New Electronic Resources

Through the support of anonymous donors, Cambridge University now has access to the Bible and Western Christian Literature collection from Bloomsbury.

The Bible and Western Christian Literature is an authoritative resource that explores the Bible’s impact and influence on the development of literature. Moving from the classical period to modern day, students and scholars can chart the course through primary materials, essays, and more. With international contributions that reflect the biblical text itself, this work considers the broader geographical, philosophical, and theological factors as part of the Bible’s role in culture and society.

You can access the Bible and Western Christian Literature and other theology resources we provide via the Databases AZ.

Title records are also available in iDiscover.

See the Theology and Religious Studies LibGuide for more information on resources for this subject.

Many are surprised – there’s sun, there’s sea, but there’s definitely no sand on Brighton’s beach. How can there be this much sun and this much sea but no sand? But there’s serials instead.

UKSG is a uniquely energizing conference, for the plenaries, breakouts, the exhibition, and the opportunities for interactions with colleagues and partners in libraries, publishing, and intermediaries. In literally half a week you upload the issues the most urgent for all in the knowledge information industry, and where the future is – complexly – leading, and how and where we can play a part in leading it.

Here are highlights of the United Kingdom Serials Group’s annual conference, mainly for our blog’s librarian-readers.

Cambridge University members now have trial access to the digital archive of the People’s Liberation Army Daily, Jiefangjun Bao Digital Archive 解放军报.

Trial access is active until 2 May 2025.

Please tell us what you think about this resource using our feedback form.

Jiefangjun Bao Digital Archive 解放军报 is the official newspaper of the People’s Republic of China’s Central Military Commission. The publication was established in 1956 and acts as the authoritative mediaof the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to release military news and comprehensive military-related information.

This archive contains all published issues from 1956-present (over 950,000 articles) and offers scholars the most comprehensive collection available for this title. The archive is full text only and includes all content contained in the original published issues.

You can access this trial via the Databases AZ.

We are pleased to announce that Cambridge users now have access to the following extensions to Primary Sources from Gale: 

British Library Newspapers, Part VII: Southeast Asian Newspapers

The Independent Historical Archive, 2017-2021 Supplement

British Library Newspapers, Part VII: Southeast Asian Newspapers

Comprising more than 36 English-language newspapers from the British Library’s prestigious Asia, Pacific, and Africa collections, Part VII of the British Library Newspapers series is an invaluable resource for scholars teaching and studying the British Empire, the colonial and postcolonial history of Southeast Asia, and the history of journalism and publishing in general.

On its own, Part VII offers an essential window into the lives of both the settlers and indigenes, showcasing how the colonial administrations of the British Empire interacted with the native population and promoted the ideas of Western knowledge, culture, and institutions. When combined with Parts I to VI of its parent series, it provides countless possibilities to explore how the opinions of British government representatives, merchants, and locals of Southeast Asia interacted with and, sometimes, clashed against each other in the larger context of the British Empire.

The Independent Historical Archive, 2017-2021 Supplement

In 2016, the Independent became the first national newspaper to go digital only, with its last print edition released on the 26th of March. Since then, readers with access to Independent Premium received a digital replica of the newspaper, an ad-free daily that retains the look and feel of the old print edition. These papers are now a part of the Independent Historical Archive with its new supplement, including all the biggest stories, puzzles, and more.

You can access these two extensions and many more Gale Primary Sources via the Cambridge University Libraries E-resources A-Z.

Through the support of anonymous donors, Cambridge University now has access to Latin American Newspapers, Series 1 (1805-1922) from the World Newspaper Archive.

Latin American Newspapers, Series 1 (1805-1922) offers online access to more than 50 Latin American newspapers published between 1805 and 1922. This collection features newspapers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and other countries.

Key publications include La Nacion, La Prensa and Vanguardia (Buenos
Aires), Jornal do Commercio (Rio de Janeiro), O Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo), Mercurio (Santiago), La Prensa (Havana), El Guatemalteco (Guatemala City), Daily Chronicle (Georgetown, Guyana), La Revista de Yucatan (Merida, Mexico), La Patria, Mexican Herald and El Monitor Republicano (Mexico City), El Dictamen (Veracruz Llave, Mexico), La Estrella de Panama and Star & Herald (Panama City), El Peruano and West Coast Leader (Lima), Port of Spain Gazette (Port of Spain), the Venezuelan Herald (Caracas) and more than a dozen others.

