Microforms

Guide to Using Early English Books

About Early English Books

Using the microfilm version and locating reel numbers

About Early English Books

Early English Books is a huge, ongoing project to microfilm and digitize every significant work published in English anywhere in the world from 1475-1700. Works in foreign languages published in England and her dependencies are also included for this period.

The works processed so far are available full-text at UVA in microfilm and electronic formats.
The Early English Books collection is based on two short title catalogs, the Pollard and Redgrave Short Title Catalog 1475-1640 and the Wing Short Title Catalog 1641-1700. These two catalogs are included in the finding aid, the English Short Title catalog (ESTC).. The ESTC also serves as an reel index to all items that have been microfilmed, and a union list of the libraries around the world that hold print originals or copies.
Subjects include the English Renaissance, The Civil War and Restoration, the exploration and settlement of North America, and the development of secular philosophy and empirical science. Browse sample titles arranged by subject.
Major authors include Chaucer, Shakespeare, Bacon, Erasmus, Swift, Defoe and Galileo.

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Using the electronic full-text version

Early English Books Online (EEBO), covers the period 1640-1700, and is accessible through VIRGO. For information on truncation, old spellings, downloading, citing, and reproducing images, see FAQ. For searching and printing information see Help.

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Using the microfilm version

Two microfilm sets, located in IVY ANNEX, Alderman Library

Early English Books 1475-1640 (Micfilm S-8) is based on the Pollard and Redgrave Short Title Catalog, located in Alderman Microforms Guides Area.
Early English Books 1640-1700 (Micfilm S-9) is based on the Wing Short Title Catalog, located in the Periodicals Microforms Guides Area.

Read about the current status of the microfilming.

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Locating microfilm reel numbers

1. Recommended option: search the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC)

The ESTC database is an index only, updated daily, covering all items in the Early English Books microfilm sets and Early English Books Online (EEBO.) To limit your search to microfilmed works, use an Advanced search.

- From the drop down menu, in one of the two search boxes, select Words from general notes, and enter microfilm.

- Next, enter your search term --keyword/author/ title, etc. --in the other search box. On the results screen, reel numbers will display in the "Notes" field at the bottom of the ESTC record. For example:

Notes: Microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. University Microfilms, 1971, 1988. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. (Early English books, 1641-1700; 383:5; 1834:02).

2. Do an Advanced VIRGO search, e.g. keyword: early english books and title: two broad-sides against tobacco...

To determine the call number in a VIRGO record, listing only "Micfilm" as the call number, see the "Reproduction note" near the bottom of the VIRGO record.

If dates listed are 1475-1640, the call number is Micfilm S-8.
If dates listed 1641-1700, the call number is Micfilm S-9.

To determine the microfilm reel number, see the number after the semicolon following the dates. For example in the VIRGO record for:

(Author) Hariot, Thomas, 1560-1621. (Title) Artis analyticae praxis....
See the Reproduction note field: Early English books, 1475-1640; 1025:13. The reel number is 1025; the Hariot title will be found as the thirteenth item on reel number 1025.

3. Use the print resources in the Microfilms Guides Area: the Pollard and Redgrave or the Wing Short Title Catalog, and also the microfilm cross indexes.

Find the Pollard and Redgrave (STC) number or the Wing number by looking up the author (or title, if author is anonymous). Next, consult the appropriate print Cross Index. Find the STC number. The reel number will be listed next to the STC number.

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