Using BBIH for studying, teaching and research
Our help pack aims to help you get the most from BBIH when studying, teaching or researching British and Irish history
Bibliography of British and Irish History
The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) is the most comprehensive and accurate guide available to what's been written about British and Irish history. It's an essential resource for research and teaching.
BBIH is a subscription service and is available remotely via university and research libraries worldwide.
IHR - In this section
Announcement
Following the decision of the Royal Historical Society, the Institute of Historical Research is pleased to announce that it will increase its support for BBIH to become the sole academic partner for the project. The IHR is delighted that Professor Roey Sweet and Jenny Lelkes-Rarugal, Editor of BBIH, will continue to lead the bibliography at the IHR in future years, with the support of section editors and our publishing partner Brepols. We will provide further updates in due course as we work with our partners to manage a smooth transition to the new arrangement.
Latest BBIH update
The June 2023 update to BBIH adds records of 2524 new publications in the field of British and Irish History
The Changing Relevance of Empire
Professor Trevor Burnard reflects on the changing historiography of the British Empire and imperialism from 2003-2022
Women's histories in BBIH
For Women's History Month, our editors have identified 500 recent titles relating to women's histories
Recovering Emotions in Historical Research
Dr Helen Metcalfe discusses how BBIH can be used to research the history of emotions
LGBTQIA+ histories in BBIH
For UK LGBTQIA+ History Month, our editors have identified 500 recent titles relating to histories of ‘homosexuality’ and ‘transgender & transsexual people'
About the Bibliography
The Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) is the most comprehensive and accurate guide available to what has been published in British and Irish history over the past 125 years. This makes BBIH a key resource for study, research and teaching: the essential starting point for discovering what's been written in any historical field, when and by whom.
What makes BBIH so valuable and useful?
- contains over 640,000 records of books, edited collections, journal articles and book chapters
- includes details of history publications from the early 1900s to present
- covers the history of the British Isles, the former empire and Commonwealth, the British world, and Britons' activities on the global stage
- is searchable via a range of options. These include: author, title of publication, subject area, period and places covered, publication type and date/s of publication
What makes BBIH a unique resource?
- created using systematic and extensive surveys of data on all relevant new publications, including weekly reviews of 800 academic journals and records of the British Library
- provides links to individual publications in your library or a union catalogue, along with academic reviews of books listed in the bibliography
- enables you to create your own comprehensive bibliography on any topic
- the definitive record of British historical research and publishing in the C20th and C21st
BBIH is updated three times a year by specialist bibliographers at the IHR, working with a team of academic historians to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness. BBIH is a research and publishing project of the IHR, the UK's Royal Historical Society and the Belgian academic press, Brepols.
The Bibliography in numbers
BBIH is a essential resource for research and teaching, and the best possible guide to what's been written about British and Irish history.
- 640,000+ : Records of books, chapters and article in BBIH
- 10,000+ : New records added each year in regular updates
- 8000 : Thematic search categories with the BBIH taxonomy
- 800 : Academic journals checked weekly for new content
- 2023 : Includes records of the latest publications
