The aim of the project was to improve access to local and trade directories for the period 1750-1919 by making a substantial collection of English and Welsh directories available online as a Digital Library of Historical Directories. This digital resource comprises in total some 600 directories, covering every English county together with Wales, and ranging widely over the period 1750-1919 (the latter cut-off point chosen for copyright reasons). There is a particular focus on the 1850s, 1890s and 1910s, with at least one directory provided for each county in each of these decades. The digitisation of the volumes involved a two-stage process, in which (1) the hard-copy source was scanned to produce a graphic image of each page, and then (2) those images were processed using OCR software to generate a machine-readable text file.An online version of this resource can be found on the Website of the University of Leicester. This data collection includes the following directories:- Staffordshire General and Commercial Directory for 1818, part third, containing the towns of Bilston, Walsall, Wednesbury, Wolverhampton, and the whole of the populous district comprised in the south of the county (1818)- The History, Topography and Directory of Warwickshire; inclusive of some portions of the ancient histories of Rous, Camden, Speed, and Dugdale, with ... a description of the present state of the county ... a directory of every town and considerable village (1830)- History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, and the ... city of Lichfield, comprising, under a lucid arrangement of subjects, a general survey of the county of Stafford, and the diocese of Lichfield & Coventry (1834)- The Directory of Birmingham; including an alphabetical list of the inhabitants of the town; a classification of its merchants, manufacturers &c. ... together with an alphabetical street directory, &c. &c. (1835)- History and General Directory of the Borough of Birmingham, with the remainder of the parish of Aston, the Soho and part of Handsworth included: being part of a general history and directory of the County of Warwick (1849)- History, Gazetteer, and Directory, of Warwickshire, comprising a general survey of the county, with a variety of historical, statistical, topographical, commercial, and agricultural information; shewing ... all the boroughs, towns, parishes ... / by Francis White & Co. (1850)- Post Office Directory of Birmingham, with Staffordshire and Worcestershire (1850)- History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Staffordshire, and the city and county of the city of Lichfield; with ... the seats of the nobility and gentry; magistrates and public officers; and a variety of other commercial, agricultural, & biographical information (1851)- Lascelles & Co.'s Directory and Gazetteer of the City of Worcester & Neighbourhood, including Droitwich, Malvern, Pershore, Upton-on-Severn, and intermediate villages, containing an alphabetical list of the clergy & gentry, followed by a classification of trades and professions (1851)- Melville & Co.'s Directory of Wolverhampton with Bilston, Willenhall, Wednesfield, Sedgley, Tettenhall, &c. containing a descriptive account of each place (1851)- Slater's Classified Directory of the extensive and important manufacturing district 15 miles round Birmingham, including also Worcester & the Potteries; comprising classified lists of the merchants, bankers, professional gentlemen, manufacturers and traders, with a separate list of the nobility, gentry and clergy (1851)- Slater's General and Classified Directory of Birmingham and its vicinities for 1852-3, containing alphabetical lists of the merchants, manufacturers, traders and inhabitants in general, a list of streets, squares, courts, &c. (1852)- M. Billing's Directory and Gazetteer of the County of Worcester, containing a descriptive account of every town, village, hamlet, etc., followed by a general Directory (1855)- General and Commercial Directory of the Borough of Birmingham, and six miles round; including Wolverhampton, Bilston, Walsall, Westbromwich, &c. (1858)- Business Directory of Birmingham (1862)- Jones's Mercantile Directory of the Iron District of South Staffordshire and East Worcestershire (1865)- The Post Office Directory of Birmingham, with its suburbs (1867)- Francis White & Co.'s Commercial & Trades Directory of Birmingham ... with a history, topography, and directory of Warwickshire ... to which is added a special article on the geology of Warwickshire ... Vol. I (1875)- Francis White & Co.'s Commercial & Trades Directory of Birmingham ... with a history, topography, and directory of Warwickshire ... to which is added a special article on the geology of Warwickshire ... Vol.