The Library regularly arranges trials to new resources. Publishers are usually willing to provide trial access to allow us to use and evaluate a resource before making a decision about purchase. Current trialsThe services listed below are currently available for a trial period. They are listed by trial closing date. Your feedback is important and helps to inform decisions about future subscriptions.Please tell us what you think of the current trials using the feedback form Neurosurgical AtlasAccess information:Access on and off campus - use "Access through your institution".Description:The Neurosurgical Atlas is a daily resource for medical students, residents, and faculty across neurosurgical and neuroscience disciplines, offering interactive anatomical images, narrated case videos from surgeons, exclusive chapters, and immersive 3D models. The focus is on technical information and practical applied pieces of advice for everyday surgical operations.Trial ends:20/06/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback Royal Shakespeare Company Archives: From Playwrights to PerformanceAccess information:Access on and off campus.Description:Royal Shakespeare Company Archives provides a comprehensive record of the performance history of the Royal Shakespeare Company and its predecessor, the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. Browse and compare almost 1,400 prompt books to uncover how productions took shape, and explore the creative process behind the company's most important presentations in extensive additional documentation including production records, costume designs, music files and photographs.Please note that PDF download options are not available during this trial.Trial ends:26/06/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback China Core Newspaper Full-text Database (CCND)Access information:Access on and off campus.Description:The China Core Newspapers Full-text Database (CCND) collects comprehensive newspapers, industry newspapers, and party newspapers at all levels in China, featuring news reports, analysis, comments, academic frontiers, and other content in the fields of politics, economy, society, science, and technology. Since 2000 the number of newspapers has been over 500 titlesTrial ends:30/06/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback Chinese and English Newspaper of Modern ChinaAccess information:Access on and off campus.Description:CNBKSY of Shanghai Library has been committed to the digitization of modern newspapers and periodicals through continuous resource excavation and collaboration. It has gathered 4,000 Chinese and English newspapers dated 1850- 1951, which have subsequently been included in the Chinese and English Newspaper of Modern China. Titles included in the trial are as follows:The Tabloids, 1897~1952Sin Wan Pao, 1893~1949The Eastern Times,1904~1939The Republican Daily News, 1916~1947Central Daily News, 1928~1949Ta Kung Pao, 1902~1949Yi Shih Pao, 1915~1949Shun Pao, 1872~1949The China Times, 1911~1949The National Herald, 1907~1946Sheng-ching Shih-pao1906~1944The North-China Daily News & Herald Newspapers and Hong Lists, 1850~1951The China Press, 1911~1949The Shanghai Times, 1925~1943The Shanghai Evening Post & Mercury, 1929~1949The Shanghai Evening Courier, 1869~1874The Shanghai Courier & China Gazette, 1876~1878The Shanghai Courier, 1878~1884 Trial ends:30/06/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback CNKI eBook Platform (CCGB)Access information:Access on and off campus.Description:The collections were published from 1905 to the present with more than 18,000 volumes. There are 10 disciplines and 141 sub-disciplines, covering highly-focused research subjects such as Philosophy & Religion, Language & Literature, Arts, History, Politics, Law, Military, Social Sciences, and S&T, etc. The book resources are sourced from prestigious Chinese publishers such as Forbidden City Publishing House, Chinese Literature and History Press, China Renmin University Press, Nanjing University Press, Dunhuang Literature & Art Publishing House, Central Compilation & Translation Press and China Social Sciences Press, etc.Trial ends:30/06/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback Colonial Africa in Official Statistics, 1821-1953Access information:Access on and off campusDescription:The so-called “Scramble for Africa” that occurred during the late nineteenth century involved European powers carving up the continent. The United Kingdom controlled the largest portion of territory. British colonial regulations required each colony to submit a “Blue Book” to the Colonial Office on an annual basis. The aim was to standardise statistical reports, primarily those relating to economic development, as well as demographic, ecclesiastical, and public records. This collection contains Blue Books and other archival material from thirteen British colonies and protectorates in Africa compiled during the period 1821–1953.Please note that PDF download options are not available during this trial.Trial ends:30/06/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback. Communism