Archive Animals – Cats
Written by Louise Cowan, Trainee Liaison Librarian Our Special Collections Library and Archive is full of interesting creatures, big and small. They can be found everywhere from our Children’s Collection story books to the detailed scientific tomes of our Cole Library. So far we’ve explored the Ducks, Horses and Bees but today is the turn […]
Cataloguing Cole: Fishes, Photographs and the Forces
Written by Sharon Maxwell, Archivist (Cataloguing & Projects) I have recently been cataloguing the personal papers of Professor Francis J Cole, (1872-1959), the first Professor of Zoology at the University of Reading. The fascinating papers in the Cole collection include research for his academic writings and publications, bibliographies and indexes relating to his library and […]
Reading Readers – Adam McKie
Adam McKie, MA Research Student at Royal Holloway, University of London, tells us about his research into employee sporting activities in the Huntley & Palmer papers. My MA thesis explores the history of women’s cricket in interwar England; a project sponsored by The Association of Cricket Statisticians. Despite an abundance of research (both academic and trade) into […]
From the cradle of printing to binder’s waste: incunable leaves in the John Lewis collection
Written by Erika Delbecque, UMASCS Librarian Earlier this year, we shared some exciting early printing finds from the John Lewis Printing Collection on this blog. In the past few months, I have been researching these leaves, so that they can be catalogued and the collection can be made more accessible. In the first instance, I have […]
LGBT History Month: Lord Wolfenden, the man ahead of his time
Written by Adam Koszary, MERL Project Officer. February marks LGBT History Month, and to celebrate it we’re exploring the man who laid the ground for more liberal attitudes to sexuality in Britain. 59 years ago John Wolfenden released a report which proposed that homosexual intercourse between consenting adults should be decriminalized. The uproar it produced in […]
Archive Animals – Horses
Written by Louise Cowan, Trainee Liaison Librarian Unsurprisingly, the Special Collections and Museum of English Rural Life Libraries have a number of items relating horses; from journals to artwork, rare books and DVDs. Here are just a few of my favourites: Horses in Fiction: Black Beauty – Anna Sewell, illustrated by Cecil Aldin (1912) [Children’s […]
Valentine’s Day Cards – The John Lewis Printing Collection
Written by Louise Cowan, Trainee Liaison Librarian February 14th celebrates Valentine’s Day, the Christian feast day of the martyred St Valentine of Rome. While we know that the celebration originated around 498 A.D when it was instated by Pope Gelasius, little is actually known of St Valentine and his life. The most popular version recounts […]
Reading Readers – Jack Davies
Jack Davies, Assistant Lecturer of History and PhD student at the University of Kent, tells us about his research into stately home hospitals during the First World War, notably at Cliveden, Buckinghamshire – the home of the Astor family. My research examines the social and cultural importance of the stately home hospital during the First World […]
The Bee Collection
Written by Louise Cowan, Trainee Liaison Librarian Our collection of printed materials on bees and apiculture brings together the Cotton Collection and the books from the H. Malcolm Fraser Collection, supplemented by books and periodicals from the University Library’s general collections. The collection examines bees and bee-keeping from a variety of angles, providing a fascinating wealth […]
Another chance to see the ‘Voice of the Stars’ almanacs exhibition
Written by Fiona Melhuish, UMASCS Librarian If you missed the exhibition of almanacs at the Special Collections Service earlier this year, you have another chance to see it as it is now on display at the University Library (on the ground floor, either side of the lifts) until 24 January 2016. The exhibition, entitled Voice of the stars […]