Taking place from 1st to 24th December 2019 – Explore Edinburgh’s hidden gems through the doors of a real-life Advent Calendar. Each day a unique Edinburgh location will open its doors to the public. Discover bookish locations such as: National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh Printmakers, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre.
Librarians Uncorked
The Ghosts of Librarians Past: Decolonising Library Collections and Classifying Dewey as Cancelled
Thursday 14th November 5.30 – 7.00 pm, Brewhemia Prosecco Bar, Edinburgh
Librarians Uncorked is back and in this session we will be discussing what role libraries should be playing in the decolonisation of knowledge, through diversifying collections and by becoming a more inclusive profession: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2019/10/04/how-to-decolonise-the-library/
What are the ethical implications for libraries in addressing unnerving revelations that classification titan Melvil Dewey held a collection of unsavoury views on subjects of race, women’s roles and religion? Recently this spooked the American Library Association into changing the name of one of its top leadership honours: https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/09/melvil-dewey-american-library-association-award-name-change.html
Is it the role of librarians to exorcise our haunting legacy issues or should we accept it would take something supernatural to transform established collecting habits?
Unlike some of our librarian forefathers, we welcome all interested parties! Librarians Uncorked is a safe space where opinions can be aired, library issues worked through and professional connections made.
I know that not everyone who’d like to follow ELISA is able to access the blog (for whatever reason). I am also aware that our new, post-GDPR mailing-list has been somewhat underused so far. However, I think I’ve got a solution to both of those issues.
I did a bit of investigating this week and (I hope) I’ve found a way to push new blog posts out via the Mailchimp list!
I don’t want to overwhelm or annoy anyone with multi-mails, therefore I’ve opted for a weekly mailing which should include any new posts from the previous week (if there are no new posts there should not be any emails…as far as I can tell).
The first update should be in your inboxes tomorrow morning (Friday). I’d welcome any feedback or comments on this idea. I am always open to change and adaptation.
If you would prefer to receive your ELISA updates in this way, you can sign up to the mailing list here
Five years ago, on the 24th September 2014, the very first post was published on ELISA’s shiny new blog.
Happy Blogiversary ELISA peeps!
Could you use these Special Collections boxes?
New College Library has loads of them (size: 16.5cm W x 24.5cm H x 5cm D) FREE to a good home. Interested parties must collect but can come to see them before they decide.
It would be a shame to throw in the bin.
If you want them contact:
Margaret Redpath
Library Services Manager
New College Library
University of Edinburgh
Margaret.Redpath@ed.ac.uk
Two job opportunities have arisen at the Advocates Library:
The closing date for both vacancies is: 5pm on Friday 27 September 2019
That one lady looks very suspicious of the “miniature musicians” 😀
We’ve published some wonderful pictures of the early days of the festival on Capital Collections. This mini-exhibition is a set of black and white promotional images dated 1949, when the festival was still in its infancy.
In 1947, following the devastation of World War Two, the International Festival of Music and Drama in Edinburgh aimed to unite people through a shared experience of art and culture, to “provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit”. The city staged a major international cultural event, showcasing first-rate performances of classical music, dance, opera and theatre.
Since this time, the original festival has grown and flourished and spawned and inspired other festivals held during August and throughout the year.
Seventy years later, Edinburgh continues to welcome the world to the greatest arts festival.
View the full set of Edinburgh Festival 1949 photographs on Capital Collections.
