The Chatham House Online Archive

Tabbed

Overview

Since its founding in 1920 as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London-based Chatham House has been a leading center for policy research on international affairs. In 2013, an online searchable database integrating a large extent of Chatham House’s publications and archives was made available for the first time. Gale Cengage released the first module of The Chatham House Online Archive, covering the years 1920–79, in 2013. The second module, covering the years 1980–2010, is slated for release in late spring 2014.

Provider:

Gale [1]

Posted:

Nov 5, 2012 5:55am

Updated:

Jul 1, 2020 12:05am

Source

CRL reviews are based on independent research. Information is researched by CRL staff and other specialists at CRL libraries. See CRL Review for additional source notes.

Details

Collection Content

Subject Areas:

Social Sciences

Resource Types:

Print journals

Reports

Video recordings

Major Languages:

English

- Denotes data sourced directly from publisher

Content Details:


Geographic coverage	Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Russia, and Eurasia
Chronological coverage	1920–2008 (first module covers 1920–79, second module to cover 1980–2008)
Content types	speeches, documents, articles
Source formats	paper, audio recordings
Total titles	Module 1: c. 500 monographs, 220 reports, 4,000 speeches, 8 journals; Module 2: c. 480 monographs, 900 reports, 3,000 speeches, 2 journals
Total pages	Module 1: c. 410,000 pp. and 1,160 hrs. audio; Module 2: c. 179,000 pp. and 3,550 hrs. audio
Digital collection launch date	Module 1: June 2013
Update frequency	NA
Collection ongoing	Y (second module to be issued later)
Completion date	NA
Available supplements	NA

Specifications

Metadata:


MARC records available	Y
Creator of MARC records	NA
Structural metadata exposed anywhere?	NA
Subject authorities used	Metadata authority source is proprietary to Gale
Name authorities used	Gale database

Technical Platform:


Browser compatibility	IE 7.x+; Firefox 3.x to 3.5.x; Safari 4.x; Opera 9.x; Chrome 5.x
Authentication options	IP; password; Barcode; Athens; Shibboleth
Archiving solution – master files	Master files are archived
Archiving solution – derivative files	Copy of product file is archived; purchase customers receive JPEGs and XML files
Availability in web discovery tools	N
Open URL target	Y
Federated searching, z39.50	Y
Local host option	N
Usage statistics	Y

Interface Tools:


Full text displayed	Y (transcripts of speeches)
Page images	Y
Color images	Y (very little)
Search full text	Y (for journal titles and speech transcripts)
Advanced search	Y
Search within results	Y
Limit results by dates and/or document types	Y
Display highlighted search terms	Y
Display snippet -- search term in context	Y
Relevance sorting	Y
Save searches	Y
Download PDF	Y
Download HTML	Y
Print page	Y
Print full document	Y
Export citations	Y
Annotation tools	N
Cross-product searching	N
ILL	N
Restrictions on use	Must respect copyright, educational fair use and customer license

Terms and Provider Details

Terms:


	Options
Subscription option	NA
Purchase option	Y
Multiple year payments option	NA
Hosting charges	NA
List of purchasers available	NA
Sample license available	Y
MARC records purchase fee	NA
Price tier basis	Y

Provider:

Gale [1]

Website:

http://www.cengage.com/us/ [2]

Main Address:

27500 Drake Road

Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535

United States

CRL Review

Collection Content:

Since its founding in 1920 as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London-based Chatham House has been a leading center for policy research on international affairs. In 2013, an online searchable database integrating a large extent of Chatham House’s publications and archives was made available for the first time. Gale Cengage released the first module of The Chatham House Online Archive, covering the years 1920–79, in spring 2013 (c. 410,000 pp.). The second module, covering the years 1980–2010 (c. 179,000 pp.), is slated for release in late spring 2014. .

Gale Cengage indicated that The Chatham House Online Archive would ultimately provide nearly 600,000 pages of multiple content types, covering most regions of the world. Briefing papers, special reports, pamphlets, conference papers, and monographs generated in connection with Chatham House were to be be subject-indexed and cross-referenced. Full runs of searchable text content would be included for two notable Chatham House serial publications already accessible in JSTOR—the journal International Affairs (1922–2008) and the monthly The World Today (1945–2008)—as well as Bulletin of International Affairs (1925–45), and the important annual reference sources Survey of International Affairs and Documents of International Affairs. According to Gale, approximately 17% of the text content has not been previously published, and 80% has not been previously digitized; none of the audio has been published or digitzed.

Key topics covered in the archive include: diplomacy and international relations; energy, environment, and development; international economics, trade, and business; international and national politics; international security and law; and global health issues.

The archive is also slated to include over 8,000 hours of audio recordings along with searchable transcripts of Chatham House lectures from such figures as: Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Willy Brandt, King Hussein of Jordan, Henry Kissinger, François Mitterand, Prof. A. J. Toynbee, Chaim Weizmann, Dr. Andreas Papandreou, Caspar Weinberger, Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, HE Yousuf Al-Alawi Abdullah, Dr. Zhores Medvedev, and Hans Blix.

Gale has provided a detailed breakdown of content planned for the two modules: see Appendix A.

Delivery:

Gale reported that features were to include:

Transcripts of speeches/meetings

Indexing of speakers and authors by nationality and profession

MP3 audio recordings of meetings from 1966 onward linked to the transcripts

Indexing of documents and articles by author, topic, and region

Cross-searching cability and linking across journal articles, reports, books, conference papers, and Chatham House speeches or meetings

Linking between an article in Survey of International Affairs with its referenced document in Documents of International Affairs

Faceted results lists

Strengths and Weaknesses:

The two chief journals from Chatham House are already accessible online through JSTOR and in part through other aggregators (according to Gale), and 80% of the print content has been previously published (but less than 20% of that digitized). Nevertheless, this database should provide a unique opportunity to follow connections between significant documents and analysis reflecting a specific 20th-century world view. The content extends over a long period: some publications run up through 2010. In addition, the opportunity to hear a range of political leaders' voices in recorded speeches will be valuable for students as well as scholars. More than 7,000 speeches will be accessible not only through audio format but also through searchable transcripts and links between the original speeches and subsequent published articles.

Reviewers:

Center for Research Libraries

Virginia Kerr - Digital Program Manager
Gretchen Rings - Communications Staff Writer

Sources

Sources for this review include information publicly posted or obtained directly from the publisher; data collected by CRL staff and specialists at CRL libraries; and examination of the digital collection when possible. Other sources are noted where cited. CRL continues to gather additional information on this resource and to solicit critical assessment.

CRL Offers & Status

Status	Current	Description
CRL Flagged	no	Potential interest to CRL community
Offer Pending	no	Currently a candidate for CRL offer
Active Offer	no	Currently offered for purchase or new subscription
Trial Access	no	Available for trial
Renewal Offer	no	Currently offered for renewal
Expired Offer	yes	Past offers
Inactive / Declined	no	No longer under consideration by CRL
Reviewed by CRL	yes	Evaluation available by CRL and community
Special Access	no	Member-only access available for a limited time

The complete offer and activity details for this resource are only available to CRL members.

Appendix

Attachments:

The Chatham House Online Archive Contents List [3]

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