Conduct Your Own Research

We at The Standpipe aim to foster the environment amongst our visitors which encourages them to conduct their own research into topics that interest them. As such, we have curated a list of websites and locations to provide you with easily accessible tools for your endeavors.

 
 

  • Located in Lazaretto, St. Michael, the National Archives contain manuscripts, documents, newspapers, and genealogical paraphernalia such as birth certificates, baptisms and wills dating back to the 1600s. In addition the Archives has an extensive library collection. Click Here

  • With nine different locations around the island, the National Libraries are great sources of information with all branches providing lending, referencing and EBSCO Online services. Click Here for the List of Branches

  • This former colonial military prison located within Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison is a part of a world heritage site. Upon visiting the site, one can view a display which describes the coral structure of Barbados, artifacts of the indigenous people of Barbados, a collection of rare Barbadian maps and a reference library among other features. Click Here

  • The Barbados National Trust is mainly concerned with the preservation of Barbadian Heritage Sites, the listing of buildings, monuments and sites historic, architectural and archaeological interest as well the photographing and documenting such places. Click Here

 
 

The University of the West Indies

  • The University of the West Indies has a wealth of places wherein research can be conducted on campus. Unfortunately only available to students and alumni members, this is still an important and oft underutilized resource. Therefore we endeavor to bring these to the forefront to enhance the student experience.

  • The Sidney Martin Library

    This is the main library of the Cave Hill Campus and contains a massive amount of information on every topic imaginable. Located within the library is the “The West Indies Collection”, an extensive reference collection and archives section which contains articles dating back to the 1800’s as well as newspaper microfilm. Click Here

  • The Faculty of Law Library

    Considered the leading legal law library in the Commonwealth Caribbean, it contains a vast collection of West Indian and Commonwealth legal materials. The library boasts online databases as well such as Carilaw and the UNICEF Children's Law Database. Click Here

  • The CLR James Cricket Research Centre

    This centre is home to a collection of monographs, pamphlets, periodicals, newspaper clippings, journal articles, photographs etc dealing with West Indian cricket dating back to at least 1860. Click Here

  • The Audine Wilkinson Library

    Focusing on social and economic research, one can find a collection of documentary materials, research methods and techniques, data reports from banks, public corporations and statuary bodies. This library contains information on lesser covered or less accessible topics and as such provides valuable insights which individual researchers will find useful. Click Here

  • Elizabeth Watson Audiovisual Unit

    This library contains over 12, 000 audio/visual concerned with the capturing of the cultural heritage of the Caribbean islands. This collection includes DVD’s, CD’s, Floppy Disks, Post Cards, Film Strips and even more. In addition, the library has an online database with which the catalog of materials can be accessed. Click Here

Online Sources

  • These are the digital scans of “The Barbadian” a newspaper that was printed in Bridgetown between 1822-1861. It provides good insight into the views and laws of 1800’s colonial Barbados. The physical version of this newspaper is available at the Barbados National Archives Click Here

  • EBSCOHost is an online research platform with a wide variety of online databases containing peer reviewed articles on almost any topic imaginable. EBSCOHost can be accessed at any of the branches of the Barbados Library Service as well as the Sydney Martin Library (only available for UWI students or members of the UWI Alumni association). Click Here

  • Also known as DLOC, this Caribbean-centred digital library boasts an online database, newspaper articles going back to colonial times such as the Barbados Mercury, the Bridgetown Grazette and The Barbados Advocate , archival records, birth records and much much more. Click Here or Click Here

  • This is an information portal for The University of The West Indies. It provides easy access to electronic journals, books and online databases as well as access to a library catalog of all four UWI campuses. However, this service is only available to students or alumni members. Click Here

  • Another online research engine with an array of dissertations, theses, scholarly articles and online databases, ProQuest cam only be full accessed through a registered institution (such as UWI). However, there is a wide available selection of information available for the casual researcher. Click Here

  • Whilst it is not possible to access any of the personal databases of these libraries without being a student or alumni, they do provide an extensive list of research options with which Caribbean research can be conducted. In addition they provide the researcher with the helpful “Ask A Librarian” service where if one selects the orange “Ask Us” tab they will be put into contact with a librarian who can provide sources. Click Here

  • Created by William and Peter Burton, this website blog contains a wealth of history focused articles on every aspect of Barbadian life from food to people. Click Here