Opening of the Kosterlitz Centre for Therapeutics – 16th September 2010
A selection of archive material relating to Hans Kosterlitz (1903-1996) was put on display at the Suttie Centre, Foresterhill to accompany a lecture and reception marking the official opening of the Kosterlitz Centre for Therapeutics.
Hans Kosterlitz began his career as a research assistant in the Department of Medicine, University of Berlin from 1928-1934. He joined the University of Aberdeen in 1934 as assistant to J.J.R. Macleod (1876-1935), Regius Professor of Physiology, and remained here until his death in 1996. He rose to the position of reader in the Department of Physiology, 1955-68, and subsequently became Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology, 1968-73, and latterly, Professor Emeritus and Director of the Unit for Research on Addictive Drugs.
His early work focused on clinical radiology, galactosemia and nutrition, but it was through his later research on the autonomic nervous system and narcotic drugs that he achieved worldwide acclaim. His discovery in 1975 of enkephalins earned him fellowship of the Royal Society in 1978 and revolutionised research into the effects of addictive drugs on humans.
Items on display included correspondence from J.J.R. Macleod, Professor of Physiology to Hans Kosterlitz concerning the possibility of Kosterlitz joining his department in Aberdeen in 1933 (MS 3682/7/9/1) and Kosterlitz’s thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Science at the University of Aberdeen, Department of Physiology in 1944 (MS 3682/7/4). The online catalogue to the papers of Hans Kosterlitz can be viewed here.
Doors Open Day – 11th September 2010
For the third consecutive year, Special Libraries and Archives opened its doors to the public as part of the national Doors Open Day scheme allowing people to see behind the scenes of some fascinating buildings.
Staff provided four guided tours to almost 70 people, allowing access to the stores and a display of material from the collections. This was the last time a tour of Special Libraries and Archives would take place as next summer the archives moves to a new purpose built Library currently under construction. We hope to see you there next year! http://www.abdn.ac.uk/newlibrary/
Summer Training sessions on Disaster Planning - 14th July and 18th August 2010
As part of the Library and Historic Collections Summer Training programme, staff from Special Libraries held two sessions focussing on how to respond effectively in the event of a disaster such as flooding or fire. This followed a training course held at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh on the 10th February 2010 attended by Michelle Gait, Reading Room Manager, and Paul Logie, Archives Assistant. The course was hosted by Emma Dadson of Harwell Document Restoration Services and covered the importance of having a disaster plan in place, the immediate steps that should be taken in the initial stages of a disaster and how to conserve and handle damaged archive material. The session allowed individuals to consider the practical implications of a potential disaster and ensured that all members of staff felt confident in handling a disaster situation.
The British Society for the History of Science Conference – 22-25th July 2010
As part of the 2010 BSHS Annual Meeting held at the University of Aberdeen, Siobhán Convery, Head of Special Libraries and Archives, Neil Curtis, Head of Museums and Jenny Downes, Curator (Science Collections), took part in a round table discussion in the Old Senate Room centred on the scientific treasures from the archive and museum collections. These included items relating to Patrick Copland (1749-1822), Professor of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College, 1775 to 1779 and (after a period as Professor of Mathematics) 1817-1822. Further information on Copland can be found on the Collection Highlight web pages. Information on some of the scientific instruments cared for as part of the natural philosophy museum collection can be found here.
Family History Fairs – 10th and 31st July 2010
Staff from Special Libraries & Archives took part in two family history fairs in July. Siobhán Convery, Head of Special Libraries and Paul Logie, Archives Assistant, attended a successful family history fair at Crathes Castle on the 10th July. Visitors were able to explore their ancestral roots in the North-East and in particular their connections with previous graduates of the University and Siobhán delivered a talk on the resources available at Special Libraries and Archives to those interested in researching their family history.
Andrew MacGregor, Deputy Archivist and Michelle Gait, Reading Room Manager, were also in attendance at a similar event held at the Town House as part of the annual Tartan Day celebrations on the 31st July.
Other organisations taking part included Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives, Northern Health Services Archive, Aberdeen City Library Local Studies Department and Aberdeenshire Library and Information Service, Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society, Aberdeenshire Museums Service and Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Registrars.
Lady of the Lake exhibition – 8th May – 4th June 2010
An exhibition celebrating the bicentenary of the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake was opened to the public during the summer in the Old Town House in Old Aberdeen.
On display were books from the Bernard C. Lloyd Walter Scott Collection which was purchased by the University with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2002, including a first edition of Scott’s work. Visitors were also able to view art work, sheet music and literature associated with Scott’s publication, including the work of artist’s such as Richard Westall (1765-1836), who produced illustrations for later editions of The Lady of the Lake.
The exhibition was co-curated by staff from Library & Historic Collections and Emeritus Professor David Hewitt and Dr. Alison Lumsden from the School of Language and Literature.
WORD – 13th May 2010
As part of the WORD University of Aberdeen Writers Festival, Special Libraries and Archives hosted two school workshops entitled ‘Patriotism, Privations and Peace’. Siobhán Convery, Head of Special Libraries and Archives, and Laura Castle, Collections Assistant, took part in a workshop with poet Ken Cockburn for pupils from the International School and Mearns Academy.
The focus of the workshop was World War 1 and in particular the correspondence of Amelia Laws (MS 3290/2). Amelia Laws (1886-1978) was the daughter of Robert Laws (1851-1934), leader of the Free Church (later United Free Church) of Scotland's Livingstonia Mission in northern Malawi and north-eastern Zambia from 1878 until 1927. She worked as a nurse and physiotherapist in Europe during the First World War, later practising osteopathy in London and Edinburgh.
The students were asked to think about some of the individuals mentioned in her notebook and letters and shown in photographs and to write a short piece of poetry based around what their experiences may have been like during the war.
