Getting Started
Not sure where to start?
Have a look at our How To... page for our three part tutorial on getting started with your research. The Starting Your Research tutorial is tailored to your School/Department.
You will also find guidance on searching Library databases, provided by some of our database providers.
Reference, Handbooks & Companions
- American National Biography Online This link opens in a new window
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Profiles of nearly 20,000 Americans from all eras who have influenced and shaped the USA's history and culture. From missionaries to musicians, social workers to statisticians, cowboys to chemists, and Vikings to astronauts. Includes people from pre-colonial times to those who have died in the last 5 years.
- Cambridge Companions This link opens in a new window
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Includes the Companions in Literature and the Classics. - Cambridge Histories This link opens in a new window
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American and British history, economic and scientific history, philosophy, religious studies, theatre studies, warfare and literary studies.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
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50,000 biographies of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the earliest times to the year 2000.
- Oxford English Dictionary Online This link opens in a new window
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A fully searchable online version of the Second print edition of the OED.
- Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window
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The Oxford Handbooks series brings together the world’s leading scholars to write articles that survey the current state of scholarship in their field. The articles review the key issues, reveal original arguments and concepts, and set the agenda for new research.
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
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This collection of reference works allows cross searching of over 100 dictionaries and encyclopedias published by Oxford University Press.
Specialist databases
Databases are large, searchable collections of academic materials. Some provide access to full-text journal articles, whilst others provide abstract or citation information about journal articles which we may or may not have full-text access to. The content of most databases are linked to 'Search Everything' on UR Library Search, or for more precise and relevant searche you can choose to search the individual databases.
- ProQuest One Literature (formerly Literature Online) This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to full text journals, dissertations, ebooks, primary works, video and reference works. It offers an international and interdisciplinary perspective on literary topics with sources from all over the world. Also included are the ProQuest Black Writing Collection, and the World Literature Collection.
- ACLS Humanities EBook This link opens in a new window
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Subjects: humanities and related social sciences.
- Bloomsbury Collections This link opens in a new window
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A collection of arts and humanities eBooks, with a strong focus on Philosophy.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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Hundreds of full text journals and eBooks in the arts, humanities, social sciences and life sciences.
- Letters of Charles Dickens: 1820-1870 (Past Masters) This link opens in a new window
This database contains the full-text letters of Charles Dickens and is fully searchable.
- Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new window
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Literature Criticism Online is the largest, most extensive compilation of literary commentary available. It includes scholarly and popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals.
- Open Library of Humanities (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new windowIncludes: C21 Literature: Journal of 21st-Century Writings; Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship; Journal of British and Irish Innovative Poetry; Marvell Studies; Orbit: A Journal of American Literature.
- Project Gutenberg (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to over 60,000 free eBooks; also discoverable through UR Library Search.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to journal articles, eBooks and reviews in the humanities and social sciences. Spotlight on Project Muse blog post.
- TLS Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
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Full text of the Times Literary Supplement from 1902-2013.
- ARTSTOR This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to curated high quality images from reliable sources that have been rights-cleared for use in education and research. It contains 300 collections composed of over 2 million images.
- BBC Shakespeare Archive Resource (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
The BBC's archive of their entire output relating to Shakespeare: plays, poems and sonnets, documentaries, interviews, photographs and stills. Licensed only for streamed playback. To use this platform you will need to register using your Roehampton email address. Click here to register.
- British Library Sounds (Open Access Resource) This link opens in a new window
Access thousands of the British Library's global recordings, including music, drama and literature, oral history, languages and dialects, wildlife, and birdsong.
- Drama Online This link opens in a new window
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Plays and play criticisms from a range of publishers including Aurora Metro Books, Faber & Faber and Bloomsbury Publishing. Also includes Globe on Screen and Early Modern video Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum's archives. Note: To access this resource please select “University of Roehampton”.
- KANOPY This link opens in a new window
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Streams thousands of films, documentaries and training videos across a wide range of subjects. Note: Click 'Log in to Roehampton' on the left side of the screen to gain access. Please note: BBC programmes may be available via Roehampton Online Broadcasts (ROB).
- National Theatre Collection This link opens in a new window
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High-definition streaming video of world-class productions, plus unique archival material, from London’s National Theatre.
- ROB (Roehampton Online Broadcasts) This link opens in a new window
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Record and stream freeview TV and radio programmes for educational use, create clips and playlists, and access the archive of recorded programmes including BBC and Shakespeare Archives. ROB is managed by AVR, for assistance contact: avr@roehampton.ac.uk.
- Theatre Performance and Design Collection This link opens in a new window
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A comprehensive collection of performance videos, audio recordings, and production designs (from sound and lights to sets and costumes).
The Library has several databases that offer digital access to early printed books, pamphlets and newspapers. You can use these to see howthe rst edition looked, or read contemporary accounts or reviews of that book or play you are studying.
- Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
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A cross-searchable platform of eight databases containing digital reproductions of newspapers, periodicals, books and ephemera from the 17th to 20th centuries, including archives of the Illustrated London News, the Listener, Times & Times Literary Supplement (TLS).
