The University’s Law Library now offers students access to 150,000 printed volumes of literature free of charge.

This semester the University acquired Thomson Gale’s Eighteenth Century Collections Online, also known as ECCO.

The database encompasses significant English and foreign language titles printed in Great Britain and the Americas during the 18th century.

“It is great that UGA has a subscription to ECCO because it allows students access to explore the wealth and diversity from the 18th century in a way that they haven’t been able to before,” said Chloe Wigston-Smith, a visiting assistant professor in the English department.

Acquired by the University’s Alexander Campbell King Law Library, the database is available through the law library’s research resource center or GALILEO. It contains information on disciplines such as philosophy, law and religion.

There are also multiple editions of each individual work, allowing for side by side textual comparisons.

“If you need to research developments over time, it allows you to obtain first-hand accounts and see how things were developing and changing at that moment in time, which is great,” said Carol A. Watson, assistant director for information technology at the law library.

While the database offers students aid in their research, it may also benefit other members of the University and academic community.

“The database is most important for scholars who need a historical perspective on a particular issue and will help the faculty here at the University on a whole,” said Ann Puckett, director of the Law Library and a law professor.