This is a list of resources that I use to check facts, find information and source original texts.
A lot more is online, but most online content doesn’t include references to primary sources, so I will usually check more than one source and try and find original texts, either online or using a library.
A lot of ideas come from random online posts, but only as a starting point for more research.
- Bristol Central Library – or any library you can get hold of.
Bristol has a valuable collection of local information, records and publications, not to mention pictures. - Archives
I should use Bristol Archives more, though they are often more about administrative records than descriptive material that you will find in the Bristol Library collections.
Don’t’ forget specialist archives, eg Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust, Brunel Institute and others. Often reachable via email if you can’t visit. - Internet Archive (https://archive.org/)
“…a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more.”
Useful for searching for publications quoted elsewhere, so that you can read more of the original publication. - Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/)
“…an online library of more than 75,000 free eBooks.” They cover a wide range of subjects and again can be usel for hard to find publications. - Wikipedia
Often derided, and can be biased, but articles often have links to other sources that are worth following up. - Bristol Historical Association pamphlets (https://bristolha.org/bristol-ha-pamphlets/)
“…over eighty pamphlets which contain about a million words of scholarship on local history. “ - Bristol Record Society (https://bristolrecordsociety.org/)
“The Bristol Record Society makes accessible the documents, records and studies on which History is based….All volumes that are more than two years old are freely available on The Bristol Record Society Collection of the Internet Archive. - Know your Place (https://maps.bristol.gov.uk/kyp/?edition=)
“allows you to explore your neighbourhood through historic maps, images and linked information.” - JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/)
A source for scholarly materials from the world’s libraries, museums, and publishers.
A free personal account gives you online access to 100 articles a month.
