Research Sources
Bristol is an excellent place for conducting research on a number of fields. Not least, it boasts a particularly good academic library and extensive computer facilities.
The Library
The University Library is the largest in south-west England - its catalogue lists over a million items - and has an annual purchasing budget for books and journals of well over one million pounds sterling. It has extensive holdings of works in ancient, medieval and modern history and a very good range of journals (many available on-line) and government and parliamentary publications. There are also many specialist collections of particular interest to historians, such as the business history collection and the medical library. In addition, on microform there is a wide range of material ranging from early English books through sixteenth and seventeenth century state papers to the archives of the leading British political parties and the Trade Union Congress.
Further details of the major archival collections in Bristol, which can be used by students conducting dissertations and theses, can be found on the Resources page.
Computing Facilities at the University
The Arts Faculty has two computer laboratories, which are available to students 24 hours a day. They provide a data-base of historical statistics, word-processing and printing facilities and a link to the central computing services. The University Computer Centre provides a wide range of advice and training courses.
History of Art also have a dedicated Resource Centre for students and a separate postgraduate study space (with computers) which we share with the Archaeology & Anthropology department.
Graduate Centre
The Faculty also has its own Graduate Centre, which is for the exclusive use of those taking taught and research postgraduate degrees in the Arts. This has extensive computer and other facilities.
Department Resources
The History of Art department has a Resource Centre equipped with computers, scanners, the slide collection, a film archive collection and reference books. There is also a dedicated study space for the postgraduate research students with computers and scanners.