Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections: English language resources

The electronic resources listed here, of interest to researchers on Asia, the Middle East and Islamic North Africa.

Except where stated, titles listed here are only available within the Library's Reading Rooms - access from outside the Library is not available owing to licensing reasons.

If you do not find the resource you are looking for, see:

Non-English language APAC databases

Complete listing of British Library electronic resources

Title	Brief Description	Format
100 Years of Modern Korean Literature	This resource traces the development of modern Korean literature during the 20th century. It includes the text of a number of important literary works and information about them.
A+ Education	A+ Education includes articles from journals indexed in AEI, the Australian Education Index. It includes links to full text information freely available on the web, scanned articles and index information from over 130 Australian and New Zealand journals covering all levels of education (from early childhood to tertiary and adult learning); curriculum; educational history, planning administration and policy; educational psychology and sociology; educational systems and institutions; and research measurement techniques. Full text coverage is from 2000: index coverage from 1978.
Africa-Wide: NiPAD	Africa-Wide: NiPAD is a collection of databases providing a wide range of information sources on Africa. Content includes humanities and social science coverage, government publications, development data and cultural heritage information, including material in African languages. It combines two popular NISC databases: South African Studies and African Studies.
AGIS Plus Text	AGIS Plus Text is a full text online database providing access to articles from over 130 legal journals from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region indexed in the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Information Service (AGIS) database. Subject coverage includes all aspects of law including administrative law, banking, companies and securities, constitutional law, copyright law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, human rights, international law, legal aid, and trade practices. Full text coverage is from 1999; index coverage from 1975.
ALISA (Australian Library & Information Science Abstracts)	ALISA is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from published and unpublished material on library and information science from 1982 onwards. ALISA aims to cover comprehensively all current Australian literature on library and information services and the library workforce including education and training, information technology including CD-ROM, networking, electronic publishing, and telecommunications. There are also records relating to Australian children's literature, and archives.
Asia: Official British Documents 1945-65	The result of extensive collaboration with the Public Record Office in the UK, and includes some 40,000 pages of correspondence, minutes and political analysis - many of which have never been microfilmed. The publishers have created image files of the items together with searchable abstracts of their content. NB: This resource is password protected. Please ask staff at the Reference Enquiry desk for the Password.
Australian Public Affairs - Full Text (APA-FT)	Australian Public Affairs - Full Text is an online collection of articles from more than 400 Australian journals indexed in APAIS, the Australian Public Affairs Information Service produced by the National Library of Australia. Subject coverage includes social science, education, current affairs, business, economics, humanities, health and law. Full text coverage is from 1995: index coverage from 1978.
BACSA Cemetery Photograph Library	The British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia (BACSA) is a charity set up in 1977 to protect European cemeteries in South Asia, to work towards their restoration and maintenance, and to record inscriptions in words and images.
The Bibliographie du Levant	A unique tool that contains just one theme, the Middle East, with over 20,600 references on subjects such as geopolitics, geostrategy, history, archaeology, Oriental Christianity, Islam, Ethnography, Sects, Religions, Sciences, Literature, Sociology, Economics, Law, Social Life, Conflicts and Militaria. Covers hundreds of references ignored by other data-bases. Also contains associated images with bibliographical data. CD-ROM available from the Reference Enquiry desk for the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
Bibliography of Asian Studies	The online Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) references western-language monographs, articles and book chapters on all parts of Asia published since 1971.
Bonpo Katen Texts	This CD-ROM contains the main body of the catalogue and the index data in pdf format of the Bonpo Katen manuscripts cataloguing project. CD-ROM available from the Reference Enquiry desk for the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
Burke's Peerage and Gentry	More than 15,000 family records, gathered from collections including: Burke's Peerage & Baronetage 107th Edition Burke's Landed Gentry 18th and 19th Editions. Click on "Login".
Burma Gazetteers 1911-1935	CD-ROM of searchable reproductions of Gazetteers produced between 1911 and 1935, covering such areas as the history, occupations of inhabitants, education and customs of each district.
