Category Archives: Special Collections Centre

COVID-19 – Library Closures: Update as of Wednesday 18th March, 11:15

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To maximise social distancing and slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), Taylor Library and Medical Library closed at 17:00 on Tuesday 17th March until further notice.

The Sir Duncan Rice Library (TSDRL) will remain open until 17:00 on Friday 20th March and will close at 20:00 on Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th March. The Hardback Café and Library Gallery have now closed.

Wolfson Reading Room – as of Tuesday 17th March, physical access to the Wolfson Reading Room has been suspended. Service updates will be provided via our webpages https://www.abdn.ac.uk/special-collections/

For all libraries:

  • Any borrowed items will automatically be renewed until further notice. Loans will not become overdue and no fines will accrue.
  • If you require additional loans while the Library is closed we will be happy to extend loan allowances by up to 10 items – please bring items to the Information Centre for issuing in advance of Friday 20th March at 16:45.
  • The option to request items that are currently on loan has been removed from Primo.
  • Items can be retrieved from Taylor Library and closed access stores until 15:00 on Friday 20th March by contacting library@abdn.ac.uk
  • Book order requests – we strongly recommend choosing items in electronic format to maximise availability for students who are now working at a distance
  • We are unable to process new Inter-Library Loan requests as many university libraries are no longer supporting this service while they prepare their COVID-19 contingency plans.

The Library web pages will be regularly updated with FAQs. Library staff will be monitoring email accounts and will be available to answer any general enquiries during office hours.

Please get in touch, and we will do our best to help  – contact details below.

For subject-related and search enquiries please contact the Information Consultant for your discipline: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/support/contacts-106.php#panel162

The University of Aberdeen Visiting Scholar Awards – now open for applications

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Funded by the Friends of Aberdeen University Library and the Special Collections Centre

The University of Aberdeen Visiting Scholar Awards are available to academic researchers wishing to travel to Aberdeen to make use of our historic collections for innovative research.

The University of Aberdeen’s rich and diverse holdings consist of over 230,000 rare books, some 5,000 archive collections, and over 300,000 museum artefacts and scientific specimens. The disciplinary range is wide, with particular strengths in eighteenth and nineteenth-century English and Scottish literature, history, anthropology, archaeology, fine art, the history of science and medicine, and the natural and life sciences. (For details, see www.abdn.ac.uk/museums and www.abdn.ac.uk/special-collections.)

The Awards provide financial support of up to £2,000 to cover expenses incurred over a period of two to four weeks while pursuing a research project directly relating to the University’s collections. Visiting Scholars will be given access to the collections in the collections research facilities of the Sir Duncan Rice Library and Marischal College, and will contribute to Friends of Aberdeen University Library and Museums and Special Collections activities. Applications for both traditional academic and creative, practice-based forms of research are welcome.

We warmly encourage applications from researchers from a diverse range of backgrounds, and applications will be considered using a ‘name-blind’ selection process.

The awards are funded by the Friends of Aberdeen University Library, administered by the Aberdeen Humanities Fund, and hosted by University of Aberdeen Museums and Special Collections. Applications will be assessed by a panel consisting of representatives of these three bodies, and confirmed by an external assessor. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their applications by email.

Full details can be found on the application form, see here.

The application deadline for the current round is 12 noon, 1 March 2019.

For details on previous Visiting Scholars please see the Special Collections website.

Friends of Aberdeen University Library talk to take place this week

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friends

The Sir Duncan Rice Library will host a fascinating talk soon on the life a near forgotten war correspondent.

‘The Incomparable Archibald’. Archibald Forbes, War Correspondent

24 September 2015, 18:00 – 19:00

Speaker will be Professor Hamish Fraser

An examination of the life of Archibald Forbes whom many regarded as the greatest war correspondent of the nineteenth century and who defined the role and became a model for the modern war correspondent.

fraser image

Despite the regard with which he was held during his lifetime, Forbes has been largely forgotten except perhaps in the History Department’s Forbes medal.  Covering all the significant wars from the Franco-German war of 1870 to the Zulu War of 1879 he was the first to make extensive use of the telegraph to get his reports into the press ahead of his rivals.  His on-the spot descriptions of battles still have a vivacity that few could match.

At the same time, he never hesitated to criticise the tactics of the military authorities and to defend the role of the war correspondent in exposing the reality of war.  The result was a petulant refusal by the British to give him the kind of recognition that many European governments bestowed on him.

AUP have recently published Professor Fraser’s study of Forbes, The Wars of Archibald Forbes. The talk will look at aspects of his life and at the part he played in creating the image of the heroic correspondent.

