On-line Resources
Useful URLs by Subject
- General
- Chinese Studies
- Hebrew and Semitic Studies
- Japanese Studies
- Korean Studies
- Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
- South Asian Studies
General
Last updated May 2012
DICTIONARIES
Oxford English Dictionary online
Oxford language dictionaries online (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish)
Oxford Reference Online (Contains dictionaries in every subject: Art and Architecture, Classics, Computing, English Dictionaries & thesauruses, English Language Reference e.g. Dictionary of Abbreviations, Grammar, History, Literature and many more. Also includes bilingual dictionaries: French, German, Italian, Latin, Spanish, Welsh and Irish).
DISSERTATIONS
EThOS (Electronic Thesis Online Service)
Ph.D. theses submitted at almost 100 UK universities are obtainable from EThOS, a service set up to provide access to all theses from participating institutions whether paper based or electronic. It achieves this by harvesting e-theses from Institutional Repositories and by digitising paper based theses as they are ordered by researchers using the system. Over 250,000 theses are already available in this way. Please note that the service is still in beta testing and that it does not yet supply theses submitted at the universities of Cambridge or Oxford although they are listed on EThOS. The service is managed by the British Library.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
A good starting point for discovering freely available electronic theses and dissertations beyond the UK. NDLTD facilitates searching across institutions.
The University Library subscribes to this database which includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations, representing 700 leading academic institutions worldwide from 1861 to the present day. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses includes 1 million full text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. There is a charge for ordering a dissertation from this source which is payable to ProQuest. The cost is dependent on the format selected.
E- BOOKS
Cambridge Companion Online
RAVEN password is needed outside the Cambridge University network.
Cambridge Histories Online
RAVEN password is needed outside the Cambridge University network.
E-books at Cambridge
Contains full-text electronic books published in the series 'Cambridge Companion to...' , Cambridge History of...', Routledge publications, Oxford Reference Online and many other databases.
Electronic resources - Cambridge University Library
RAVEN password is needed for use outside the Cambridge domain.
Google Books
Book search works just like web search. A keyword search searches the entire content of the book.
If the book is out of copyright, or the publisher has given permission, you'll be able to see a preview of the book, and in some cases the entire text. If it's in the public domain, you're free to download a PDF copy.
University of California Press Books
Free e-books published between 1982 - 2004 are availabale to the public (FULL TEXT).
E-JOURNALS
JSTOR (RAVEN password is needed outside the Cambridge University network.)
An online system for archiving academic journals. It provides full-text searches of digitized back issues (usually five years behind) of more than a thousand well-known, academic journals, dating back to 1665. It also contains over 1 million images, letters, and other primary sources.
ENCYCLOPAEDIAS
Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics
LIBRARIES/INSTITUTIONS
British Library Document Supply Centre
For ordering journal articles or books. Alternatively, you could do it through the Inter-Library Loan Department at the Cambridge University Library. Staff and PhD students of the Faculty can order inter-library books through the Faculty Librarian.
Cambridge University Language Centre Resources
Please note that most of the resources are not borrowable, but are available on instant access for use in the Language Centre.
Inter-library loans via the Cambridge University Library.
World of Learning
Tool for finding out addresses of higher educational institutions around the world and email addresses of the people who work within them. Regularly updated. You will need a RAVEN password if you want to use it outside the Cambridge domain.
INTERNET RESOURCES/SEARCH ENGINES
Google Scholar
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Google Scholar helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research.
Features of Google Scholar
- Search diverse sources from one convenient place
- Find articles, theses, books, abstracts or court opinions
- Locate the complete document through your library or on the web
Intute
Supported by the Art & Humanities Research Council. Actively this service maintains an expanding database of over 100,000 high quality websites and Internet resources that are relevant to academic work in Arts & Humanities, Social Scieneces, Science Engineering and Technology, and Health and Life Sciences. Offers virtual training.
Online Cultural Training Resource for Study Abroad
This material was developed to support and enhance a student’s ability to make successful cultural adjustments both before going overseas and upon returning home from studying abroad. It was produced primarily for traditional-aged, undergraduate US-American university students. Those preparing to participate in a study abroad program will find the first seven sections useful while those who are about to, or have, returned home from an international program can refer to the final four sections. The focus is generally on the concept of culture and how it impacts one’s ability to understand and function in a new and unfamiliar environment. It concentrates on the skills, attitudes, and behaviors which all study abroad students, regardless of their specific destination, will find useful.
Asian general
Last updated May 2012
Asia Findouter
Provides access to China, India and Singapore search engines.