Cambodian Genocide Program	Since 1994, the award-winning Cambodian Genocide Program, a project of the Genocide Studies Program at the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, has been trying to learn as much as possible about the tragedy of 1975/79, and to help determine who was responsible for the crimes of the Pol Pot regime. In Phnom Penh in 1996, for instance the program gained access to the 100,000-page archive of that defunct regime's security police, the Santebal. This material has been microfilmed by Yale University's Sterling Library and made available to scholars worldwide. The team responsible for the program have compiled and published 22,000 biographic and bibliographic records, and over 6,000 photographs, documents, translations, and maps, along with an extensive list of CGP books and research papers on the genocide. This site is freely available on the Internet.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture, 1793-1980	China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 is based on substantial collections of unique manuscript materials held at the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and the British Library in London, supplemented by additional sources from Cambridge University Library, the Church Missionary Society Archive, the Council for World Missions Library, Duke University, the National Archives at Kew, the Alexander Turnbull Library at the National Library of New Zealand and Yale Divinity Library.  In addition we have included a range of rare printed materials including missionary periodicals, atlases and books which help to contextualize the other sources.
Chinese Cultural Revolution Database	The largest database for the study of the Cultural Revolution with detailed original documents including CCP memos, instructions, proclamations, speeches and major media commentaries. Searchable in English or Chinese.
Chinese Song Period Resources 960-1279	Song Research Tools is an online research guide that lists and describes reference materials relating to all aspects of Song society. The online edition, last updated in November 2006, is a revised edition of Peter Bol's Sung Research Tools, which appeared first in 1990 and in a second edition in 1996. This online edition, maintained since 2003 by Hilde De Weerdt, contains more than 200 new titles. This site is freely available on the Internet.
CINCH (Australian Criminology Database)	Australian Criminology Database (CINCH), produced by the Australian Institute of Criminology, is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from published and unpublished material on all aspects of crime and criminal justice from 1968 onwards. Source documents include journal articles, monographs, monograph chapters, conference papers, government documents, book reviews and theses. Statistical publications in serial form such as annual statistical reviews are gradually being added to the database.
Data-base of valuable Lotus Sutra Manuscripts	Four volumes of microfilm materials held in the comprehensive study of Lotus Sutra, Rissho University. CD-ROM available from the Reference Enquiry desk for the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
The Dead Sea Scrolls	The Dead Sea Scrolls probably represent the most significant discovery in recent history. This CD-ROM is composed of a comprehensive, fully indexed, and cross-linked collection of non-biblical texts, both in Hebrew and English translation of high resolution digitized images of Dead Sea Scrolls fragments. CD-ROM available on the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
Deccan Queen	Deccan Queen describes the Cantonment, the Civil Lines, the Sadr Bazar and part of the 'Native City' of the Western Indian Settlement of Poona in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Contains historical maps overlaid with demographic data derived from address directories. This model has been used to explore socio-spatial patterning in the city of Poona and the presented analysis concentrates particularly upon issues that concern racial and functional segregation within the local population.
Digital Dictionaries of South Asia	The aim of this project is to provide digital versions of at least one multilingual dictionary for each of the literary languages of South Asia, and a monolingual dictionary for each of the more frequently taught languages. The results of the digitisation are freely available to readers via the World Wide Web. This site is freely available on the Internet.
Earl of Abergavenny	The story of a merchant ship, her sinking in Weymouth Bay in 1805 and the Commander, John Wordsworth Esq. It also contains details of the excavation (1980 - present day), details of the finds with over 1,000 illustrations, plus archive notes and other relevant research material. CD-ROM available on the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
Encylopaedia of Islam	The online Encyclopaedia of Islam incorporates the entire text of volumes I to XI and Supplement (Volume XII) of the printed edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam. Additional search facilities and the Supplement enable the user to efficiently search and combine data from a vast corpus of over 12,000 printed pages.
Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an	Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an (EQ) is an encyclopaedic dictionary of qur'anic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within qur'anic studies.
Excerpta Indonesica	Excerpta Indonesica contains abstracts in English, arranged by subject, of recent journal articles about Indonesia in the humanities and social sciences written in all languages.
Families & Society Collection	Families & Society Collection (previously known as Family & Society Plus) is the authoritative Australian full text family information service. It provides access to citations and abstracts plus full text journal articles and over 9000 links to other full text material available on the web. Source documents include journal articles, conference papers, books, government publications, research reports, discussion and working papers, statistical documents, annual reports, bibliographies and theses. Subject coverage includes adolescence and youth, aged care, health policy, family law and social change. Full text coverage is from 2000: index coverage from 1980.