Hosted by: The Friends of Aberdeen University Library and the Special Collections Centre

Venue: Special Collections Centre Seminar Room, The Sir Duncan Rice Library, University of Aberdeen, Bedford Road, Aberdeen, AB24 3AA

Contact: Emma Fowlie – Honorary Secretary

Email – e.fowlie@abdn.ac.uk or call 01224 273385

 

The event is free to attend and open to all

 

Webpage: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/events/8172/

Food and drink policy update from Diane Bruxvoort

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I am pleased to report that the new food and drink policy being piloted in each of the library buildings is going exceedingly well. The new policy allows library users to have coffee and other drinks in the library in a covered container, and to eat their cold lunch and snacks in the libraries. Rubbish and recycling bins have been added throughout the public spaces and we are pleased that our students, public and academic users are taking advantage of the new policies and keeping the buildings clean.

no-hot-foodYou may not be surprised to learn that hot food continues to be an issue. In this pilot we continued with the prohibition on hot food, but may not have been clear enough. So we are clarifying our signage and asking for your adherence to the no hot food policy. With the success of the pilot to date we hope to be able to transition to a permanent allowance of drinks and snacks, and don’t want the issue of hot food to complicate the decision.

We will soon move to 24/7 hours for revision and exams, and the libraries will be full to bursting. Your assistance in keeping our libraries in great condition for all users is much appreciated. We welcome your input on these and any other issues as we work to make the libraries a creative and welcoming environment for all.
Best,
Diane

—–
Diane Bruxvoort
University Librarian and Director of Library Special Collections and Museums
University of Aberdeen

NHS Grampian Archive – news

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Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital ward c.1889

Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ward c.1889

The NHS Grampian Archives which hold the historic records of more than 100 hospitals and health organisations from across the Grampian region, have been located within Special Collections for over a year now.

Archivist Fiona Watson has retired and the new archivist is Fiona Musk, former archivist with Aberdeen City Council Archives.

Please note also that there are new opening hours. The NHS Grampian Archive is now open from Wednesday to Friday.
(Monday & Tuesday by prior appointment only)

For more information see our website:
www.abdn.ac.uk/library/about/special/nhs-grampian-archives/

Contact:
Fiona Musk
grampian.archives@nhs.net
Phone: 01224 274912

Andrew MacGregor
Deputy Archivist
andrew.macgregor@abdn.ac.uk

The adventures of George Hamilton-Gordon, 6th Earl of Aberdeen

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Family seat at Haddo House, Aberdeeshire

Gordon’s family seat at Haddo House,     Aberdeeshire

A big thank you to James Youle, Senior Information Assistant in the Library, who has gifted an item to Special Collections. The item is an account of the adventures of George Hamilton-Gordon, 6th Earl of Aberdeen (1841-1870). The account originally appeared in the Banffshire Journal in 1871, and was re-printed as a pamphlet in 1934 for circulation amongst members of the family. It is based on the report of the Commissioner who visited America for the purpose of collecting evidence of Lord Aberdeen’s death without issue to enable his younger brother John to succeed him as 7th Earl.

Gordon had succeeded to the title on the death of his father, the 5th Earl, in 1864, but in January 1866 sailed to the United States, assumed the name of George H. Osborne, and for the next four years followed a sea-faring life. His travels from his base in America took him all around the world, either as a member of the crew on board different vessels or as a traveller, including the Canary Islands, the Bahamas, Mexico, Spain and Barbados. After an initial posting as an ordinary seaman on board the R. Wylie to the Canary Islands, he studied navigation at the British Nautical College in Boston for four months in his efforts to gain a post as First Officer in the merchant navy, and was registered as an Approved Shipmaster by the Shipmasters’ Association in 1868. He later was appointed Captain of the schooner Walton from December 1868-October 1869 transporting goods to different ports across America but drowned in January 1870 while serving as first mate on the schooner Hera of Boston, six days into a voyage to Australia and China.

Andrew MacGregor
Deputy Archivist
andrew.macgregor@abdn.ac.uk

 

Special Collections – over 40 new factsheets now available

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Gateway from series of plans, drawings and sketches of Cairness House by James Playfair (see factsheet, 'Architectural resources in Special Collections')

Gateway from series of plans, drawings and sketches of Cairness House by James Playfair (see ‘Architectural resources in Special Collections’ factsheet)

A major expansion in resource discovery has been rolled out by Special Collections, with the completion of over 40 new collection factsheets. The new factsheets are organised into sections: Introductory, Media, Subject and by Geographical Area.

