HPS resources

Ebooks/texts

ebooks@cambridge

An increasingly extensive collection of HPS ebooks is now available. Where possible the Whipple/UL acquires ebooks that are on reading lists to ensure that students have access to the most heavily used books. An added benefit of ebooks is that you can search their content and copy and paste from them. For more information please see the University's ebooks@cambridge web page.

The easiest way of searching for ebooks purchased by Cambridge University libraries (especially those that are on reading lists) is via LibrarySearch.

Access to these books is limited to cam domain IP addresses, or Raven password.

For undergraduates the Whipple Library compiles and regularly updates the following document:

Ebooks currently on HPS undergraduate reading lists

In addition to individual ebooks purchased by the University and available via LibrarySearch, there is a colossal range of ebooks available via subscribed packages or freely over the internet that are not on LibrarySearch:

Cambridge ebook/text collections not accessible via LibrarySearch

• Early English Books Online (EEBO)
  Digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in the British Isles 1473–1700.
• Early European Books Online
  Full-colour, high-resolution digital images of full text of books printed in continental Europe before 1701.
• Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
  Digital facsimile page images of most English-language editions published between 1701 and 1800.
• Cambridge Companions Online
  Covers Philosophy, Literature, Classics, Religion and Culture, in 220 books and 2000 essays.
• Cambridge Histories Online
  Access to over 250 volumes published by CUP since 1960.
• Oxford Reference Online
  OUP English and bilingual dictionaries and reference works covering Philosophy, History, Arts, Sciences etc.
• Oxford Scholarship Online
  Access to over 3,000 Oxford books covering Economics, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion, Classical Studies, History etc.
• Chadwyck 19th-Century Fiction
  250 British and Irish novels from the period 1782 to 1903.

The contents of most of the above collections can also be searched and accessed via the Advanced CrossSearch tool. Select specific ebook collections for more search options.

Sites providing free access to HPS-relevant ebooks/texts

Writings of individual scientists and philosophers

• The Biodiversity Heritage Library
  Digital access to core published literature of biodiversity for scientists dating back to the beginnings of print.
• British Printed Images to 1700
  Digital library of prints and book illustrations from early modern Britain based on the collections of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, together with items from other collections, notably the Victoria and Albert Museum.
• European Cultural Heritage Online (ECHO)
  Digitised History of Science books from museums and libraries across Europe.
• Linda Hall Library Digital Collections
  Science, engineering and technology collections.
• MacKinney Collection
  Mediaeval medical illustrations.
• Medic@ collection de rééditions de textes anciens de la Bibliothèque Interuniversitaire de Médecine, Paris (BIUM)
  Selections from printed books and manuscripts relating to the history of medicine, with an emphasis on dentistry.
• Museogalileo
  Digitised early printed books from their collections.
• Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus
  Gateway to digitised cuneiform sources, some of which are HPS-relevant.
• Pyle
  Gateway to mediaeval and ancient manuscripts.
• Royal Society 'Turning the Pages'
  Access to important manuscripts in their collection.
• Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project
  Resources relevant to the study of the Salem witch trials of 1692 in Massachusetts, United States. Digital facsimiles of early English books on witchcraft.
• Smithsonian Institute
  Digitised editions from their collections.
• Rare Book Room
  Ca. 400 digitised books and manuscripts including works by Galileo, Newton and Darwin, with specific categories for HPS-related subjects.
• Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image
  Includes Edgar Fahs Smith chemistry collection showing history of chemistry prior to 1850 through photographs and illustrations of scientists.
• US National Library of Medicine
  Some key history of medicine books.
• University of Oklahoma
  Digitised history of science books from their collections.
• Wellcome Arabic Manuscripts Online
• Early Modern Philosophy
• Philosophical Texts
• British Library links to digitised rare book sites
• British Library links to Arts and Humanities ebook sites
• EScholarship: History and Philosophy of Science
• Project Gutenberg