You can access  Latin American Newspapers, Series 1 as well as three other collections from the World Newspaper Archive (including South Asian Newspapers 1864-1922;  African Newspapers Series 1, 1800-1922 and African Newspapers Series 2, 1835-1925) via the Databases AZ.

Records for each title are findable in iDiscover, e.g. Comercio

You may also be interested in some of the other Latin American resources we provide, and further information about the Latin American Studies collection from the Centre of Latin American Studies.

We are pleased to announce that Cambridge users now have access to the following additional Primary Sources from Gale:

State Papers Online Colonial, Asia, Part II: Singapore, East Malaysia, and Brunei

State Papers Online Colonial, Asia Part III: Malay States

Sunday Times Historical Archive, 2017-2021 Supplement

Telegraph Historical Archive, 2017-2021 Supplement

State Papers Online Colonial, Asia, Part II and II

In addition to State Papers Online Colonial Asia, Part I: Far East, Hong Kong, and Wei-Hai-Wei, we now also have access to Part II and III.

State Papers Online Colonial Asia, Part II: Singapore, East Malaysia, and Brunei – discover the lives of the many indigenous and migrated peoples co-existing with the development of plantations, oil, mining operations and trade, under Sultan and British administration with the digitised manuscripts comprising State Papers Online Colonial Asia.

State Papers Online Colonial, Asia, Part III: Malay States, Malaya, and Straits Settlements – this is the third instalment of State Papers Online Colonial Asia, a program to digitise largely the British Colonial Office’s files (CO series) relating to the former British colonies in East and Southeast Asia.

Sunday Times Historical Archive and Telegraph Historical Archive

Sunday Times Historical Archive, 1822-2021 – this archive brings two centuries of news together in one resource, providing the complete run of the newspaper up to 2021, including all of its supplements. It allows users to easily explore nearly 200 years of news, investigative reporting, and commentary from Britain’s premier Sunday publication.

Telegraph Historical Archive, 1855-2021 – explore over 1 million pages of what was once the world’s bestselling newspaper, from the eve of the Crimean War to the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

You can access all of these and more Gale Primary Sources via the Cambridge University Libraries E-resources A-Z.

AustLit is a searchable, scholarly source of authoritative biographical, bibliographic, critical, and production information about Australian writers and writing.

It also documents the publishers, newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals that make this work known.

Material dates largely from the arrival of European print culture in Australia (c.1788) to the present. However, pre-1788 works are included, as are references to the pre-colonial and continuing storytelling cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Full text access is available to some of the content on the platform. A ‘Full Text’ option is available to choose from the bar at the top of the screen. There will also be links to full text access from the citation and abstract records.

From AustLit’s description of what they do:

AustLit has a broad definition of ‘the literary’, covering all forms of storytelling.

We make database records that communicate and, when possible, link to authoritative bibliographical and production information for works of fiction and poetry, writing for the theatre, biographical and travel writing, writing for film and television, criticism and reviews.

We also provide biographical and historical information about the people and organisations who associated with the works covered.

AustLit also provides extensive information about writing-related organisations such as publishers, film and theatre companies,and aims to extend coverage of writers’ centres and festivals, and literary agencies.

AustLit indexes current publications to provide an up-to-date record of Australian literature and criticism. Our indexing scheduled is determined by the level of Australian content published. Journals are indexed either quarterly or annually; newspapers on a weekly or monthly basis. We welcome receiving publication details of works we may not yet have indexed.

No other country in the world has attempted to compile such a comprehensive record of a nation’s creative writing and associated critical works. On average, more than six hundred work records are added to the database each week.

AustLit captures and interlinks both ‘by’ and ‘about’ information to map a rounded ‘Life and Career’ view of authors. Biographical records link to publications, to awards and prizes, to interviews and critical reviews, as well as to material related to teaching. Even minor works are covered.

