Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) FAQ
When will the new Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) be available?
The new Bibliography was launched on 1 January 2010 and replaces the RHS Bibliography and London's Past Online.
Subscriptions are available to institutions and individuals. See below for more information.
Subscribers and members of subscribing institutions can go straight to the new Bibliography by visiting http://www.brepolis.net/ and clicking on Enter databases .
Can I still use the old RHS Bibliography website?
No, the old Bibliography website was taken offline at the end of December 2009. You can now find out about BBIH on the websites of the Institute of Historical Research (http://www.history.ac.uk) and the Royal Historical Society (http://www.royalhistoricalsociety.org).
Why has access to the Bibliography changed?
The RHS Bibliography enjoyed UK Arts and Humanities Research Council funding for several years but this was always directed primarily at developing functionality rather than adding new records to make sure that the Bibliography was up-to-date. And the particular AHRC scheme on which we were drawing has now ended. After much thought and consultation, the Institute of Historical Research and the Royal Historical Society decided that the only way to develop and enhance the Bibliography in the long term (and therefore to ensure its continuing usefulness) was through a partnership with an experienced commercial publisher - Brepols Publishers. As part of this arrangement, the IHR and RHS have increased their financial commitment to the Bibliography, but it has nonetheless entailed the Bibliography becoming a subscription service.
What types of subscription are available?
A range of institutional and individual subscriptions is available:
- Standard Licence
Offers access, including remote, to the full information but is limited to three simultaneous users. Access is by IP address(es). - Campus Wide Licence
Offers unlimited access, both onsite and remote, by IP address(es) - Consortium / Multiple-Campus Subscription
Volume discounts are available for qualifying groups of institutions and multi-site licences - Individual subscription
For personal use only. It offers a single username and password that must not be shared.
Institutional subscriptions in the UK are based on JISC bandings, and those in the USA are based on the Carnegie Classification.
Institutions wishing to assess the Bibliography can obtain one-month free trials from Brepols.
For more information about subscription rates and options, please contact Brepols Publishers.
What if my institution doesn't subscribe?
You can ask your librarian to request a free trial, or you may wish to take out an individual subscription (by contacting Brepols Publishers). In addition, the library of the Institute of Historical Research will offer onsite access to the BBIH for all of its members.
How does the search interface differ from the RHS Bibliography?
BBIH retains the key facilities previously available on the RHS Bibliography search forms, including the subject classification scheme and searching by period covered. It also offers a number of new features, such as an auto-complete function, an auto record count per search field, a multilingual interface and extended export possibilities. You can choose between a simple or an advanced search, both offering significantly faster returns of results.
Screenshot of the new BBIH Search interface
Are you maintaining links to full text?
Yes. The new Bibliography is compatible with OpenURL, facilitating linkage to full text. Links to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the National Register of Archives, Who Was Who, BL Articles Direct, Google Books, COPAC, H-Albion reviews, British History Online and Reviews in History are also still available.
What is happening to Irish History Online?
Irish History Online is also changing its publication arrangements but plans to maintain a free service at http://www.irishhistoryonline.ie , where more information can be found. All the data included in Irish History Online up to the end of 2009 will continue to be available in BBIH and BBIH will continue to add records covering the main publications relating to Irish history and Anglo-Irish relations, but will not in future offer the detailed coverage of local history that is a feature of Irish History Online. We hope that the two projects will continue to cooperate in data collection.
I still have some questions about the new BBIH
For more information about the scope of the new Bibliography, its editorial team and its history, please visit our introduction. We also provide a news page for information about updates and other developments. A press release about the new service is available at http://www.history.ac.uk/news/press-releases and you can also download Brepols' leaflet advertising the service, or contact Brepols Publishers.
Contact
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