Virtual Research

Digital communication has revolutionized the way we teach and study history. Students and teachers have access to huge amounts of electronic resources. Those of us working in the early modern period can download a quarter of a million printed works published between the invention of printing and the end of the eighteenth century. The British Library, the National Archives and others have very helpful, searchable online catalogues. Historical journals are increasingly available in electronic as well as print formats. All this facilitates learning and research, and reduces the archival advantages once enjoyed by Cambridge, Oxford and London over provincial universities.