Examples include:

By Media type – Map and plan resources
By Subject – Ecclesiastical, Literary, Slave Trade, Transport and WW II resources
By Geographical Area – Old Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands and resources relating to the Circumpolar regions

All factsheets act as brief introductions to subject areas and cover the main relevant collections accessible via Special Collections, both from archives and rare books. They are also embedded with archive catalogue hyperlinks as well as providing additional information on related printed reference works and external web resources.

Check them out here – http://bit.ly/sccfactsheets. They are also available via the main ‘Library Guides’ section of the Library website.

Andrew MacGregor
Deputy Archivist
andrew.macgregor@abdn.ac.uk

Library talk tomorrow: William Elphinstone and Scotland’s First Books

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elphinstoneIf you are Interested in the history of books and the history of the University of Aberdeen you are in for a treat tomorrow evening. In conjunction with the Special Collections Centre’s current exhibition, Elphinstone: Renaissance in the North, there will be a talk tomorrow evening (26 February) by Professor Jane Stevenson, Regius Chair of Humanity, in the Seminar Room on the lower ground floor of The Sir Duncan Rice Library.

The talk begins by asking ‘what is an early Scottish book’? After a brief look at the history of books in Scotland, Professor Stevenson will turn to a consideration of the first Scots to be involved with printing and publication, and the involvement of Bishop Elphinstone with Scotland’s first press. The talk will also look at Elphinstone as an author and a book-owner.

The hour-long talk will begin at 6pm tomorrow evening and there is no booking required. Further details available here.

Ewan Grant, e.grant@abdn.ac.uk

Food and Drink Pilot at the University of Aberdeen Libraries

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Good news! The University of Aberdeen libraries are trialling a new food and drink policy that gives you more freedom to snack as you study. The pilot will operate from Monday 19th January to Friday 22nd May, 2015. During this period:

✓ Cold food can be consumed at study tables in designated areas in all our libraries

✓ Hot and cold drinks in covered containers are allowed in most areas within the libraries

Please note that food and drink are not permitted in the Special Collections Centre or Gallery.

The good news is that there are now many areas within the libraries where you can eat and drink, but please respect your fellow library users and help us maintain a clean and tidy environment by:

✓ Cleaning up after yourself

✓ Using the appropriate bins and cleaning equipment provided

✓ Reporting any problems to staff on duty in person or by phone –
The Sir Duncan Rice Library: 01224 273330, Medical Library: 01224 437870, Taylor Library: 01224 272601

To maintain a pleasant study environment please observe the following restrictions:

X  No hot food anywhere in the libraries

X  No smelly or noisy cold food

X  No food in silent study areas, project rooms, and rooms or areas with equipment (PC Classrooms, PC Clusters, Co-Labs, Flexible Learning Area, Microform Room, Multimedia Room, Music Resources Room, Viewing Room)

Please disregard any ‘no food and drink’ signs in the lifts and on floor plans in The Sir Duncan Rice Library during the pilot period.

We welcome your feedback! Please contact us at:
The Sir Duncan Rice Library: library@abdn.ac.uk
Medical Library: medill@abdn.ac.uk
Taylor Library: lawlib@abdn.ac.uk

Diane Bruxvoort
University Librarian & Director

Over 30,000 Early Modern works now available online

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These are exciting times for researchers! Our library service can now offer access to Early European Books: a new collection of digitised documents from the dawn of the printed book, putting extraordinary resources from the Renaissance at your fingertips. The collection comprises over 30,000 works, including 18,000 books and 4.9 million pages dating from 1450-1700 on topics including alchemy, art, botany, early medicine, philosophy, poetry, science, and theology.

Its publishers, Proquest, describe their database as “the most comprehensive digitized collection of rare books and incunabula available anywhere online. Over 30,000 works are currently included, with new titles added regularly. No other online source offers early modernists such a wide survey of the print output of Europe from 1450-1700, removing the need for lengthy research trips and saving valuable travel time and budget.”

They describe how this new interface “offers users a research experience as close as possible to actually being with the book. Researchers can see every page and feature rendered on screen in fine, crisp images. Meticulous indexing and specialist search fields ensure relevant results are returned each time.”

The project is being developed in partnership with a host of major European libraries including the National Libraries of Florence, France, and the Netherlands, the Royal Library in Denmark and the Wellcome Library, London, with more libraries expected to join the program.

See the Proquest website for more information: http://www.proquest.com/products-services/eeb.html