Bibliography pf Asian Studies
Standard bibliographical tool in the field of Asian studies. Contains over 640,000 references to individually authored monographes, journal articles, chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, and Festschriften, etc. published since 1971. Searchable by keywords and can be browsed by country/subject or by journal title. RAVEN password is needed outside the Cambridge domain.
Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia
CrossAsia
The East and Southeast Asia Virtual Library developed by the East Asia Department of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and its project partners. It offers access to research information in East and Southeast Asian studies. Main features include meta-search of more than 16 library catalogues in Western and Asian languages; 'Databases' provides access to selected databases (articles) which are subject to licence (users have to register with CrossAsia); 'Online Guide East Asia': a collection of links to electronic resources of interest to East and South Asian Studies; 'Digital Collection': portal to digitised sources of special collection area of the Staadsbibliothek in Berlin.
Chinese Studies
Last updated May 2012
CATALOGUES
Cambridge University/Chinese Collection
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Chinese
School of Oriental & African Studies Library
Sinological Serials in European Libraries Project (SSELP)
Use this site to look for holdings of Chinese journals and newspapers in European libraries.
UK Union Catalogue of Chinese Books - Chinese & Romanised search
Contains all Chinese publications (including serials) available in participating UK libraries.You can perform simultaneous search of all library catalogues or select the library of your interest. (use 'HELP' button for instructions).
WorldCat
Includes a vast number of Chinese monographs as well as European publications on China. Searchable in Chinese. RAVEN password is required to use this database outside the Cambridge domain.
SUBSCRIPTION-BASED ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
ACLS Humanities E-book (Available on or off campus. RAVEN password required off campus.)
Contains high quality e-books in the humanities, including books on Chinese History, Literature, Politics, Foreign Relations etc. You can brows by subjects. Accessible through institutional subscription.
The Cambridge Companion to Modern Chinese Culture Available from CAM DOMAIN only.
Cambridge History of China Available from CAM DOMAIN only.
CHinese ANcient Texts (CHANT) Accessible from CAM DOMAIN only.
Concordances to texts and epigraphy.
China Digital Library (中华数字书苑) Accessible from CAM DOMAIN only. For further instruction on searching the database click HERE
It comprises five full text databases:
1. EBook Database comprising: 电子图书 (Ebooks) (144,670 titles); 国学要览 (Ancient Books) (6,294 titles); Beijing Review (1958-2008) (2,325 issues)
2.
Newspaper Database (10 titles)
3. Reference Database (10 titles)
4. Yearbook Database (10 titles)
5. Fine Arts Database (1 category)
You will be promted to download a software to be able to access the database. We have downloaded this software on all computers in the Photocopy Room of the Library
CNK CAJ and CJP databases Accessible on campus only.
Full text databases containing online journals in Literature, History and Philosophy, Economics, Politics and Law, Military Affairs, Education and Social Sciences, Electronics and Information Science. For a FULL LIST of available journals click HERE for the UL's Chinese Department website.
Oxford Chinese Dictionary online Available on and off campus (RAVEN password).
Taiwan Electronic Periodical Services Available on and off campus ( RAVEN password).
TEPS is an on-line database offering full-text Taiwan periodicals around the world. Currently TEPS contains more than 900 Taiwan Periodicals in various disciplines.
INSTITUTIONS
Cambridge University Library Chinese Department
Cambridge University Language Centre - Chinese
Needham Research Institute, Cambridge
INTERNET RESOURCES/REFERENCE TOOLS
Chinese studies on the World Wide Web
An excellent collection of websites for students and researchers provided by the Chinese Department at the Cambridge University Library.
Findouter China
Web directory for China.
History Timeline
Useful reference tool for looking up brief description and map of each dynasty, dates and
the Chinese characters of dynasties and emperors.
Internet guide to Chinese studies
Contains essential full text databases (classical and modern), digital research libraries such as the National Library of France and others, research papers and theses online. Searchable by keywords.
Intute: Chinese Studies
Collection of Web resources for the study of the Chinese language, literature, or the history and culture of China.
China Education and Research Network
Roel Sterckx's Early China Resource Collection
Contains links to websites and on-line bibliographies useful for the study of early Chinese thought & religion, literature, and cultural history.
Hebrew and Semitic Studies
Last updated December 2011
INSTITUTIONS/LIBRARIES
British Library Hebrew Collection
Cambridge University Language Centre - Hebrew
Cambridge University Library - Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit
Cambridge University Library - Near and Middle Eastern Section
University of Oxford: Hebrew & Jewish Studies
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation
Click on 'Cambridge Collections Online' and search for the book or search the Newton Catalogue. Available on and off campus via RAVEN login.
