This collection, created by RLUK (Research Libraries UK), contains the most significant British pamphlets from the 19th century held in UK research libraries. Pamphlets were an important means of public debate, covering the key political, social, technological, and environmental issues of their day. They have been underutilized within research and teaching because they are generally quite difficult to access, often bound together in large numbers or otherwise hard to find in the few research libraries that hold them. The digitization of more than 20,000 pamphlets from seven UK institutions will provide researchers, students, and teachers with an immensely rich and coherent corpus of primary sources with which to study the socio-political and economic landscape of 19th century Britain. This collection was created with funding from the JISC Digitisation Programme.
INCLUDES:
Cowen Tracts
Earl Grey Pamphlets Collection
Hume Tracts
Knowsley Pamphlet Collection
Wilson Anti-Slavery Collection
COLLECTION STATS
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26,246 pamphlets
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990,000 pages
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Created by RLUK (Research Libraries UK), contains the most significant British pamphlets from the 19th century held in UK research libraries
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7 collections represented, including Selections from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), the Earl Grey Pamphlets Collection, and the Foreign Office Collection
PROJECT CONCEPTION
This project, conceived by the Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and funded by the JISC Digitisation Programme, preserves and provides online access to the most significant British pamphlets from the 19th century held in UK research libraries.
CURATORIAL PROCESS
Selected by RLUK, the pamphlets provide users with a wide focus on the political, social, and economic issues of 19th century Britain. This project has captured as much as possible from a number of smaller collections associated with individuals or families (Durham, Liverpool, Newcastle and UCL) or organizations (Manchester), and supplemented these with pamphlets drawn from larger collections (Bristol and LSE).
CONTENT DIGITIZATION
The production of electronic facsimiles of the pamphlets was undertaken at BOPCRIS, the specialist digitization unit based in Hartley Library at the University of Southampton. The methods of digitization ensure that all page components were captured and provide users with faithful replications, which include any handwritten personal annotations, corrections, and paper color to provide the effects of time and use on the printed page.
CONTRIBUTORS
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Durham University
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London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
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Newcastle University
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UCL
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University of Bristol
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University of Liverpool
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University of Manchester
ABOUT RLUK
Research Libraries UK (RLUK), formerly known as CURL, is a major grouping of UK libraries, comprising 29 University, National, and other research libraries. Its mission is to increase the ability of research libraries to share resources for the benefit of the local, national, and international research community. The new RLUK strategy "The Power of Knowledge" has identified digitization as one of its six key strategic themes in synergy with the research information infrastructure theme, and RLUK is working proactively to promote the research digitization agenda in partnership with the JISC. In addition to its support for the 19th Century British Pamphlets project, RLUK has sponsored Copac, a database of over 35 million books and serials held in UK libraries, the UK Archives Hub, a national gateway to descriptions of archives in UK universities and colleges, and EthOSnet, which will provide electronic access to UK theses.
ABOUT THE JISC DIGITISATION PROGRAMME
The 19th British Century Pamphlets Collection is part of the
JISC Digitisation Programme, which has received £22 million in funding from the Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales to make available a wide range of heritage and scholarly resources of national importance. This includes sound recordings, moving pic tures, newspapers, maps, images, cartoons, census data, journals, and parliamentary papers for use by the UK fur ther and higher education communities. This collection will be made freely available to non-commercial educational and research institutions in the United Kingdom.