- British Library Newspapers This link opens in a new window
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The British Library’s archives of searchable facsimiles of regional and national newspapers from the 19th century.
- British Periodicals This link opens in a new window
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Periodicals from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth century.
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
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Full text searching of millions of pages of history, literature, religion, law, fine arts, science and more.
- Guardian and Observer (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
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Local, regional and national UK news archive from 1791 - 2003. Note: to access current issues, see Pressreader.
- Illustrated London News This link opens in a new window
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A digital archive of the world's first weekly illustrated newspaper from 1842 to 2003, providing contemporary accounts and images of significant British and world events.
- John Johnson Collection This link opens in a new window
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Archive of printed ephemera covering everyday life in Britain in the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- Nineteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
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Primary sources covering British politics, society, and culture, including theatre, music and literature.
- Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals This link opens in a new window
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Access to close to 100 periodicals for the study of British life in the 19th century - from women to sports and leisure, and from children to humour.
- Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window
An archive of hundreds of digitized journals in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
- Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
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The Times newspaper in facsimile from 1785 - 2019.
Special Collections & Archives at University of Roehampton Library
- Children's Literature Collection This collection exists to support children's literature studies at Roehampton and the work of the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature (NCRCL). It is a reference collection of about 3,000 critical, theoretical, bibliographical and reference works. The Collection also holds runs of approximately 40 specialist children's literature journals.
- Children's Literature Digital Collection The Children's Literature Collection is a specialist collection within the university library. It exists to support children's literature studies at Roehampton and the work of the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature (NCRCL).
- Richmal Crompton Collection Richmal Crompton (1890 - 1969) is best known for the Just William stories which were written between 1919 – 1969. Deposited with the Archives and Special Collections by the author’s heirs and executors in 2008, this is one of the most comprehensive archive collections of an author’s life and work.
The Library also holds a School Experience Collection on the first floor containing a large collection of picture books, young adult titles as well as teaching materials.
Digital Archives and other Research Resources
The Foyle Special Collections and Archives has a selection of digital content from its collections. This includes historical photographs, images of archival material as well as publication fragments (in addition to the Roehampton Digital Collections). The content can be made available to individuals upon request.
- Archive of NowThe source for British Innovative Poetry. A digital collection of poets performing their own work.
- National Poetry Library - online poetryA large collection of brilliant, moving, funny and groundbreaking poems that you can read online, as well as a quote-finding service.
- The Poetry ArchiveThe Poetry Archive is a not-for-profit organisation that produces, acquires and preserves recordings of poets reading their own work out loud.
- The Poetry FoundationAn independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture.
- Spread the WordLondon’s writer development agency, campaigning to ensure that publishing reflects the diversity of the city.
Library Subject Resources Guides for
Children's Literature Library Subject Resources Guide - Roehampton has strong collections of materials to support the study of children's literature, both in print and online. These include primary sources, historical and contemporary children's book collections, critical works and commentary, biography and autobiography of children's authors and illustrators and children's literature journals.
Inter Library Loans
The Inter Library Loan (ILL) service gives students and staff the option of requesting books, book chapters and journals articles when we do not have them in the Library collection. The items are borrowed from the British Library and U.K. and Ireland institutions and are supplied for free.
Inter Library Loans are not available for Alumni or our partner institutions.
You can also check the availability for the item in academic libraries near you on Jisc Library Hub Discover; it may be faster to visit another London academic library through the SCONUL scheme.
Inter Library Loan FAQs
How to I request an Inter Library Loan?
Where to collect my Inter Library Loan?
Returning an Inter Library Loan
How to renew Inter Library Loans?
Using other Libraries
SCONUL
SCONUL Access is a scheme which allows many university library users to borrow or use books and journals at other UK academic libraries which belong to the scheme, or just the convenience of studying in a library closer to your home. It's completely free to join, find how more information here:
What is SCONUL and how can I apply?
The British Library
The British Library at St Pancras, London is a national research library. It does not lend books nor does it aim to stock multiple copies of basic text books. If your research needs are not fulfilled by other libraries, see the British Library catalogue and Reader Registration. For more information about getting a Reader Pass, please see the British Library website.
Specialist libraries
There are many specialist libraries in London that may be of use to your studies. General advice for access:
- Telephone or email first as you may have to make an appointment to see the collection.
- Tell the librarian what you have already found and be specific about what you still need.
- Record all the bibliographic details of any material you use as you may not be able to recheck them.
Other Catalogues
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Jisc Library Hub Discover is a national Library catalogue that accesses the catalogues of many of the largest UK and Ireland university libraries.
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London Libraries allows searches and provides information on special collections.
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ULRLS is the catalogue of the University of London Research Library Services.
eduroam WiFi network
eduroam is a free WiFi network that allows students, researchers and staff to securely access the internet when visiting other participating institutions. See here for further details on setting up eduroam access for your visits to other institutions.