Euclid – 1st printed edition

The Special Collections Team has been busy since the last newsletter, teaching or supporting over 30 undergraduate and graduate classes, running Connected Curriculum projects with BASc, Geography, History and Scandinavian Studies students, and working with our conservators to prepare student-led exhibitions on the history of paper and books for the new Senate House Hub, for which UCL student volunteers have worked alongside conservation interns from Camberwell College of the Arts. Preparations for future events include contributions to exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection and the Globe Theatre, an anniversary exhibition on the Spanish Civil War held in Spain, and our own exhibitions and events programme listed below.

Recent cataloguing activities have taken in mathematical works from the Graves Collection  including an engineering treatise from 1775 offering advice on fortifying rivers, which might perhaps have been of use as floods hit the UK this January; a copy of the catalogue from the international Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park in 1851 (STRONG ROOM TEMP 2016/1-3); and a file of correspondence from 1959 between leading writers of the day on a petition to The Times urging the publication of Lolita in uncensored form (from the recently catalogued Wollheim Papers). You can read elsewhere in this newsletter about progress on our Jewish Pamphlets project.

This term also saw secondary-school pupils working with a professional author through the charity First Story to write short stories and poetry inspired by our collections. Participants handled a goatskin to understand the parchment of medieval manuscripts, and saw some of the very first Western printed books from UCL’s large incunabula collection. The results included some outstanding writing, including one piece written from the perspective of a medieval book in which the book appreciated being made of parchment because the slight furriness of the animal skin had kept the book warm during its many centuries living in cold libraries. Another piece offered a slick sales pitch, as if from an Early Modern printer, trying to persuade readers to favour the new technology of printing and brand-new portable format of the Early Modern octavo book over the non-portable medieval manuscript, five years in the making, highly expensive, and requiring an arduous journey to a chained library to be read. Feedback from the pupils included comments such as ‘I didn’t realise the significance, importance and value of books, I used to feel like when people said ‘what’s the big deal about books’ I understood why that could be seen as rude, but I didn’t understand how much until today’, indicating how important such sessions are for the school-aged generation to value our historic book collections in the future.

To see some of our collections up close, try the exhibitions and events below.

UCL Special Collections Calendar

Events

From Devilry to Divinity: Readings in the Divina Commedia

Tuesdays 23 February, 1 and 8 March, 1-2pm, The Warburg Institute, Woburn Square, WC1H 0AB
– There is still time to catch readings and talks on Paradise from Dante’s Divine Comedy, given by John Took (UCL Professor of Dante Studies), Alessandro Scafi (Warburg Institute Lecturer in Medieval and Renaissance Cultural History) and Tabitha Tuckett (UCL Rare-Books Librarian) to complement exploration of UCL Special Collections’ outstanding Dante Collection.

How Dante’s Divine Comedy came into print

Wednesday 9 March, 6-7.30pm, Malet Place, UCL, WC1E 7JG (venue to be confirmed)
– Tabitha Tuckett (UCL Rare-Books Librarian) and Andrea del Corno (The London Library) will use incunabula from UCL’s Dante Collection, and discussion of the first printed edition of the Divina Commedia held in the British Library, to illustrate the political, regional and national factors that caused Dante’s medieval masterpiece of Italian poetry to survive in Italy in the late 1400s through the innovative technology of printing. For more details, email marta.niccolai@ucl.ac.uk

The Life of Moses Gaster in 10 Objects

Tuesday 22 March, 1-2pm, Room 417, DMS Watson Science Library, Malet Place, UCL, WC1E 7JG
– Vanessa Freedman (UCL Hebrew & Jewish Studies Librarian) and Gabriel Pogrund (UCL Geography student) will use 10 objects from the Gaster Archive to illustrate the life of the remarkable Rabbi Dr Moses Gaster (1856-1939), rabbi, Zionist leader and polymath and a key figure in the Anglo-Jewish community of the late 19th and early 20th century. To reserve a free place, email t.tuckett@ucl.ac.uk.

