British and Irish Studies

Perkins Library collects comprehensively on Great Britain and Ireland and selectively for Australia and New Zealand. Other Commonwealth countries, such as Canada and India, are included in the Collection Statements for those areas.

    All periods are covered, from pre-history to the present. Economic, labor, social, and political history are included. Strengths are the British Parliamentary Papers, the publications of the various Record Societies and the Victoria County histories. The set British Documents on Foreign Affairs is received on standing order. All materials are bought, regardless of format, and there are no language restrictions, though the English language predominates.  All major historical journals are subscribed to, and the Library owns several major microform sets, such as the Cabinet Minutes and Memoranda, 1916-39, and the Sessional Papers of the House of Commons from the 19th Century.  Perkins Library subscribes to six UK newspapers and one Irish one, and owns the microfilm of the Times of London back to 1785. Duke is a member of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), which provides access to their rich collection of primary sources on microform.

Online indexes available include British Humanities Index, Periodicals Index and Archive Online, Global Books in Print, and the Royal Historical Society Bibliography.  Duke also subscribes to the Oxford English Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online.   Full-text online primary sources include The Times Digital Archive (1785-1985), the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers 1801-present, Early English Books Online (EEBO) and Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO).