Blog Archives

Weetabix Trifle and beyond…

Back issues of Woman's Own magazine

By Rose Lock  Women’s magazines. Trivial, eh? Just a collection of inconsequential articles on how to keep your man happy, patterns for knitted shorts, vile make-do-type recipes, and adverts for lipsticks and washing powder.  Well, yes, all of these things

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Posted in Special Collections, The Keep, The Library, Uncategorised

Introduction to the University of Sussex Rare Book collections

A person opening pages of 'The birds of America'. Each page appears to be about the size of their arm.

We are lucky at the University of Sussex Special Collections to have a number of fabulous and varied rare book collections, which are now part of the wonderful collections held at The Keep. As well as individual researchers ordering in our reading room, academics from Sussex and other universities use the books to teach their courses, running seminars in our education rooms where the students can get first-hand experience of handling rare volumes.

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Theatre and Academia Series: How the Library Enhances Your Performing Arts Education

People sitting in a theatre. The image is taken from behind, facing the stage.

by Helena MacCormack

As someone who has studied performing arts for years, I understand the unique journey that drama students embark upon. Theatre is a vibrant, living art form where practice and creativity take centre stage. However, there is a misconception that theatre students exist in opposition to academia due to the practical nature of their degrees. While practical work is at the core of theatre studies, academic research plays a crucial role in shaping your perspective as a theatre practitioner. This post marks the first of a series which will detail 5 ways in which the Library’s resources can provide academic grounding to your theatre studies, with plenty of recommendations.

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#1Lib1Ref

An orange background with the text: 1 Librarian + 1 Reference = Better access to knowledge for all and a drawing of an owl with a computer mouse in it's beak

Most of us use Wikipedia every day to find out about the music of Ennio Morricone, the United States voting system or Extreme ironing (yes, extreme ironing). As much as students are dissuaded from using it, Wikipedia is one of the first places used when researching a new topic. A surprising number of people use Wikipedia healthcare information. In fact, a US study found that a large number of medical students used Wikipedia (67%), however, 65% did not know how to correct mistakes. [citation needed] When so much misinformation has become the fabric of public discourse, the need for accurate, up to date information with high quality sources is more important than ever. And you, dear librarians and library assistants, can help.

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The Power of Poetry and Living Libraries for Decolonial Dialogue

Jenny Mitchell and Erin James in conversation at The Power of Poetry and Living Libraries event

Reposted on from Decolonial Maps of Library Learning blog 31 October 2023 by Alice Corble. As Black History Month draws to a close (yet Black History must continue to be shared) and I adjust to the turn of the season and new positions, I

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Posted in Black History Month, Uncategorised

Trade union material in the University of Sussex Legacy Collection

Several trade union activists gather in the Barlow room to look at a selection of trade union materials from the BLDS legacy collection in Sussex Library

The University of Sussex’s Legacy Collection is unquestionably a treasure trove of rare and unique pamphlets, fliers, newsletters, grey literature and other ephemera, the majority of which was collected between the 1960s and the 1990s. According to David Kennelly, a

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Collections reading group

By Richard Wragg – Collections Manager For the last few months, the Collections Team have been meeting for a reading group. The texts we have chosen to discuss have all had a focus on decolonisation, equality and diversity. The reading

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Posted in BLDS (British Library for Development Studies), Collection Development, Collections, IDS, Legacy collection, MO (Mass Observation), Special Collections, The Keep, Uncategorised, UOSH (Unlocking Our Sound Heritage)

House bound

By Lisa Towner – Collection Development Library Assistant (and bookbinder extraordinaire) When bookmaking during lockdown I think about a book by Mark Williams and Danny Penman, Mindfulness a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world. Making books has

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Posted in Collection Development, Uncategorised