Exhibitions

Dangerous diaries: exploring risks and rewards in fabrication

A range of rare material, from medieval manuscripts to radio-active lab notes
Octagon Gallery, UCL Gower Street, London, until mid-February 2016

Uncovering UCL’s Jewish Pamphlets collections

Five exhibits from recently catalogued material, including a micrographic illustration of Jerusalem
Main Library, UCL Gower Street, London, until 29 February 2016

750 years of Dante

A small selection of illustrated editions from UCL’s outstanding collection of rare editions of Dante’s Divine Comedy as part of the 750th anniversary of Dante’s birth
Main Library, UCL Gower Street, London, 3 March-15 September 2016

Fair play and foul: connecting with Shakespeare at UCL

Dictionaries, forgeries and school aids marking the Shakespeare400 anniversary of 2016.
Main Library, UCL Gower Street, London, until 15 December 2016

Medical Treasures

Examples of the range of Special Collections’ medical material, from the first illustration of a leg amputation through Vesalius’ ground-breaking Renaissance anatomy textbook to more recent cartoons
UCL Cruciform Hub, Gower Street, London. Permanent.

What is paper? What is a book? What is the difference between a physical and an e-book? Student projects on the history of the book.

Research-based projects put together by students volunteering with UCL Special Collections, illustrating their tools, techniques, and thoughts on using rare books and archives alongside digitised and e books.
UCL Senate House Hub, 3rd floor Senate House, Malet Street, London, from 29 February 2016 (access to UCL staff and students only)

Dr. Tabitha Tuckett, Rare-Books Librarian
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New Research Grid in the Science Library Opens to Graduate Students

On February 1st the new Research Grid opened its doors to graduates. Already proving to be hugely popular, the new learning space on the 4th floor of the Science Library provides graduates with state of the art study facilities for collaborative research and project work, and areas for more private study.

Designed by Burwell Deakins Architects the spacious 74-seat study suite is equipped with many features requested by graduate students during consultation at the design stage. The new Grid has refreshment facilities, a hot drinks vending machine and a bank of graduate lockers for students to use for belongings. Audio visual facilities in the new Grid have been improved to allow large groups to present their research, while a meeting room, which can accommodate up to 6 users, can be booked for smaller collaborative sessions. Wifi provision in the space has also been extensively upgraded.

New facilities:

• Private Skype point.
• 24 all-in-one Desktop PCs.
• Hot drinks vending machine and a hot water point for tea and coffee.
• Graduate lockers.
• Graduate meeting room.
• Areas for social study and individual study.
• Print/copy/scan.

Prof David Bogle Pro-Vice-Provost of the Doctoral School said:-

“I would like to congratulate Library Services on behalf of the research student community for the great new Research Grid. It is light and spacious with many more desks than the previous facility. Particularly impressive are the large screen AV facilities and provision of an area for communicating with collaborators by Skype. I encourage all research students to have a look – and to use it.”

Construction starts on the New Student Centre

From February 2016, construction of the New Student Centre will begin work continues on Transforming UCL. This exciting project will deliver a new 1,000-seat learning hub for UCL at the heart of the Bloomsbury campus. It will include a central Student & Registry Services desk providing information and support to students enrolled on programmes of study at UCL and UCL alumni. The learning spaces, ranging from quiet individual seats to group working rooms and media suites, will be managed by UCL Library Services. Opening in 2018, the New Student Centre will establish UCL as the most exciting university in the world to study and work, fulfilling the vision set in UCL 2034.

During the period of construction, which begins with the demolition of an external staircase, there will be significant disruption, particularly for users of the UCL Main Library. UCL is working closely with contractors Mace to minimise noise and vibration generated by the work. Additional study space is being provided in the UCL Senate House Hub and current students can find additional information from Library Services on where to study.

Sarah Custard, Library Buildings Assistant

UCL Library Services staff were centre-stage this week at the UCL Professional Services conference. And rightly so.

On Tuesday 2nd February 2016, UCL President and Provost, Professor Michael Arthur, presented the 2016 UCL Professional Services Values Awards. Rex Knight, as Vice-Provost (Operations) read out the nominations for each award. The categories mirror Professional Services’ values:

• Mutual respect
• Excellent service
• Collaboration
• Empowered
• Innovation

One value which resonates particularly strongly with the mission of Library Services is:
Excellent service…putting UCL’s goals and customer needs first by working in partnership.

This award category was highly competitive with around 20 entries from across UCL contending. I was delighted that the winners were the Main and Science daytime and Evening/Saturday teams, led by Breege Whiten. A number of award-winning colleagues received the award in person from the Provost.

