Digitizing the Nineteenth Century: Gale Outlines First Archives for Nineteenth Century Collections Online

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Jan. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Gale, part of Cengage Learning and a leading publisher of research and reference resources for libraries, schools and businesses, today announced the source libraries, collections and plans for the first four modules of Nineteenth Century Collections Online, its global digitization and publishing program that brings together rare nineteenth-century primary source content. Currently still in development, the modules will be available this spring.

Nineteenth Century Collections Online is an ongoing publishing program with content and partner libraries being added continuously. The British Library, The National Archives (United States), The National Archives at Kew, United Kingdom, the Bodleian Library – University of Oxford, and Castle Corvey in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany have all provided primary source content to be digitized and included in the archive. Approximately 150 collections from these institutions—as well as from many other libraries and archives-- will be included in modules this year.

"One of the important elements of Nineteenth Century Collections Online is that most of the content has never before been digitized, and a great deal of the content has never been captured for microfilm or been otherwise made available outside the source institution," said Jim Draper, vice president and publisher, Gale. "This archive is opening up rare and important materials to a world of researchers, no matter their location."

The first modules of Nineteenth Century Collections Online, to be released this spring, include:

• British Politics and Society – will present a range of primary sources covering such topics as British domestic and foreign policy, the working class, trade unions, Chartism, Owenism, public protest, radical movements, the cartographic record, political reform and many others. It will feature the following collections, among others:
  • British Cabinet Papers, 1880-1916
  • Civil Disturbance, Chartism and Riots in Nineteenth Century England
  • People's History: Working Class Autobiographies
  • Radicals and Reformers in Britain: The Papers of John Cam Hobhouse, 1809-1865
• Asia and the West: Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange – will cover such topics as British and U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy; Asian political, economic, and social affairs; the Philippine Insurrection, the Opium Wars and more. Featured collections include:
  • Dispatches from U.S. Consuls in Osaka and Hiogo (Kobe), Japan, 1868-1906
  • Dispatches from U.S. Ministers to Korea, 1883-1905
  • History of the Philippine Insurrection Against the United States, 1899-1903, and Documents Relating to the War Department Project for Publishing of History, 1899-1903
• British Theatre, Music, and Literature: High and Popular Culture – will include a range of materials, including playbills, scripts, operas and scores – many of them never before filmed or made available electronically – covering such topics as Victorian popular culture, street literature, music and bloods and penny dreadfuls. Collections include:
  • Archive of the Royal Literary Fund
  • Drury Lane Under Sheridan, 1776-1812, Manuscript Plays and Correspondence
  • English State After the Restoration, 1733-1822
  • Popular Literature in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Britain, Parts Three-Ten: The Barry Ono Collection of Bloods and Penny Dreadful
• Corvey Collection of European Literature: 1790-1840 – is a unique collection of monographs covering a wide range of Romantic literature published in English, French and German. Sourced from Corvey Abbey in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, it is one of the most important collections of works from the period in existence. Focused on rare works, specifically difficult-to-find works by lesser-known women writers, this collection includes:
  • Novels and Gothic Novels
  • Belles-Lettres
  • Short Prose Forms
  • Dramatic Works
  • Poetry

For more information on Nineteenth Century Collections Online, please visit http://gdc.gale.com/products/nineteenth-century-collections-online/ or download Nineteenth Century Collections Online Museum, the free iOS application available in the iTunes app store (search: nineteenth century). It provides free content and the opportunity to interact with materials (including manuscripts, sheet music, photos and more) in the context which is most relevant to the user. The application also enables researchers to receive information regarding events, enhancements and research tips, as well as the opportunity to provide feedback and drive development of the program.

Gale will also be previewing the groundbreaking new publishing platform of Nineteenth Century Collections Online at its booth (#2219) at the ALA Midwinter meeting in Dallas, TX, Jan. 20-23.

If you have any questions, please contact Kristina Massari at [email protected].

About Cengage Learning and Gale

Cengage Learning is a leading provider of innovative teaching, learning and research solutions for the academic, professional and library markets worldwide. Gale, part of Cengage Learning, serves the world's information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. It is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs – from homework help to health questions to business profiles – in a variety of formats. For more information, visit www.cengage.com or www.gale.cengage.com.

SOURCE Cengage Learning

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