and the Cold War, 1944-1986Access information:Access on and off campus.Description:This collection contains reports and other records compiled by the Communist Party of Great Britain's (CPGB) International Department between 1944 and 1986. This periodisation begins immediately after the dissolution of the Communist International (Comintern) and ends shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union. They provide a fascinating insight into the competing power blocs which arose throughout the communist world during the Cold War and how British communists reacted to the resulting, internecine disputes.Please note that PDF download options are not available during this trial.Trial ends:30/06/2025. Click here to provide trial feedback. London Life, 1965-1966Access information:Access on and off campus.Description:Launched in 1965, London Life was one of several titles owned by The Illustrated London News (ILN). A reincarnation of The Tatler (1901–1965)—which, from its inception, catered primarily to a wealthy and conservative readership—London Life represented a radical departure from its predecessor. This new magazine endeavoured to "reflect all aspects of the life of London". Throughout its brief existence, it proved adept at conveying the spirit of the "Swinging Sixties" in the world’s "capital of cool". Encompassing nearly 5,000 images, this collection contains all 63 issues of London Life, published between October 1965 and December of the following year.Please note that PDF download options are not available during this trial.Trial ends:30/06/2025. Click here to provide trial feedback. Slavery, Exploitation, and Trade in the West Indies, 1759-1832Access information:Access on and off campus.Description:During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Jamaica was the largest and most profitable island in Britain's West Indian plantation economy. An estimated one million enslaved Africans were forcibly shipped there to work on the island's plantations, from which sugar was the main export. In 1759, Nathaniel Phillips of Slebech in Pembrokeshire moved to Jamaica. In 1761, he bought half of the Pleasant Hill plantation. During his time on the island he acquired four plantations and owned hundreds of enslaved people. Phillips’ papers form part of the Slebech Estate records held at the National Library of Wales. They provide numerous, albeit unsettling, insights into the history of slavery in Jamaica. The collection contains a wealth of information regarding Phillips’ financial activities in the West Indies and, importantly, the documents shed light on the experiences of enslaved people on his plantations.Please note that PDF download options are not available during this trial.Trial ends:30/06/2025. Click here to provide trial feedback. The Sphere, 1900-1964Access information:Access on and off campus.Description:Established in 1900 and in circulation until 1964, The Sphere remained under the ownership of The Illustrated London News (ILN) for most of its existence. Clement Shorter—a former editor of the ILN—founded the publication. From its first issue, it adopted a consciously international outlook, aiming to "hold pictures and thoughts from all lands". Upon its release, it was praised as "a striking advance in illustrated journalism" due to the beauty and artistry of its presentation. It soon became popular. This collection includes nearly 160,000 images and almost 4,000 issues from The Sphere, published between January 1900 and June 1964.Please note that PDF download options are not available during this trial.Trial ends:30/06/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback. State Papers Online Colonial: Asia, Part I: Far East, Hong Kong, and Wei-Hai-WeiAccess information:Access on and off campusDescription:State Papers Online Colonial: Asia, Part I: Far East, Hong Kong, and Wei-Hai-Wei State Papers Online Colonial provides access to digitised British Colonial Office’s files and documents. Part I covers the Far East, Hong Kong and Wei-Hai-Wei, and it is their administration and governance, and their relations with surrounding countries in the region and across the globe that are the subject of the documents. While the majority of the documents date from the twentieth century and cover the colonial period up to World War II, the earliest documents are the British Governments’ correspondence with the East India Company about trade in Asia, the administration and trials of the East India Company, rivalry with the Dutch, the Opium trade, as well as other initiatives in the East such as the first British embassy to China of 1793 to 1794.Trial ends:30/06/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback. Archives of Latin American and Caribbean History, Sixteenth to Twentieth CenturyAccess information:Access on and off campus.Description:The Archives of Latin American and Caribbean History, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century offer a range of content for the region, providing opportunities for research into issues and events in