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The Collation

State Papers Online: tips and tricks, part 2

In my first post on the State Papers Online, I discussed how to search the database for a document that you already had some sort of reference to, whether that was the document/entry number, or a page number.

In this post, I will look at ways to search State Papers Online more broadly. In general, searching State Papers Online is much like searching any other database, but there are a few things to keep particularly in mind.

Please note that all of the provisos from the first post still apply. Namely:

  • This post (like the previous one) assumes a basic familiarity with the State Papers, both in terms of what they are and how they’re organized, and in terms of the online interface.
  • State Papers Online is a subscription database. That means it is only accessible through institutions that have paid for it. The Folger’s subscription only allows on-site access, at the Folger. Other institutions may allow off-site access; if you are unsure, please contact the librarians at your institution.
  • My way is not the only way! These are tips and tricks that I’ve picked up from working with the database, and in consultation with the people who create the database. They may not work in every situation, and you may find methods that works better for you. Feel free to share in the comments!

And now, on with the searches.

  1. Explanations and examples have been liberally cribbed from the help pages on the State Papers Online.
  2. While you can also achieve this using the browsing method described in my last post, scrolling through the documents image by image can be very time consuming, and lacks any metadata to orient you.

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