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Surpassing 100 sources — Smithsonian Library Catalog and OA Collection now added to Eight Centuries
28 April 2021 by Paratext Editorial

News | Product Updates | Eight Centuries | New Collections | 8C Product Updates

Paratext is pleased to announce that two new sources of Smithsonian Institution metadata and full text links are now accessible via Eight Centuries.

Not only is this important for the sheer usefulness of additional source data, these new sources represent a milestone in the history of Eight Centuries itself.

When this project began in 1999 (as “Poole’s Plus,” and later, “19^th Century Masterfile”) there were all of two datasets—the first: an enhanced digital edition of William Frederick Poole’s monumental Index to Periodical Literature 1800-1900, and the second: our curated file of nineteenth century serials records.

With these latest additions of source material—comprising nearly 3,000,000 records—Eight Centuries has now surpassed the 100 sources mark (101, actually) now available for searching. And there’s much more in the queue….

These two latest sources—the Smithsonian Institution Research Library Catalog and the Smithsonian Institution Open Access Collection—join the existing Smithsonian Annual Report Index in Eight Centuries, increasing the researcher’s exposure to the widely-varied and rich collections data held by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Here’s some basic information:

 

Smithsonian Institution Research Library Catalog

Containing nearly 900,000 records from the Smithsonian’s world class group of research libraries, this source includes records to books, periodicals, brochures, reports and other research materials. Contains catalog entries from as recently as 2016, many of which contain links to full text or SI catalog records where full text can be obtained.

 

Smithsonian Institution Open Access Collection

Comprising over 2 million records from all walks of life and human experience, the Smithsonian Open Access Collection contains metadata from the vast holdings of the Smithsonian. Represented are records from 21 different Smithsonian Institutions, including titans like the National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Museum of American History, as well as lesser-known entities like the Human Studies Film Archives and the Field Book Project. Materials contained include visual culture, written manuscripts, prehistoric artifacts, contemporary material culture, oral culture and folklore, and much more.

Visit Eight Centuries to query these now. To sign up for trial access for your institution, please visit our contact page.