Libraries and decolonisation: a conference report

By Alice Corble and Danny Millum

A couple of weeks ago we attended the ‘Decolonising the curriculum –the Library’s role’ conference at Goldsmiths, at which Alice was speaking. Given that the University of Sussex Library is in the process of formulating its own approach to decolonisation, and that this is both an extremely important and yet often frustratingly vague topic, we thought colleagues might be interested in a quick report.

Conference presenters. Photo credit: @ElizabethECharl on Twitter
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The Wiley warehouse

by Clare Playforth

I’ve recently had an exciting visit to the Wiley European Distribution Centre with the Society of Indexers and because I am kind and you are lucky I’m going to share the experience here.

The Wiley warehouse is spread over a couple of units on an industrial estate in Bognor Regis and after arriving at this glamourous location we were treated to pastries and coffee and a chat about the history of the company: quite interesting. Then we donned our high vis and went on a 2.5 hour tour of the warehouse: very interesting.

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My office jungle

For Environment Week the Library Green Group has taken over the Library’s social media, and invited Jules Bristow to blog about her office plants.

A selection of plants in small pots on a sunny windowsill.

I have a confession to make. The admin office was expensively renovated last summer to give us more space and a more logical way of integrating the team, but my favourite part of it remains my long sunny windowsill.

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Mindful tech for Higher Education: digital solutions to our digital problems

As it’s Stress Awareness Month, we thought we’d re-post this great piece from our own Antony Groves on Mindful Tech in HE.

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by Antony Groves

Freshers’ Week is on the horizon, signalling the Autumn term will soon begin, and that some of us will shortly enter the busiest time of our working year. While we are planning how best to support our new and returning students, we should also consider our own wellbeing. One way of grounding ourselves during this busy period is mindfulness. If our days are a chain of events, mindfulness encourages us to focus on one link at a time.

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We Were Hardcore: The Only Way is Reference Only

by Rachel Bramley

Last month I realised that we’d approached an important anniversary.  No, not the Beast from the East (thank you Google), but Reference Only books.  In the spirit of good project practice, and customer service excellence, I thought it would be fun* to have a review of the outcomes, one year on.  But first, some background.

* I don’t get out as much as I used to.

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Karl Marx and The Jewish Question through the eyes of Julius Carlebach

by Morwenna Silver

Morwenna Silver volunteered at The Keep last year, helping to catalogue the donation of Julius Carlebach’s papers to the German-Jewish Archive. Here she writes about Carlebach’s reading of Marx, what constitutes antisemitism, and the power of language in a politically unstable culture.

More info on the Carlebach collection can be found on The Keep’s website:

http://www.thekeep.info/collections/getrecord/GB181_SxMs92

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Julius Carlebach had the most extraordinary life. Born in Hamburg in 1922, he and his sister escaped the Nazis via the Kindertransport. He was a sailor in the Royal Navy, and went on to manage a Jewish orphanage in Norwood in South London and then served as a rabbi in Kenya. Also an accomplished academic, he was a research student at the University of Cambridge, and taught at the University of Bristol before he eventually became Associate Professor of Sociology and Israel studies at the University of Sussex.  A vast collection of Carlebach’s correspondence, academic papers and research notes has recently been donated to the German-Jewish Archive at The Keep by Carlebach’s family. Continue reading