Click on Cambridge Collections Online and search for the book.
Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy
INTERNET RESOURCES
The Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts
Mapping Jewish Communities of the Byzantine Empire
Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Japanese Studies
Last updated December 2011
CATALOGUES OF JAPANESE MONOGRAPHS AND SERIALS
Newton Catalogue
Includes the Japanese Collection of the Cambridge University Library. Although most Japanese bibliographic records published since 2004 can also be retrieved in Japanese (keyword search only), for best result search in Romaji.
European Union Catalogue of Japanese Books (Vernacular, WWW, Allegro version)
NACSIS Webcat : in English; in Japanese
A vast bibliographic database containing almost all Japanese publications and their holding libraries throughout Japan (and some Asian and European libraries). Searchable in Kanji, Katakana and Romaji. For best result, search in Kanji or Katakana. The UK Union Catalogue of Japanese Books is part of this bibliographic database.
NACSIS Webcat Plus
International bibliographic database. Searchable in Kanji, Katakana.
National Diet Library (Japan) Online Public Access Catalogue - in English ; in Japanese
Union catalogue of Early Japanese Books in Europe: in English ; in Japanese
UK Union Catalogue of Japanese Books (Vernacular)
A bibliographic database of Japanese publications and their holding libraries in the UK derived from NACSIS Webcat. Can be searched in Romaji (e.g. Toukyou, Butsukou etc.), Kanji or Katakana. For best best result, search in Kanji or Katakana. (Please note that not all the SOAS records are included.)
SUBSCRIPTION-BASED E-RESOURCES
accessable via the Cambridge University Library's 'Electronic Resources' site
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/electronicresources/
ACLS Humanities E-book (Available on or off campus. RAVEN password required off campus.)
Contains high quality e-books in the humanities, including books on Japanese History, Literature, Politics, Foreign Relations, Religion, Economics, Sociology, Customs etc. You can brows by subjects. Accessible through institutional subscription.
Cambridge History of Japan(Available on or off campus. RAVEN password required off campus.)
You will need to search for the title 'Cambridge History of Japan' within the 'Cambridge Histories Online' database.
CiNii
Periodical index database and it also includes the full-texts of some (but not all) articles listed.
National Institute of Informatics has incorporated approximately 3.0 million full text articles (PDF) in NII-ELS, from 1,000 published academic journals . Currently NII has obtained permission of 284 academic societies. NII-ELS also provides full text (PDF) of Research Bulletins of Japanese universities. All of the full text articles incorporated in NII-ELS are available through CiNii along with bibliographical information on other academic papers.
Important tool for finding and downloading full text articles published in Japan. Not all journal articles in the database are available free of charge.
(off-campus access is available but you MUST go to CiNii's home page via the University Library's home page above. Once you are in CiNii's home page, click on Login-Enter, select UK Federation, then University of Cambridge. Then input your RAVEN password.)
JapanKnowledge + NK (Accessible on-campus only. Click ''Login-Enter'))
Portal to Japanese encyclopaedias, dictionaries and databases. It also includes full articles from “Shukan ekonomisuto”. The version that we are subscribing to, JapanKnowledge+NK, also contains Nihon Kokugo Dai Jiten (N), the largest Japanese language dictionary, and Kokushi Dai Jiten (K), which translates as "Great Dictionary of National History", the largest encyclopedia of Japanese history.
Kikuzo II (Accessible on campus only. Click “Enter (SSL)”. If you want to read today’s articles, add today’s date in both columns.)
The largest database which enables the user to search and read articles carried by The Asahi Shimbun over the past 130 years. Along with "Historical Photo Archives", articles from the Meiji, the Taisho, and the Showa era have been included to the current database.
Nikkei Telecom 21 (Available on campus only. Click 'Log-in' after ticking the terms and conditions agreement button and then click on 'SETSUZOKU'.)
Comprehensive online business database covering Nihon Keizai Shinbun and related newspapers and other publications. The service includes full text search of Nikkei's four business newspapers, company information search, Who's Who search and Time Nikkei flash news. There is an English menu which provides not only round-the-clock Nikkei news translated from the Nikkei's newspapers but also full contents of the Nikkei Weekly which is an English paper published by Nikkei.
Yomidasu Rekishikan (Yomiuri Shinbun)
Available on and off campus. Raven password required for off-campus access.
USEFUL SITES TO FIND FULL TEXT E-JOURNALS
JAIRO (Japanese Institutional Repositories Online)
An electronic archive system which accumulates and stores intellectual products of Japanese academic institutions in electronic form and discloses them free of charge. Includes journal articles, thesis, disssertations, departmental bulletin papers, research papers etc. The metadata can be searched cross-sectionally. In October 2008 it contained 540,000 contents from 84 Japanese institutional repositories.