Authors featured on AustLit include:
Claire G Coleman
Bruce Pascoe
Anita Heiss
Stan Grant
Melissa Lucashenko
Tim Winton
Charlotte Wood

 Photo by Rachel Claire: https://www.pexels.com/photo/scenic-landscape-with-road-in-savannah-4846428/

Text taken from the AustLit platform.

The latest update on OSEO includes the addition of the two-volume edition of The Oxford Chaucer to the Medieval Poetry module:

The Oxford Chaucer, Volume 1: The Canterbury Tales

The Oxford Chaucer, Volume 2: Troilus and Criseyde, Shorter Poems, Philosophical and Scientific Prose

These authoritative editions bring Chaucer’s works to a new generation, providing essential resources to understand and appreciate his original Middle English. Each text features literary introductions and explanatory notes for both beginners and scholars, along with a comprehensive guide to Chaucer’s life and culture.

Also available to access via the Databases A-Z.

The University of Cambridge has trial access to the Japan Times Archive up to 4 March 2025.

This trial will be useful for students beyond East Asian studies because the Japan Times is all in English. The digital archives include every issue from 1897 to 2023. It is all full-text searchable. We already have newspaper archives for the Yomiuri Shimbun, Nikkei, and Asahi Shimbun.

For students and scholars who read Japanese, Japan’s major English-language newspaper could be an extra point of comparison. Our existing subscriptions also include English-language editions from Yomiuri and Nikkei. These and other Japan-related e-resources are available together here.

Please send your feedback using our feedback form.

From the issue of 23 November 2022: “TV dramas in Japan focusing on forensic medicine have been inspiring more young people across the country to take up a career in the field amid growing fascination with unravelling the mysteries behind cases of suspicious death. Popular shows, such as those featuring doctors who perform autopsies on people who have died due to strange circumstances, appear to be behind the trend. Senior forensic doctors are welcoming the movement as a ‘bright sign’ for the future of the practice, which has often been marginalized.”

Cambridge University members now have trial access to the South African (2022 edition) and Latin American (1805-1922) collections in the World Newspaper Archive.

Trial access is active until 9 March 2025.

Please tell us what you think about this resource using our feedback form.

World Newspaper Archive – Access South Africa (2022 edition)

Designed specifically for libraries in South Africa, this full text news database features more than 150 current South African newspapers, from 1996 to today. Many of these English, Afrikaans and Zulu sources have never before been available and can only be found in Access South Africa, including Beeld, City Press, Daily Sun, Hermanus Times, Die Burger, Ons Stad, Potchfstroom Herald, Stellenbosch Gazette, Vaal Weekblad and Volksblad, as well as Cape Argus, Mercury, The Star and Sowetan and Isolezwe ngeSonto.

World Newspaper Archive – Latin American Newspapers Series 1-2 (1805-1922)

Latin American Newspapers, Series 1 and Series 2, 1805-1922, offer unprecedented coverage of the people, issues and events that shaped this vital region during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Featuring titles from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and a dozen other countries, these resources provide a wide range of viewpoints from diverse Latin American cultures.

 A detailed overview of the content of these collections can be found here.

Access to e-resources off campus is currently unavailable using any link via our proxy server.

Please take the following simple steps to connect to e-resources off campus while the proxy server is unavailable.

Note that proxied links in iDiscover are affected off campus.

You need to use your VPN connection or if you do not have a VPN connection, install one on your device. 

1. Visit this University Information Services web page for help on installing a VPN connection. 

2. Once you have VPN connected, you should re-try the same link you reported was not working before with the proxy prefix removed. 

3. Remove the proxy prefix from your URL https://ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/login?url=. 

4. Retry the link without the proxy prefix. 

An alternative to VPN is to login on the resource or publisher website using Shibboleth.  

1. Remove the proxy prefix from your URL https://ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/login?url=. 

2. Retry the link without the proxy prefix. 

3. You should see an option on the resource or publisher website to login via Shibboleth or UK Access Management Federation. 