It was my privilege to highlight some of the team’s achievements in this area. Since the introduction of self-service in the UCL Main and Science Libraries, the front-line teams have transformed their services to deliver a wider range of support, placing customer satisfaction at the heart of what they do. The quality of service has remained consistently excellent through a period of tremendous organisational change. This award is highly-deserved recognition for Breege and the entire team’s dedication to providing service with a smile.

We will be working through 2016 towards gaining Customer Service Excellence accreditation for UCL Library Services, as part of our work towards delivering the User Experience goals set in the Library Strategy and UCL 2034. It is immensely encouraging to start the year with such an accolade from the Provost. I would like to end with a quote from a student, which I read out in the citation for the award:

“The staff ‘have been incredibly friendly and gone far beyond their required services to help me. I don’t think my studies would be half as successful without their support and enthusiasm.’”

Well done to the winners of the 2016 UCL Professional Services “Excellent service” Award!”

Benjamin Meunier, Assistant Director (Public Services)

We are delighted to announce that Phase 2 of the Uncovering UCL’s Jewish Pamphlet Collections project will begin shortly, following a successful grant application. This phase will focus on conserving and digitising our rich collection of Jewish pamphlets, as well as completing the cataloguing of the most significant collections begun in phase 1.

Phase 1 of the project included a conservation survey, which revealed that over 1,500 items need conservation work: around 300 of these are in very poor condition. A professional conservator, assisted by trained volunteers, will ensure that the pamphlets are preserved for the future and safe to handle.

We want to make this important collection accessible to scholars all over the world, so we will be producing 4,000 high-quality digital images of the most significant items. These include pamphlets on Zionism, Anglo-Jewish history, sermons, orders of service for special occasions, and much more. Anyone will be able to view the digitised pamphlets in our digital gallery.

While cataloguing the pamphlets in the first phase of the project we came across many fascinating items, such as:

• A pamphlet from 1705, The agreement of the customs of the East-Indians, with those of the Jews, and other ancient people: being the first essay of this kind, towards the explaining of several difficult passages in Scripture, and some of the most ancient writers, by the present Oriental customs … To which are added instructions to the young gentlemen that intend to travel. This probably belonged to James Harris, the 1st Earl of Malmesbury and has a leather binding with his coat of arms in gilt. (SR MOCATTA PAMPHLETS BOX 1)
• A service of thanksgiving for Queen Victoria’s survival from an assassination attempt in 1840. (MOCATTA BOUND PAMPHLETS vol.112 no.9)
• A 1917 pamphlet with a stamp of the Aliens Detention Camp in Knockaloe on the Isle of Man. Tens of thousands of ‘enemy aliens’ were interned here during the First World War – see this article from the Independent’s ‘History of the First World War in 100 moments’ series. (MOCATTA BOXED PAMPHLETS B 20 ROT)
• A souvenir in Yiddish commemorating the Battle of Britain, in aid of the RAF Benevolent Fund. (MOCATTA BOXED PAMPHLETS A 103 JEW)

For more highlights, and news of the project, keep an eye on the Hebrew & Jewish Studies blog

A few items from the collection, including one that has already undergone a complicated process of conservation, are on display outside the Donaldson Room in the Main Library until the end of February.

Vanessa Freedman, Hebrew & Jewish Studies Librarian

UCL Library Services is improving support for researchers in a number of areas of the research lifecycle, in line with the goals of our Library Strategy (2015-18). One of these areas is support for bibliometrics and we are delighted to announce the launch of our new bibliometrics web pages.

Bibliometrics is analysis of research based on citation counts and patterns. The measures used are also commonly referred to as bibliometrics, or citation metrics.

The web pages bring together information to support UCL researchers, students and other staff with an interest in bibliometrics for informing research, supporting applications for funding or jobs, or comparing research output with other groups or institutions. They include information on:-

• what bibliometrics are
• different types of bibliometrics
• UCL’s policy on the use of bibliometrics and their relevance in the wider context
• information on bibliometrics support and training available at UCL and beyond

For further information, guidance or support on making use of bibliometrics please contact us by emailing bibliometrics@ucl.ac.uk. The bibliometrics web pages will continue to be developed and expanded and we welcome any suggestions or feedback.

