New collections: Expanding the range of our digital archives

The Library has recently enhanced its digital archive collections, increasing access to primary source content across the social sciences and humanities. These new and expanded resources provide valuable material for teaching, learning and research, supporting students and researchers to explore people, cultures, histories and lived experiences across different periods and places. 

Mass Observation Project Online Archive IV (2010–2019) 

The Mass Observation Project Online Archive extended access now includes material from the 2010s, capturing perspectives on social media, immigration, human rights, climate change, Brexit and US Presidential Elections. The archive also supports comparison with earlier Mass Observation studies, including the 1938 and 2013 directives on What Makes You Happy? 

Cambridge Companions Online  

Cambridge Companions Online offers extended access to its full collection of more than 900 volumes published between 1986 and 2025. Complementing Cambridge Histories Online, the collection provides authoritative introductions to key topics, authors and themes across the arts, humanities and social sciences. 

ProQuest One Anthropology 

ProQuest One Anthropology brings together field notes, draft manuscripts, published ethnographies, video ethnographies and ethnographic films, providing rich primary source material for the study of cultures and societies worldwide. Representing more than 1,000 cultural groups, it supports teaching and research across anthropology and related disciplines. 

National Theatre Collections Volume IV 

National Theatre Collections Volume IV adds six productions to the Library's existing access to the National Theatre Collection: Ballet Shoes, Kin, Nye, The Boy With Two Hearts, The Importance of Being Earnest and Blues for an Alabama Sky. The collection explores themes including politics, family, immigration and identity, supported by learning resources and behind-the-scenes content to enhance teaching, study and research. 

Radicalism and Popular Protest in Georgian Britain (c.1714–1832) 

Radicalism and Popular Protest in Georgian Britain (c.1714-1832) features more than 90,000 primary source images documenting political dissent, activism and unrest from the Jacobite rebellions through to the 1832 Reform Act. The collection supports research into protest and reform and complements our Special Collections material on the Peterloo Massacre. 

Perdita Manuscripts 

Perdita Manuscripts provides digitised access to manuscripts written or compiled by women in the British Isles during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The collection includes poetry, religious writing, autobiographical works, household accounts, recipes and remedies, helping to uncover voices and perspectives that have often been overlooked in the historical record. Detailed catalogue descriptions, contextual essays and biographical resources support further exploration and research. 

Discover Our Collections 

These collections span a wide range of subjects and may be particularly useful for research and teaching in anthropology, history, literature, drama and performance, politics and gender studies. Access via Library Search or explore our relevant subject guides.