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Wednesday 8 June 2016

Migration to New Worlds

The library has recently bought a new digital archive - Migrations to New Worlds.  It focuses on the the movement of people's from the Old World (largely Europe and Asia) to the New (the Americas and Australasia).  The earliest material dates back to the late 17th Century with the major focus being on the period of mass migration during the 19th and 20th Century.
S.S. Oregon (Screw Steamer). Rigging (No.274), 1883-1884, © National Museums Liverpool: Maritime Archives & Library (from Migration to New Worlds - Adam Mathew)

It is a fully digitized archive with many of the items being transcribed as well to allow for full text searching.  It has been arranged and cataloged thematically to allow easier searching of the archive Its resources are drawn from a wide range of sources including the British Library, the National Archives, and a range of maritime museums and archives that specialise in the subject of migration and settlement.  (see full list here)

The resources have a broad scope and include personal accounts and correspondence, shipping papers and logbooks, scrapbooks, legals papers and other ephemera.   There are also photographs, watercolours, maps and ship's plans with the images from all the documents being available separately for embedding as content into your research or teaching.   The archive also includes a number of audio and video oral history recordings, alongside more interactive resources that can be used as useful introductions to the subjects for new learners.

A recording of the publisher's webinar on Migration to New Worlds is available here

It should be of interest to anyone studying the history of migration but also more generally to historians of America or Australia.  There are applications for gender and family studies within immigrant communities.  Linguists should find a breadth of material available, and there are no doubt many other research opportunities for individuals studying aspects of the 19th and 20th century experience.

If you require any more information or would like a more in depth introduction to the product please get in touch with your subject librarian

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