contemporary Latin American and Caribbean history, as well as historical perspective back to the colonial period. Coverage extends from the 15th to 20th century, providing information about the indigenous peoples of the region, the Conquest (la Conquista), colonial rule, religion, struggles for independence, and political, economic, and social progress and issues in newly independent nations.”Trial ends:28/07/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback British Literary Manuscripts OnlineAccess information:Access on and off campus.Description:British Literary Manuscripts Online presents facsimile images of literary manuscripts, including letters and diaries, drafts of poems, plays, novels, and other literary works, and similar materials for research and teaching. The manuscripts range from medieval texts to the works of Oscar Wilde, and users can browse the manuscripts individually or search the metadata for author names, titles, manuscript numbers or notes.British Literary Manuscripts Online is divided into two parts. Part One: c1660-1900 contains works of major literary figures from the Restoration through the Victorian era: Charles Dickens, Sir Walter Scott, William Morris, and Oscar Wilde, among others. Part Two: Medieval and Renaissance presents a range of literary manuscripts — letters, poems, stories, plays, chronicles, religious writings, and other materials — from roughly 1120 to 1660Trial ends:28/07/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback State Papers Online: Part IV: The Stuarts and Commonwealth, James I - Anne I, 1603-1714: State Papers Foreign, Ireland and Registers of the Privy CouncilAccess information:Access on and off-campusDescription:State Papers Online, 1509-1714 ('SPO') offers a completely new working environment to researchers, teachers and students of Early Modern Britain. Whether used for original research, for teaching, or for student project work, State Papers Online offers original historical materials across the widest range of government concern, from high level international politics and diplomacy to the charges against a steward for poisoning a dozen or more people. The correspondence, reports, memoranda, and parliamentary drafts from ambassadors, civil servants and provincial administrators present a full picture of Tudor and Stuart Britain. Part IV includes State Papers Foreign, Ireland and Registers of the Privy Council.NB: The Library has purchased access to three modules of SPO - "Part II: The Tudors, 1509-1603", "Part III : The Stuarts: James I to Anne, 1603-1714", and "The Stuart and the Cumberland Papers" - which can be found on the S databases page.Trial ends:28/07/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback Sunday Times Historical Archive (1822-2021)Access information:Access on and off campusDescription:Easily explore two centuries of news, investigative reporting, and commentary from Britain's premier Sunday publication. The Sunday Times is famous for many of its stories, including Kim Philby's outing as a Soviet spy, the thalidomide investigation, and the publishing of Adolph Hitler's diaries. The Sunday Times Historical Archive 1822-2021 brings together, for the first time, the complete run of the newspaper and its supplements, in one cross-searchable and browseable platform.Trial ends:28/07/2025 Click here to provide trial feedback Radical Irish Newspaper ArchivesAccess information:Access on and off campus.The above link lands on the home page of Irish Newspaper Archives - to access Radical Irish Newspaper Archives, click "RADICAL ARCHIVE" in the top right hand corner of the screen.Description:The RNA archive is a special collection of Radical and Political journals from the early 20th century. The Radical archive is a new product that will see the release for the very first time of this important collection of 117 newspapers, journals, pamphlets, and bulletins. The archive will allow historians from across the World to research the political, social, and industrial unrest of the Irish nation through some of our country's most revolutionary publications. Trial Ends:31/08/2025. Click here to provide trial feedback . Expired trialsExpired trials are listed on a separate webpage. Privacy statementInformation about you: how we use it and with whom we share itThe information you provide will be used by the Library to support purchase decisions on trialled e-resources.We will use the supplied information to contact you should there be any queries or problems with eg access issues, platform feedback.We will use your e-mail address to alert you if the trial has resulted in a purchase/subscription.We are using information about you because your feedback supports business cases for new e-resources and is part of our contractual obligation.Further queriesIf you have any questions about this privacy statement, please contact Elize Rowan, Content Acquisition & Access Manager [Elize.Rowan@ed.ac.uk] Need any help?If you have any problems accessing online services, then please: HTML Contact the IS Helpline This article was published on 2024-08-21