4. Select this option and follow the prompts to choose your institution “University of Cambridge”. 

5. At the University IT Account (formerly Raven) prompt, login with your University IT Account credentials. 

If you still have a problem, please get back in touch by writing to ejournals@lib.cam.ac.uk

Cambridge University members now have trial access to El Comercio, the longest-running newspaper in Peru and one of the oldest Spanish-language newspapers in the world.

Trial access is active until 28 February 2025.

Please tell us what you think about this resource using our feedback form.

Coverage includes important events in Peruvian and South American history –

• the Guano Era (1845-1866)
• the Peruvian Civil War (1865)
• the Amazon Rubber Boom (1879-1912)
• the third era of military dictatorships (1930-1939)
• the Fujimori presidency and “Fujishock” (1990-2000)
• Peru’s ongoing political crisis (2017-)

You can also access this trial via the Databases A-Z.

Trial access to the World Religion Database is now available to members of the University of Cambridge until 14th February 2025. Click from the landing page to access the online edition.

Please send feedback about this trial via the online form.

The World Religion Database (WRD) contains detailed statistics on religious affiliation for every country of the world. It provides information from country censuses as well as best estimates for every religion to offer a definitive picture of religion and non-religion in the past, present, and future.

It offers best estimates at multiple dates for each of the world’s religions for the period 1900 to 2050. The WRD is regularly updated with new sources of data, such as estimates of religious affiliation at the province level within countries and religious freedom information for all countries.

Database Functionality
– Sort, Modify, Print, or Export query results
– Customize reports and download data to generate charts, tables, and graphs
– Simple keyword search
– Browse pre-formatted directories on country, peoples, religions, etc.
– Access user stats (librarians only)

Features and Benefits
– Global comparative figures for every major religion
– Population and religious adherents for every country and United Nations region
– Access to source material on religious affiliation (census and survey figures)
– Breakdown of major religions into traditions (e.g. Sunni-Shi’as within Islam)
– Multiple data points to compare growth rates (1900, 1950, 1970, 2000, 2005, 2025, 2050)
– Feedback mechanism for users to comment on data, sources and methodology

Photo by Oktay Köseoğlu: https://www.pexels.com/photo/stunning-intricate-mosque-dome-architecture-30350248/

Members of the University of Cambridge have trial access to World Christian Encyclopedia Online until 14th February 2025.

This in the online version of the third edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia, one of the most-cited reference works in mission and World Christianity studies. The Encyclopedia documents the changing status of World Christianity over the past 120 years from historical and social scientific perspectives. It records the continued shift of Christianity to the Global South and contains estimates for religious and nonreligious affiliation in every country of the world, including detail on Christianity to the denominational level. This reference work features comprehensive descriptions of all Christian traditions, including current information on the uniqueness of Christian experiences around the world.

The online version is fully text searchable, contains cross references, links to the World Christian Database and additional photo material.

Photo by Kamil Zubrzycki: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-and-black-houses-with-brown-grass-with-overlooking-mountain-under-white-sky-1245066/

Access to the World Christian Database is available remotely and on campus to members of the University of Cambridge until 14th February 2025. Click through to the online edition from the landing page.

The World Christian Database (WCD) provides comprehensive statistical information on global Christianity, other world religions, and Christian activities in all 237 countries. Extensive data are available on thousands of Christian denominations, ethnolinguistic people groups, cities, and provinces.

The WCD transforms current statistics on religion into a real-time analysis tool that takes just minutes to perform even detailed research. This comprehensive database brings together a fully updated and cohesive religious data set with a world-class database architecture. The result is a simple, yet powerful database tool that enables users to customize reports and download data for in use in charts, tables, and graphs.

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/holy-bible-on-stand-372326/

The University of Cambridge now has online access to Documents Related to the 78th Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (オンライン版 宮澤喜一関係文書), as part of a 30-day free trial taking place from Tuesday, 7th January to 6th February 2025. 

The collection covers all of Miyazawa’s important positions from the 1950s to the 2000s, and is comprised of approximately 7,000 items of original documents.

User Manual can be found at https://j-dac.jp/MJPH/usage.html

Please send us feedback about this trial via online feedback form.

See the Japanese Studies Libguide for more information on resources for Japanese Studies at Cambridge.