- Welcome
- Books
- Journals
- History Databases
- Literature Databases
- Theology Databases
- Websites, Gateways and Tutorials
- Other Libraries
- Training
Hi, I'm David Evans, the Academic Support Librarian for Humanities courses running at the Medway Campus. I'm here to provide you with library support during your studies.
These pages are intended to provide you with information on selected resources in your subject area available from the Drill Hall Library and other reputable agencies and organisations.
Please contact me using one of the following methods:
- Call into the Drill Hall Library to see me.
- Leave a comment (see below) on this page for anyone to view: tell us what you are reading, recommend useful text books and websites or ask me a question.
- Book an appointment with me for help with a specific enquiry or a library skills training session. Use the online form or call me on 01634 883319.
- Chat with me right now by using live help
Books
The Drill Hall Library catalogue contains all the books currently held in the Drill Hall Library. Help and advice is available on using the catalogue. Please call into the library and see me for help or use our online presentation. You need to use the catalogue to locate material in the Drill Hall. The Humanities collections cover several classmarks which are located in different areas of the library.
Some useful classmarks for history
| History of the World | 909 | History of the Ancient World | 930 | British History | 941-942 |
| European History | 943-949 | Asian and Oriental History | 950 | African History | 960 |
| North American History | 970 | South American History | 980 | History of other parts of the world | 990 |
Some useful classmarks for literature
| Theory of literature | 800 | American literature | 810 | English poetry | 821 |
| English drama | 822 | English novel | 823 | German literature | 830 |
| French literature | 840 | Italian literature | 850 | Spanish literature | 860 |
Some useful classmarks for theology
| Philosophy and theory of religion | 210 | Bible | 220 | Christianity | 230 |
| Roman Catholicism | 282 | Anglican church | 283 | Hinduism | 294.5 |
| Sikhism | 294.6 | Judaism | 296 | Islam | 297 |
Books just arrived
Printed Journals
Use the library catalogue to search for printed journals held in the Drill Hall, these are shelved in the journals section and are arranged on the shelves alphabetically by title.
Electronic Journals
You can also use a range of electronic journals which can be accessed via Online journals. Please contact me to arrange a short session to get you started using the subscribed electronic services or see the Databases section of this guide for further details.
Databases
A database is a searchable collection of records many of which will link you to the full text of an article, report etc.
A full list of electronic databases available to you as a University of Kent student are available from Online resources. You will need your University of Kent username and password to access these databases either from the Drill Hall Library or from home.
Here is a list of some useful databases for History:
British Humanities Index index to articles in humanities, social sciences and popular science published in Britain 1962 onwards.
ECCO – Eighteenth Century Collections Online nearly 150000 titles and editions published in English between 1701 and 1800. From Infotrac.
Historical Abstracts Historical coverage of the world (except the US and Canada) from 1450 to the present.
International medieval bibliography The International Medieval Bibliography (IMB) is the world's leading interdisciplinary bibliography of the European Middle Ages, covering Europe, the Middle East and North Africa in the period 400-1500.
JSTOR JSTOR offers a high-quality, interdisciplinary archive to support scholarship and teaching. It includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 50,000 biographies of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the earliest times to the year 2002.
Oxford Reference Online Includes: The Oxford Companion to Military History, The Oxford Companion to World War II, The Kings and Queens of Britain, Encyclopaedia of the Middle Ages and many others.
Royal Historical Society bibliography guide to mainly 20th century historical writing on Britain and Ireland.
Times Digital Archive Full text of the Times from 1785-1985. Fully searchable. From Infotrac.
Web of Knowledge Full text available for some articles using Article Linker.
If you'd like help in using any of the databases listed, then please see the section Training on this subject guide for details of workshops or to book one-to-one training.
Databases
A database is a searchable collection of records many of which will link you to the full text of an article, report etc.
A full list of electronic databases available to you as a University of Kent student are available from Online resources. You will need your University of Kent username and password to access these databases either from the Drill Hall Library or from home.
Here is a list of some useful databases for Literature:
British Humanities Index index to articles in humanities, social sciences and popular science published in Britain 1962 onwards.
ECCO Eighteenth Century Collections Online nearly 150000 titles and editions published in English between 1701 and 1800. From Infotrac.
EEBO Early English books Online Almost all works in English printed from 1473-1700.
IIPA Full Text A performing arts journal resource with nearly 350,000 indexed articles, plus detailed abstracts and full text from 1864 to current, covering film, theatre and dance.
International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance Index plus full text from over 100 journal titles and over 50 books.
Internet Library of Early Journals ILEJ, the "Internet Library of Early Journals" was a joint project by the Universities of Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Oxford, conducted under the auspices of the eLib (Electronic Libraries) Programme. It aimed to digitise substantial runs of 18th and 19th century journals, and make these images available on the Internet, together with their associated bibliographic data.
JSTOR JSTOR offers a high-quality, interdisciplinary archive to support scholarship and teaching. It includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work.
MLA International Bibliography
Oxford English Dictionary Online The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.
Oxford Reference Online Includes: The Oxford Companion to English Literature, The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare and many others.
Times Literary Supplement Full text of the Times Literary Supplement from1902 to 1990.
Web of Knowledge Full text available for some articles using Article Linker.
If you'd like help in using any of the databases listed, then please see the section Training on this subject guide for details of workshops or to book one-to-one training.
