Les galanteries et les debauches de l’empereur Neron…Par Petrone (Bamburgh I.5.32)
A post by Collections Assistant Caroline Ball, in Cologne
On the title-page of this book, the imprint tells us that it was published in 1694, in Cologne, in the workshop of the printer Pierre Marteau. Sounds plausible? Certainly, until we discover that Pierre Marteau – “Peter the Hammer” – never actually existed.
Continue reading “Item of the month: Satires, censors, and pseudonyms”
A post by Collections Coordinator Hannah Cartwright
Our item of this monthis Peter Apian’s Cosmographia. Initially published in 1524, later editions of Cosmographia expanded and edited by Gemma Frisius became hugely successful. Our 1584 edition is one of these later editions. Over 40 editions of Cosmographia were published in under a century, and it was translated from Latin into 4 different languages.
So, what made Cosmographia a 16th century bestseller?
Continue reading “Item of the month: Peter Apian’s Cosmographia”
Each month we spotlight one of our databases to highlight the range of resources available to our users. This month, Business Faculty Librarian Ben Taylorson turns the spotlight on a database we have on trial.
We are frequently approached by resource providers who are keen to have us trial their databases – obviously they do this as they are hoping we might add their product to our overall portfolio of resources. One such resource that we have on trial currently is the Henry Stewart Talks (HS Talks) Business and Management Collection.
Continue reading “eResource of the month: Henry Stewart Talks Business and Management Collection (being trialled during February-March 2024)”
A post by Susan Hull
In 2021 I began the Lendrum graduate internship in Book Conservation at Durham University. I applied for this post whilst completing an MA in Conservation of Fine Art with a paper specialism at Northumbria University, having had previous voluntary experience in object conservation based in museums. This internship was essentially my first taste of book conservation. For the next two years I worked alongside the conservation team at Palace Green Library, home of the Durham University Archive and Special Collections. The team comprised of book, paper and collections conservation specialists, all of whom were generous in sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm.
Continue reading “Lendrum Graduate Internship in Book Conservation”
A post by Tim Buckle, Acquisitions Co-ordinator
Here at Durham University Library & Collections, having a collection that is represents all communities has been something that we have been developing over the years. As someone who grew up in the 1980’s under Section 28 it is heartwarming to see such a growing range of inclusive titles being made accessible.
The launch of the Liberate My Library Scheme in February 2020 was one of the initiatives we started to help diversify our collections even further. We have done this against a National and International debate around what type of materials should a library give access to.
Continue reading “Celebrating Diversity: A look at the Library EDI Book Giveaway”
A post by Maria Carnegie, Head of Customer Services, and Simon Speight, Head of Education, Learning and Engagement.
What we learn is inherently political. From what we are taught to how we are taught, certain values and voices are prioritised, and others marginalised. Decolonisation centres the impact of colonialism, both historic and ongoing, on how we understand the world in which we live and the information that we teach.
Durham SU: Decolonise Durham Network Manifesto
When did you last challenge your reading list? No, not to a duel! But by asking questions.
Continue reading “How do you decolonise a Reading List? One step at a time… “
A post by Collections Assistant Jennifer Leach
This letter is one of 152 letters held in our collections written from the Countess of Jersey to Earl Grey. In 1827 Earl Grey was a prominent member of the Whig party but had just resigned his leadership to Lord Lansdowne, partly due to how at odds he was with the Prince Regent. However, in just three years he would become Prime Minister. The Countess was an influential member of the London social elite as she was not only a member of the aristocracy and extremely wealthy independently of her husband but also a patron of Almack’s, the most exclusive social club in London.
Continue reading “Item of the month: Letter from Sarah Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey, to Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey – 8th January 1827”
Each month we spotlight one of our databases to highlight the range of resources available to our users. This month, Business Faculty Librarian Ben Taylorson writes about the Financial Times.
I’m always keen to draw the attention of our users to the vast collection of news and newspaper resources that we have. I feel they are something of a hidden or underutilised resource, but one that can prove invaluable to those studying certain subjects.
Continue reading “eResource of the month: the Financial Times”
Athenienne, a 64 gun third-rate ship of the line saw service during the War of the Second Coalition in the French Revolutionary Wars. She also supplied the British fleet following the Battle of Trafalgar. She sank in 1806 with the loss of over 300 lives. GRE A2229 details an account of the loss of the ship on 20 October when it ran aground on a submerged reef in the channel between Sardinia, Sicily and Africa.
Continue reading “Item of the month: An Account of the loss of HMS Athenienne in October 1806”
A pioneering social research organisation, Mass Observation was founded in 1937 by anthropologist Tom Harrisson, film-maker Humphrey Jennings and poet Charles Madge. Their aim was to create an ‘anthropology of ourselves’, and by recruiting a team of observers and a panel of volunteer writers they studied the everyday lives of ordinary people in Britain. This resource covers the original Mass Observation project, the bulk of which was carried out from 1937 until the mid-1950s, offering an unparalleled insight into everyday life in Britain during these transformative years.
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