CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, November 12, 2005 - Victoria University of Wellington has signed for the full-text release of 19th Century House of Commons Papers from ProQuest Information and Learning.

The 106 year old research-led university was the first in New Zealand to take the full text release of 19 th Century House of Commons Parliamentary Papers.

Parliamentary papers are among the richest and most detailed primary sources for the history of 19 th century Britain , its colonies and the wider world. The enormous potential of this resource can now be realised online for the first time, through ProQuest's House of Commons Parliamentary Papers.

“We are delighted to have extended our growing digital collections through the acquisition of this important primary resource" said University Librarian, Keith Webster.  "We know from early feedback that this rich archive has the potential to open up new avenues of scholarship, and we look forward to working with ProQuest to support our users as they explore the fascinating documents provided."

Professor Don MacRaild, Professor of History at Victoria University of Wellington added, “Electronic access to the HCPP collection will have a huge impact on historical research at Victoria University . It will massively increase research possibilities, not only on British topics but also more generally on the British World. For example, a simple search of the database reveals more than 1500 hits for ' New Zealand ' alone."

Professor MacRaild continued, “This acquisition signals the level of support for building and sustaining an internationally recognisable research culture at Victoria University, already ranked by our government as one of the top three New Zealand universities for research quality."

The full text release of HCPP later this month expands academic possibilities by shedding new light on events and topics such as: The Irish Famine, Cholera epidemics and the Public Health Act; Child labour and reform in mines and factories; The Great Exhibition; The Repeal of Corn Laws; The Crimean War; The Erebus and Terror Arctic Expeditions; and The Australian gold Rush.

If you would like further product information please e-mail marketing@proquest.co.uk 

 

For more information on Victoria University of Wellington please visit http://www.vuw.ac.nz

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