Japanese Journal Resources Navigator: TOCs, Indexes, Abstracts and Full Text (日本語学術雑誌情報源ナビ：目次サイト、記事索引・抄録、全文情報データベース)
J-Stage
In Japanese and in English
PORTA (国立国会図書館デジタルアーカイブポータル)
In Japanese and in English
FREE E-RESOURCES for research
Aozora Bunko
Aozora Bunko
has made 4000 Japanese ebooks available from its public domain archive via the Internet Archive's OPen Library. Titles include famous japanese authors (e.g. Natsume Soseki, Mori Ogai, Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Murasaki Shikibu etc.) Searchable in Japanese ot English.
Ajia Rekishi Shiryo Senta (Japan Center for Asian Historical Records)
(アジア歴史資料センター): in Japanese ; in English
Digital archive of primary sources. This site provides access to official documents, dating from the Meiji era through 1945, of the Japanese Cabinet, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Army and Navy. In an effort to share history as it has been documented, JACAR's archives showcase the original records, including full images of the documents, all in digitized form, on an unprecedented scale.Can be browsed & searchable by keywords.
Digital Library from the Meiji Era
(近代デジタルライブラリー (National Diet Library)
251,00o volumes from the Meiji and Taisho era are available over the Internet. Excludes Showa Zenki (138,000 volumes).
Early Photography of Japan
Early Photography of Japan is a virtual collection of more than 40 souvenir photograph albums and illustrated publications with over 2,000 images from Widener Library, the Fine Arts Library, and Harvard-Yenching Library. These images primarily document the early history of commercial photography in Japan and are representative of what is often called Japanese tourist photography or Yokohama shashin. They reflect the Western image of traditional Japanese culture before the dramatic transformation brought about by modernization during the Meiji period (1868-1912).
Kokubungaku Kenkyu Shiryokan Denshi Shiryokan including Kornicki-ban Oshu shozai Nihon kosho sogo mokuroku
FREE E-RESOURCES for undergraduates
Bibliography of Japanese History up to 1912
Bridge to Japan
Provides useful links to Japanese information resources. The list includes links to computer and software sites related to the Japanese language, Japanese search engines, on-line Japanese bookshops, directories to libraries, companies, organisations in the UK and in Japan, postcode search, telephone directory, language-learning related websites, radio stations, Shinto encyclopaedia and many more.
Cambridge University Language Centre - Japanese
Intute
Collection of high quality web-resources supported by the Arts & HUmanities Research Council, and maintained by Mimas at The University of Manchester.
Japan Foundation London language Centre
Japan Web Navigator
Created by Japan Information Network. Covers news, government and politics, business/economy, travel, science, education and a whole lot more Information on study in Japan is also found
Japanese Classic Literature Genji Net (古典総合研究所)
This Research Institute is based in Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo. It's focus is on creating text database for the Genji Monogatari, developing programs to perform quantitative analysis of the database as well as automatic word analysis and automatic quote analysis.
Japanese Literature in Translation
The database covers Japanese literary works translated into other languages mainly from the end of World War II to the 1990s. It is searchable by author, title, translator, or other keywords. Terms may be input in either Japanese or roman letters.
Japanese Text Initiative
(from the University of Virginia and the University of Pittburgh)
Collection of online texts of classical Japanese literature in Japanese characters. Primary audience is English-speaking scholars and students. Where possible, the Japanese texts will be accompanied by English translations. Includes dictionary.
Jim Breen's wwwjdic
Online dictionary for undergraduate study. It can translate Japanese words/texts from the Internet, it can find Kanji by radicals and can search for words (English to Japanese, Japanese to English).This website is very popular among undergraduate students.
Rikai
You can practise your reading skills here by pasting online newspaper articles onto this site. It will give you the reading of characters in hiragana. It also gives the meaning in English.
Korean Studies
Last updated October 2011
KINDS (Korea Integrated News Database)
Includes popular daily newspapers (national and regional), and also weekly, monthly magazines, internet newspapers, specialist newspapers and TV stations. Free service.
Korea.net - Gateway to Korea
English-language information on Korea created by the Korean Information Service. Provides information under categories, such as news, government, economy and culture.
Korea.Web
Created by Frank Hoffmann. Links to government core institutions for Korean studies. Useful as a subject guide. Also a good place to find a list of Koreanists, Internet discussion list of Korean studies, and to search for academic positions.
