The unofficial client for the Wilson Center Digital Archive

The digitalrchive Python library is a client and ORM for accessing, searching, and downloading historical documents and their accompanying scans, translations, and transcriptions from the Wilson Center’s Digital Archive of historical primary sources.

Features

  • Search for documents and other Digital Archive resources by keyword.
  • Easily retrieve translations, transcriptions, and related records of any document.
  • Fully documented models for all of the Digital Archive resource types.

Installation

Install the latest stable version of digitalarchive using pip:

$ python3 -m pip install digitalarchive

Usage

Find documents by keyword:

>>> from digitalarchive import Subject
>>> Subject.match(name="Tiananmen Square Incident").first()
Subject(id='2229', name='China--History--Tiananmen Square Incident, 1989', value='China--History--Tiananmen Square Incident, 1989', uri='/srv/subject/2229.json')

Discover collections of related documents:

>>> from digitalarchive import Collection, Document
>>> collection = Collection.match(name="Local Nationalism in Xinjiang").first()
>>> docs = Document.match(collections=[collection])
>>> for doc in docs.all():
...     print(doc.title)
Memorandum on a Discussion held by the Consul-General of the USSR in Ürümchi, G.S. DOBASHIN, with the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Comrade LÜ JIANREN
Memorandum on a Discussion held by the Consul-General of the USSR in Ürümchi, G.S. DOBASHIN, with Deputy Chairman of the People’s Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Comrade XIN LANTING
Memorandum of a Discussion held by USSR Consul-General in Ürümchi, G S. Dobashin, with First Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Comrade Wang Enmao, and Chair of the People’s Committee, Comrade S. Äzizov
Note from G. Dobashin, Consul-General of the USSR in Ürümchi, to Comrades N.T. Fedorenko, Zimianin, and P.F. Iudin
Memorandum on a Discussion with Wang Huangzhang, Head of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Prefectural People's Committee
Iu. Andropov to the Central Committee of the CPSU, 'On the Struggle with Local Nationalism in China'
Note, M. Zimianin to the Central Committee of the CPSU and to Comrade Iu. V. Andropov
M. Zimianin to the Central Committee of the CPSU and to Comrade Iu. V. Andropov, 'On Manifestations of Local Nationalism in Xinjiang (PRC)'
M. Zimianin to the Department of the Central Committee of the CPSU and to Comrade Iu. V. Andropov

Read the Quickstart guide for a tutorial on working with documents and searches, or consult the Cookbook for examples of common operations.