Search

University Libraries acquire permanent digital access to prominent primary source collection for CU System

CU System researchers now have permanent digital access to thousands of unique archival and primary source materials from The National Archives UK, the Newberry Library, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and more thanks to the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries’ recent acquisition of several Adam Matthew (AM) collections.

Adam Matthew is a UK-based company that partners with prominent archives, libraries and museums “to digitise the world’s historical and cultural knowledge,” offering a comprehensive collection of materials valuable to researchers and scholars of all disciplines.

The 2025 additions to the Libraries AM collection include Hindi Cinema Histories of Film-making, Mexico in History: Colonialism to Revolution, and The Olympic Movement: Sport, Global Politics, and Identity. These collections are hosted on AM Explorer, a single point of access providing digital access to over 8 million pages of primary source materials.

“We are so excited to have access to these new collections because they will provide immense value to not only researchers on the CU Boulder campus but also system wide,” said Collection Development and Assessment Librarian Arthur Aguilera. 

Collection highlights

Battle Of Saratoga, The British General John Burgoyne Surrendering painting from AM American History


American History, Modules I-II

This collection traces the progress of American History and extensively covers the major themes of the period from colonisation and settlement through the revolution, expansion, politics, slavery, the Civil War and reconstruction, to World War II.

Print of Longhua pagoda at Shanghai, China from AM Collection


China: Culture and Society

Mostly in English and published between c.1750 and 1929, these rare pamphlets from the Wason Pamphlet Collection at Cornell University make up one of the most extensive collections of literature on China and the Chinese in the Western world.

Old State House, Boston, 1801 Painting by James Brown Marston


Colonial America, Modules 1-5

Sourced from The National Archives UK, Colonial America offers access to thousands of documents on North America from 1606-182.

Family of Russian Jews a year after arrival at one of the New Jersey settlements, circa 1900


Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954

Explore the history of Jewish communities in America from their first arrival in New York in 1654 to the integral part that they play today. Based on a rich variety of original manuscript collections from the American Jewish Historical Society in New York, this indispensable resource offers captivating insights into the everyday lives of the American Jewish population over three centuries. 

British Gentlemen in Rome painting by Katharine Read, 1723–1778


Grand Tour

Includes the travel writings and works of some of Britain’s greatest artists, writers and thinkers, revealing how interaction with European culture shaped their creative and intellectual sensibilities.

The Incomparable Albini poster from AM Collection


Victorian Popular Culture

This resource contains a wide range of source material relating to popular entertainment in America, Britain and Europe in the period from 1779 to 1930, and shows how interconnected these worlds were.

Opening of the Great Exhibition, May 1, 1861 print showing the Crystal Palace, London


World's Fairs

Explore two centuries of innovation, entertainment and international relations through the rich history of world’s fairs. 

 

“I’ve used the collections in Adam Matthew, such as Victorian Popular Culture, when teaching information literacy sessions for classes in the English Department and Humanities Program,” said Literature and Humanities Librarian Amanda Rybin Koob. “It’s so helpful for students to be able to find a range of digitized original documents and ephemera, contextualizing the literature they are reading with the cultures and societies in which they were produced.”

Success & Engagement Librarian Katerina Allmendinger added, “With invaluable primary sources including personal letters, newsletters and magazines, and documents from grassroots organizations, I often recommend the Adam Matthew collections to our humanities and social sciences researchers. From Sex and Sexuality and Defining Gender to Empire Online and Indigenous Histories and Cultures, the collections offer so much to anyone studying gender, sexuality, race, and colonization in their historical contexts.”

To browse the full list of AM collections, use AM Explorer or keyword search the name of the specific collection you are interested in on our A-Z database.