News round-up: September 2017

9th September 2017 – Doors Open Day

Staff welcomed visitors to a behind the scenes look at Special Collections as part of the national Doors Open Day event (http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/). Jane Pirie (Rare Books Cataloguer), Michelle Gait (Reading Room Manager) and Jen Shaw (Exhibitions Officer) welcomed 115 visitors to Special Collections over the course of a very busy three hours to look at examples of our biggest, heaviest and smallest books from the collections. The former included one of the 23 volumes of the first detailed scientific study of ancient and modern Egypt ‘Description de l’Egypte…’ (Paris, 1809-1822) Lib R ff913(32) Egy. More information about the items on display can be found here: Doors Open Day – Special Collections display

egypt book — Image from ‘Description de l’Egypte, ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l’expédition de l’armee française’ (Paris: Imprimerie Impériale, 1809-1822) Lib R ff913(32) Egy

6^th-8^th September 2017 – Rare Books and Special Collections Group Conference

Keith O’Sullivan, Senior Rare Books Librarian, attended the 2017 annual study conference of CILIP’s Rare Books and Special Collections Group entitled ‘Collections At Risk’. This year’s event was held at the University of Sussex and was on the theme of rare book and archival collections at risk and how these risks could be mitigated. The conference attracted some 80 delegates from the UK, Ireland, North America and Kuwait. Papers included presentations on a diversity of topics including the UNESCO Memory of the World scheme; the ABA’s perspective on theft and vandalism, and a case study of the dispersal of the Law Society’s Mendham Collection at Canterbury Cathedral Library. The full programme can be viewed here.

12^th September 2017 – Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums staff visit

Special Collections hosted a visit by three staff from Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums on 12^th September 2017. Andrew MacGregor, Deputy Archivist and Fiona Musk, NHS Grampian Archivist, facilitated the visit which included a tour of the stores, the Glucksman Conservation Centre (with Louisa Coles, Paper Conservator) and exhibition space (with Jen Shaw, Exhibitions Officer). Following the tour there was time set aside for a discussion on potential future collaborative work.