Databases
A database is a searchable collection of records many of which will link you to the full text of an article, report etc.
A full list of electronic databases available to you as a University of Kent student are available from Online resources. You will need your University of Kent username and password to access these databases either from the Drill Hall Library or from home.
Here is a list of some useful databases for Theology:
British Humanities Index index to articles in humanities, social sciences and popular science published in Britain 1962 onwards.
JSTOR JSTOR offers a high-quality, interdisciplinary archive to support scholarship and teaching. It includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work.
Oxford Reference Online Includes: A Dictionary of the Bible, The Oxford Companion to the Bible, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church and many others.
Religious and Theological Abstracts Provides objective summaries of articles appearing in scholarly journals in the fields of Religion and Theology. Lists a wide variety of periodical literature, including Christian, Jewish, and other World religions.
Web of Knowledge Full text available for some articles using Article Linker.
If you'd like help in using any of the databases listed, then please see the section Training on this subject guide for details of workshops or to book one-to-one training.
Websites
History
AHDS History - is one of the five centres of the Arts and Humanities Data Service and collects, preserves, and promotes the use of digital resources, which result from or support historical research, learning and teaching.
Historical Association - The voice for history … it aims to further the study, teaching and enjoyment of history at all levels: teacher and student, amateur and professional.
Historical Text Archive - The HTA publishes high quality articles, books, essays, documents, historical photos, and links, screened for content, for a broad range of historical subjects.
Institute of Historical Research - The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) provides resources for historians. These resources include online articles, free event advertising, MA/PhD study, training courses, an open-access library and more.
intute: History - A free online service providing you with access to the best Web resources for education and research, selected and evaluated by a network of subject specialists. (Formerly the Resource Discovery Network).
The National Archives - The National Archives of England, Wales and the United Kingdom has one of the largest archival collections in the world, spanning 1000 years of British history, from Domesday Book of 1086 to government papers recently released to the public.
Royal Historical Society Bibliography - The Royal Historical Society bibliography is an authoritative guide to what has been written about British and Irish history from the Roman period to the present day. The Bibliography is hosted by the Institute of Historical Research, which is part of the University of London.
Voice of the Shuttle - Provides links to a wide range of electronic resources. From the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Literature
AHDS Literature, Languages and Linguistics - AHDS Literature, Languages and Linguistics is hosted by the Oxford Text Archive at the University of Oxford. It collects, documents, preserves and promotes the use of digital resources to support research and teaching within the disciplines of literature, languages, and linguistics.
Charles Dickens (from The Victorian Web)
The complete works of William Shakespeare
intute: English Studies - A free online service providing you with access to the best Web resources for education and research, selected and evaluated by a network of subject specialists. (Formerly the Resource Discovery Network).
The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900
Theology
Biblegateway.com - a free service for reading and researching Scripture online—all in the language or translation of your choice!
Internet Sacred Text Archive - The largest freely available archive of full-text books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet. The site is dedicated to religious tolerance and scholarship, and has the largest readership of any similar site on the web.
intute: Religion and Theology - A free online service providing you with access to the best Web resources for education and research, selected and evaluated by a network of subject specialists. (Formerly the Resource Discovery Network).
Other Libraries
British Library: Faith and Sacred Texts The British Library is one of the greatest libraries in the world with an unrivalled collection of sacred texts, covering all the world's major religions.
Canterbury Cathedral Library Books can be said to have played an important role in the life of the Cathedral since the time of St. Augustine. Since the Reformation, a series of donations have formed the core of the holdings now in the Cathedral Library. The Library contains about 30,000 books and pamphlets printed before 1900, and an expanding collection of some 20,000 books and serials published in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is particularly rich in books on church history, older theology, national and local history, travel, natural science, medicine and the anti-slavery movement. The Library welcomes all researchers with interests in our collections.
Institute of Historical Research Library The Institute of Historical Research is part of the University of London's School of Advanced Study. Situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, close to the British Library and other centers of specialist research, it is an important resource and meeting place for scholars from all over the world. It contains the best open-access collection of printed historical sources in the United Kingdom.
The London Library The London Library has long played a central role in the intellectual life of the nation, serving generations of readers and writers throughout the country - and beyond - by lending material from its remarkable collections, and by providing a rare literary refuge in the heart of the capital. Membership is open to all.
London School of Theology Library London School of Theology's large library is housed in a former chapel and holds over 45,000 volumes. It is known as one of the best specialist theological libraries in the country.
Poetry Library: South Bank Centre London The most comprehensive and accessible collection of poetry from 1912 in Britain.
Sconul Access SCONUL Access is a co-operative venture between most of the higher education libraries of the UK and Ireland. It enables staff, research students, full time postgraduates and part-time, distance learning and placement students to borrow material from other libraries.
The Women’s Library The Women's Library is a cultural centre, housing the most extensive collection of women's history in the UK. With over 60,000 books and pamphlets, 2,500 periodical titles, 400 archive collections and 5,000 museum objects covering issues from health, sexuality and popular culture to politics, history and human rights, there is a wealth of material here and access is free for everyone.
Training
If you'd like some help developing your library research skills then please contact me to arrange a short training session. You can contact me by using the online form or call me on 01634 883319.
The types of training I can offer:
- Using the library catalogue and locating material
- Online search techniques
- Introduction to using databases in your subject area