Far Eastern Economic Review: Asia's story	CD-ROM edition of a business and news weekly periodical from 1946 to 1997.
Festiva India	A multimedia celebration of India's fairs and festivals of all major religions, i.e. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jew, Parsi, Muslim, Sikh. Contains hundreds of pages of interactive content, colour images, and hours of informative sounds and motion picture. CD-ROM available from the Reference Enquiry desk for the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
The Great Book of Aesthetics	The Great Book of Aesthetics contains the proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Aesthetics held in Japan in 2001.
Grove Dictionary of Art Online	An online reference resource for all aspects of the visual arts from prehistory to the present day.
The Harvard Korean Studies Bibliography	80,000 references on Korea, i.e. articles, books, chapters in books, dissertations and reviews. The coverage spans works in all subject areas published from the 16th century to 1997 in English and other European languages using the roman alphabet. CD-ROM available on the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
An Historical Atlas of Islam	Accompanies a book at Maps Ref .B.7 (world) (16.) and includes maps showing the spread of Islam from its beginnings to the present day. CD-ROM available on the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
History of the Madras Army (Volume 4 only)	A digital copy of Volume 4 of the History of the Madras Army originally published in print format, 1882-1889. CD-ROM available from the Reference Desk for the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
Illustrated Incunable Short Title Catalogue (IISTC)	The IISTC is based on the Incunable Short-Title Catalogue, a database of fifteenth century printings which has been in development at the British Library since 1980.
Imperial Gazetteer of India	The digital book form of the complete set of the Gazetteers in 25 volumes. New edition, published under the authority of His Majesty's secretary of state for India in council. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1908-1931. The digitization is undertaken by the South Asia Library of the Chicago University. This site is freely available on the Internet.
Index Islamicus	Index Islamicus is the international classified bibliography of publications in European languages on all aspects of Islam and the Muslim world. The publications recorded are (journal) articles, books and reviews. All essays and papers contained in multi-author volumes are recorded, classified and indexed separately. About 2500 periodicals are surveyed, including general history, social science, history of science and arts titles as well as specialist area- and subject-based ones. Some relevant articles and reviews published electronically are also recorded.
Index to Jewish Periodicals	A comprehensive index of references to articles, book reviews, essays, feature stories, and letters in English, published in more than 180 periodicals devoted to Jewish concerns. Most titles indexed are not found in the standard periodical literature guides.
India Office Family History Search	The India Office Family History Search database will eventually provide access to around 300,000 brief records for births, marriages, military and naval service, deaths, burials, baptisms, bonds, pensions, wills and brief biographies of Europeans in British India up to 1947. The information is taken from the biographical card index in the Asian and African Studies reading room. If you cannot find someone in this database, please see our family history web pages for further information on other sources you could consult. This site is freely available on the Internet.
India Office Select Materials	These catalogues cover the holdings of India Office Private Papers, Prints and Drawings, and Photographs within the Library's Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections. Their main focus is on the countries of South Asia, although there are also considerable holdings relevant to other parts of Asia and the Middle East. This site is freely available on the Internet.
Informit	Informit indexes and provides access to the full text of articles relating to Australasian scholarly research in a number of fields, including: public affairs, law, education, health, the family, library and information science, sport, criminology and immigration.
Informit Health Collection	Full text databases providing access to core nursing and allied health information from the Australasian region. Content includes research articles, reports and case studies.
International Crisis Group	The International Crisis Group (ICG) is an independent, non-profit, multinational organisation, which works through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. It produces a series of in-depth reports on areas of conflict all over the world. The reports on regional conflicts in Indonesia are particularly valuable. This site is freely available on the Internet.
Iraq 1914-1974	Iraq 1914-1974 comprises original source material from the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office and Cabinet Papers covering the period from the Anglo-Indian landing in Basra in 1914 through the British Mandate in Iraq of 1920-32 to the rise of Saddam Hussein in 1974. Major policy statements and other working documents are set out in context, the minor documents and marginalia revealing the workings of the mandate administration, diplomacy, treaties, oil and arms dealing. The resource includes photographs, colour maps from The National Archives and contemporary film. NB:  To view the multimedia video’s click on the ‘change player’ link at the bottom of the page and select the ‘Shockwave Flash’ player.