Angela Young, Sarah Lawson, Grazia Manzotti, Kate Brunskill and Anna di Iorio on behalf of the Bibliometrics Working Group

Last Summer, the number of UCL libraries offering Self-service issue and return facilities using Radio-Frequency technology expanded to include:

• UCL Institute of Child Health Library
• Joint Library of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital & UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
• Royal Free Hospital Medical Library
• UCL School of Pharmacy Library
• UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies Library (SSEES)

Following the successful launch of RFID technology at libraries located near the central Bloomsbury UCL campus in 2014, Self-service facilities are now available in the majority of our libraries. This is in part owing to our ongoing commitment to support extended opening hours across many of our sites. Indeed at libraries with 24-hours access such as the Main Library, the Science Library, the SSEES Library and the Cruciform Hub, the introduction of this technology has enabled readers to borrow and return material whenever the buildings are open.

Self-service facilities also allow for a much faster and more efficient way of borrowing and returning books. Not only does it mean less queueing to be served at the desk, but it also frees up Library staff time from routine transactions so they can answer your queries and provide help elsewhere.

Following the successful launch of these services across the majority of UCL libraries over the last two years, we are now committed to making this technology universally available across our entire family of libraries by the start of the 2016/17 academic session.

Please visit our dedicated Self-service webpage for news of our latest installations.

In the coming weeks and months you will also find information here on the upcoming roll-out of self-service across our remaining sites – the UCL Ear Institute & Action on Hearing Loss Libraries; the UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square Library; and the UCL Institute of Orthopaedics Library – and also details of the changes that will be made to Self-service at the UCL Institute of Education Library to bring it in line with the rest of UCL.

Robert Pinckney, Head of Photocopying and Shelving Services

Staff at Queen Square Library, Archive and Museum have made a short video to raise awareness of their services and resources. The video includes interviews with Library users alongside footage of the Library environment and Archive materials, and we gratefully acknowledge the support of students and staff of Queen Square who took part.

We also have a new film linked to the staff equality and diversity strand of our current strategy.

Students! Reading Week is an ideal time for you to catch up on suggested reading and prepare for assignments. Online reading lists offer a quick and easy way to look back over the tailored list of resources your department has provided for your module.

ReadingLists@UCL have had a fantastic response from undergraduates and postgraduates alike, with both enjoying the easily accessible resources all in one place. Students say:

“This service is brilliant and has been really helpful”

“Very useful tool… made looking for books so much easier”

“Good because you can link through to a text directly”

Core readings often link to full-text e-journal articles, e-books or digitised readings (from our Course Readings Service). Lists can contain a variety of other resources, including film or TV clips, online training tutorials with Lynda.com, professional body webpages, image database resources… or simply further reading in a traditional bibliography format. Where books are in the library, there are links to Explore so you can see immediately whether the book is on the shelf or place a reservation if it is on loan.

Tutors can add notes to guide you, or tags to show which are essential readings. Lists can be sorted by importance or resource-type, for example to pull out essential readings or film clips. You can also add your own private notes (remember to sign in first!), or export citations, ready to use in EndNote, Zotero or any other bibliographic management tool you use. Perhaps most importantly you can re-format the list into a different citation style, invaluable when referencing your sources. This year more citation styles were added, as requested by departments, and we welcome feedback on other developments you would like to see.

Find reading lists for your courses through Moodle via a link in the ‘Library resources’ block. You can also search the ReadingLists@UCL Homepage by module code or title, by your lecturer’s name if they have added this, or browse by department. Find more information on the student information webpage for reading lists or contact your Subject or Site Librarian.

Many academics have been won over by the system. An academic new to UCL was struggling to find time to produce digitised readings for her first class. We helped by providing copyright compliant versions of the scans, linked to her online reading list: “You are truly a heroic library team! Thank you so much for going above and beyond!”. Benefits for teaching staff include the ability to update readings and publish immediately, and a flexible layout. Once set up, you take ownership and can share editing rights with colleagues.

Some departments have been quick to seize this easy way of improving student satisfaction: Political Science, the Development Planning Unit and the Institute of Neurology were among the first departments to create online lists for 100% of their taught courses. To help meet students’ needs the UCL Library Services Strategy 2015-18 plans to support the take-up of ReadingLists@UCL across all departments.

Comments such as “Can I have a list for my other modules?” are not uncommon, so we urge academics and support staff to get in touch for further information or request a list; alternatively, drop in to a hands-on session to find out more!

Sandra Bamborough & Hazel Ingrey