Naver News Library
Provides free digital access to news archive services for four major newspapers in Korea :(Tonga Ilbo (東亞日報) 1920-1999; Hankyoreh 1988-1999; Kyŏnghyang Sinmun (京鄕新聞) 1946-1999; Maeil Kyŏngje (每日經濟) 1966-1999). Enables users to perform searches in a wide range of categories according to subjects and document types, dates, keywords etc.. The platform offers experience similar to reading the original newspaper.
NDSL (National Digital Science Links) = Kwahak Kisul Chŏngbo T'onghap Sŏbisŭ
NDSL (National Digital Science Links) provides a database of science and technology resources, freely available to the public by KISTI (Korea Institute of Science Technology Information). As of Mar. 2009, approximately 43 million academic articles are available for full-text access in four languages: 42 million in English, 514,000 in Chinese, 90,000 in Japanese, and 263,000 in Korean.
Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
Last updated January 2012
SUBSCRIPTION-BASED E-RESOURCES
Index Islamicus ( Available on and off campus by RAVEN login).
A bibliography of books, articles and reviews on Islam and the Muslim world. Printed version is published annually. Searchable by keywords etc.
Cambridge Collections Online Available on and off campus by RAVEN login.) Click on 'Cambridge Collections Online' and search for the books below. You can also retrieve these e-books via the Newton online catalogue.
In the field of Middle East the collection contains:
1. Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy
2.Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology
3. Cambridge Companion to Muhammad
4. Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an
Cambridge Histories Online Available on and off campus by RAVEN login.) Click on 'Cambridge Collections Online' and search for the book. You cannot retrieve these e-book via the Newton online catalogue.
In the field of Middle East the collection contains:
1. Cambridge History of Arabic Literature
2.
Cambridge History of Iran
3.
Cambridge History of Islam
4. Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy
5.
Cambridge History of Turkey
ON-LINE DICTIONARIES
English-Farsi Dictionary from farsdict.com
English-Persian (Farsi) Online Dictionary (from Lingvosoft)
Online English-Persian Dictionary
FREE E-RESOURCES
Al-eman
Islamic website. Searchable in Arabic by keywords or full sentences. Provides ebooks on different Islamic topics, such as the Qu'an, the Hadith, Arabic linguistics, literature, religion, classical dictionaries etc. It has an Audio Library which can be listened to online.
Al-waraq
High quality, scholarly full text database. The use of some parts of the database is free but registration is required . Its digital library contains ebooks, Qur'anic texts, biographies, classical literature, language, philosophy and religion, dictionaries and much more.
Intute
Collection of high quality web-resources maintained by Mimas at The University of Manchester, supported by the Arts & Human ities Research Council.
Middle East Virtual Library (MENALIB)
An information portal for Middle East and Islamic Studies. It provides access to online information and to digital records of printed and other offline media and thus supports the concept of a hybrid library for Middle East and Islamic Studies.
Parstimes Guide to the Middle East
EThOS Digital Islam
Contains 971 Ph.D. Islamic Studies theses online from UK universities. Available for downloading.
Haddād manuscript collection - Wellcome Library
INSTITUTIONS
British Library Middle East Collections
Cambridge University Library Near & Middle Eastern Department
Oxford University Bodleian Library Oriental Collections
Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, Cambridge
Turkish Studies Institute
Contains books and academic conferences on current Turkish issues, events, global directory of scholars on Turkey and it provides an on-line resource centre on Turkish-Israel relations.
University of Cambridge Language Centre : Arabic
University of Cambridge Language Centre : Persian
DATE CONVERTERS
South Asian Studies
Last updated December 2011
Cambridge History of Southeast Asia
Cambridge University Library Royal Commonwealth Society Collections
Cambridge University Library Centre of South Asian Studies
Digital South Asian Library
Contains images with descriptions from India & Afganistan.
Internet Resources for South Asian Studies
Indologist Page
Contains online resources for Indiological scholarship. The site includes SARIT (search and retrieval of Indic texts; archive of Indic e-texts and Indiological software; an archive of articles, papers, and other writings prtinent to Indiological studies; list of external websites & resources of value to Indological research.
John Smith's Home Page
Contains a variety of texts, fonts and programms likely to be of interest to Indologists.
Sanskrit Manuscript Project, Cambridge
The intellectual and religious traditions of South Asia as seen through the Sanskrit manuscript collections of the University Library, Cambridge.
South Asia Resource Access on the Internet
A Columbia University site for modern and classical South Asian studies Includes image archive..
South Asia through Official eyes (SATOE)
Provides links to universities, libraries, government information and many useful internet resources.