the residents of the Isle of Wight.

The Library is pleased to present new and expanded historical resources covering gender and social change and documentation on the papers of state, including a brand new resource, Gender: Identity and Social Change and a huge expansion to the authoritative State …

Have another look at History: two new resources for historians Read more »

Digital Theatre Plus is a useful resource for teachers and students of Performing Arts or English Literature.  It can also be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys dramatic or musical performance. It is mostly a video-based teaching resource for schools and …

Digital Theatre Plus Read more »

‘The Holy Grail on film: essays on the cinematic quest’ edited by Kevin J. Harty The Holy Grail is an elusive object prompting many quests, both real and imagined, in the mediaeval and modern world. Such is its ambiguity it …

Creative Arts Book of the Week 18/01/16 Read more »

For those of you who love archives and libraries and enjoy visiting museums and art galleries, this may be the website for you.  If you like finding out about forthcoming exhibitions (and anything archaeological and historical) see http://www.culture24.org.uk/home. It’s partly …

Culture24 Read more »