Mahatma Gandhi (Multimedia and e-book)	This interactive multimedia CD is based on the collected works of Mahatma Gandhi including a narration on Gandhi's life with historic film footage, a chronology of landmark events, a review of Gandhian concepts and an 'E-book'. CD-ROM available from the Reference Enquiry desk for the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
MAIS (Multicultural Australia and Immigration Studies)	Multicultural Australia and Immigration Studies (MAIS), produced by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Library, is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts a wide range of media from published and unpublished material on all aspects of Australian immigration and multicultural issues from 1988 onwards. Source documents include books, book chapters, journal articles, selected newspaper articles, government documents, conference papers, research reports, theses and multimedia.
Menasseh Ben Israel	This CD-ROM contains the texts of 62 first editions printed in the seventeenth century by Menasseh Ben Israel, who established the first Hebrew printing office in Amsterdam in 1626. Biographical information, a bibliography, 7 reprints and translations from the 17th and 18th century, as well as a copper engraving of his portrait by Salom Italia., and an etching by Rembrandt are also featured. CD-ROM available on the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
Millennium History of Patan	The Millennium History of Patan is the first ever book containing the history of the ancient city of Patan in Gujarat . This book is divided into sections including: the 1400 years of the history of Patan in English as well as in Gujarati; photographs of over 130 ancient temples in the city; the great saints of Patan; the different festivals celebrated in the city; and the names of the people who played an important role in the development of the city. This book also includes information about the markets, colleges, hostels, universities, hospitals and government organisations of the city. CD-ROM available from the Reference Enquiry desk for the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
National Democratic Institute	The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is a non-profit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and to promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. NDI publishes reports on developments in political processes in countries all over the world including Indonesia. This site is freely available on the Internet.
National Palace Museum (NPM) Online	Photo images and related description articles of all the collections exhibited in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan.
Nipponalia	Books on Japan in European Languages in the library of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.
The Paintings of India	26 films containing film footage with music and audio commentary. The duration of each film is approximately 30 minutes. This electronic resource material has been reproduced for Doordarshan by Benoy K. Behl Films.
Persia Bridge of Light	An encyclopedic multimedia CD-ROM about Iran. This bilingual (Farsi and English) CD contains information about Art, Economy, History, Geography, traveling tips, map of Iran, and lots more. It has more than 1000 pictures and 2000 informative texts. It also has music clips from different parts of Iran. There is lots of useful information for tourists. CD-ROM available from the Reference Enquiry desk for the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
Philippine National Bibliography	The following issues are currently available: Monographs 1999, Monographs 2004, Monographs 2005, Monographs 2006, Theses 1995 and Theses 2000-2005.
Registry of Jewish Holocaust Survivors 2000	Registry of Jewish Holocaust Survivors 2000 contains lists of survivors by surname and by location (place of birth, town before the war, and location during the Holocaust). CD-ROM available on the standalone workstation in the Asian & African Studies Reading Room.
Sabinet	Sabinet is a collection of over one hundred South African journals, covering the social sciences, arts and humanities, and law. Full text is provided for most entries.
Silk Road Seattle	Silk Road Seattle is an ongoing public education project using the "Silk Road" theme to explore cultural interaction across Eurasia from the beginning of the Common Era (A. D.) to the Seventeenth Century. This web site provides Internet materials for learning and teaching about the Silk Road. This site is freely available on the Internet.
South and Southeast Asian Literature	Searchable collection of fiction and poetry written in English by authors from South and Southeast Asia, focusing on works composed during the late-colonial and postcolonial eras.
Southeast Asia in the Ming Reign Chronicles (14th-17th Centuries)	Southeast Asia in the Ming Reign Chronicles (14th-17th Centuries): "An English-language translation of Ming shi-lu references to Southeast Asia by Geoff Wade, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore". This site is freely available on the Internet.
Taiwan Electronic Periodical Services (TEPS)	Taiwan Electronic Periodical Services (TEPS) provides access to the largest online collection of Taiwanese periodicals. There are over 900 journals covering various disciplines in the humanities and sciences.
Welcome to Nagorno Karabakh	Welcome to Nagorno Karabakh is a compilation of information on the area's geography, history, government, culture and economy, with accompanying bibliography, documents, maps, video and photo material.
World of Learning	Information on over 30,000 universities, colleges, schools of art and music, libraries, learned societies, museums and art galleries, research institutes and international cultural, scientific and educational organisations, together with details of more than 200,000 staff and officials.