Feedback from the event was very positive, with students and teachers commenting that they found the session educational and fun.
Event to celebrate sponsorship of new Photography Archive Room by Aberdeen Harbour Board - 22nd April 2010
On the evening of the 22nd April an event was held to mark the Aberdeen Harbour Board’s generous gift of £170,000 towards the new Photography Archive Room in the Special Collections Centre of the University’s new library, due to be opened in September 2011.
This gift will facilitate the re-housing and cataloguing of the University’s extensive photographic collections and will enable them to be stored in environmentally controlled stores. The Aberdeen Harbour Photographic Collection contains more than 6,000 glass plate negatives dating from the 1880s to the 1930s and includes images of Aberdeen harbour, the city of Aberdeen and the surrounding area. The photographs, which record notable events in the history of the port, were taken by the Board’s engineering staff.
Chairman of Aberdeen Harbour Board, Keith Allan and former principal of the University of Aberdeen, Professor Sir Duncan Rice spoke at the event which was held in the King’s College Conference Centre. Siobhán Convery, Andrew MacGregor and Laura Castle were in attendance from Special Libraries and Archives and displayed photographs from the collection to the invited audience. Further information can be found at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/details-7939.php
Capturing the Energy Seminar and Film Event - 15th April 2010
Pictured are Miles Oglethorpe of Historic Scotland, Brian Nixon, Chief Executive of Decommissioning North Sea, Christine Jones of TOTAL E&P UK , George Mackenzie, Keeper of the Records of Scotland, the Lord and Lady Provost of Aberdeen and Professor Alex Kemp of the University of Aberdeen.Archivists, researchers and experts came together for a special event to discuss the importance of recording the history of the energy industry. The seminar brought together 40 experts to discuss practical and professional issues involved in documenting activities in the oil and gas industry. The seminar was developed to mark the fourth anniversary of the founding of Capturing the Energy, a project co-led by the University of Aberdeen, Special Libraries & Archives department, to work with companies to ensure the management and eventual archiving of their key records for the benefit of current research and future generations. Speakers included George Mackenzie, Keeper of the Records of Scotland, Professor Alex Kemp of the University of Aberdeen and Siobhán Convery, Head of Special Libraries and Archives.
The seminar was followed by a reception and a film night where a selection of films from the National Library of Scotland’s Scottish Screen Archive, depicting the history of the oil and gas industry, were screened. Comperes for the night were Brian Nixon, Chief Executive of Decommissioning North Sea and Professor John Hume from the University of Ulster. The evening was well attended and attendees included the Lord Provost of Aberdeen and Lewis MacDonald MSP.
‘An Inspector Called: John Bisset Chapman and literary Britain’ talk - 9th March 2010
Keith O’Sullivan, Senior Rare Books Librarian, addressed the Friends of Aberdeen University Library, on the subject of Aberdeen graduate John Bisset Chapman (1875-1949) and his personal library. Chapman spent much of his career in London, and befriended many prominent literary figures, including H. E. Bates and Aldous Huxley. His book collection altogether features more than 70 writers active in the first half of the 20th century, with many first and signed volumes and limited editions from private presses like the Golden Cockerel. The collection was bequeathed to the University by Chapman’s widow in 1961.
Please click here to view the Collection Description.
Jewish Festival of Purim - 28th February 2010
For the fifth year in a row, Special Libraries and Archives played its part in the local Jewish community’s celebration of the Festival of Purim. Central to the event is the reading from the Scroll of Esther, a copy of which is held in the archive collections.
The Purim Festival commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people of the ancient Persian Empire from a plot to kill them. The scroll is read by a rabbi and the community take part in what is a carnival like atmosphere. For more on the Festival please see the Press Release from the 2006 event – http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~wox004/release.php?id=506
The image above is from the University’s Scroll of Esther (MS 1004). Please click here to consult the archive catalogue entry for the Scroll.
Med-Chi talk - 11th November 2009
Following the completion of a year-long project to catalogue the archives of the Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society, a talk summarising the work involved in cataloguing the collection and highlighting some of its treasures was delivered to the members of the Society by the Project Archivist, Paul Logie.
The collection includes the papers of Sir James McGrigor (1771-1858), who was instrumental in founding the Society and eventually became Director-General of the Army Medical Department. The McGrigor papers had previously been digitised and Paul was able to demonstrate how users could view the original document using the DigiTool software package by following a link from the relevant catalogue entry on the CALM database.
Also included in the collection are a complete series of minute books dating from 1789, accounts, case books, lecture notes and a series of thesauri containing the discourses of members from the early years of the Society. These are now available to search online for the first time via the CALM online database.
Please click here to view the catalogue entry for the papers of the Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society.
Remembrance Day - 8th November 2009
Special Libraries & Archives is proud to play a continued part in the University’s Remembrance Day. Staff put on display copies of the World War One Roll of Service 1914-1919 and the Roll of Remembrance which commemorates those who fell in World War Two.
This year as part of the commemoration there was a special display on University Company ('U' Company), who fought in World War One as part of the 4th Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders. The ‘U’ Company was mobilised on the outbreak of war, going to France in February 1915. At the beginning of the war the strength in the company was 132 men but ‘U’ Company as it was, passed out at the battle of Hooge, when so many fell.
Items on display included contemporary publications about ‘U’ Company, a typescript journal by Captain Roy Livingston Mackinnon compiled around 1920 and titled 'Two years with the 4th Gordons in France' and a photograph of ‘U’ Company taken in 1910. The display was well received and we were congratulated on our display by Remembrance Day guest and former journalist and M.P. Martin Bell.
Special Libraries & Archives have already digitised the books of remembrance and they are available to view on-line. The resource provides details of each soldier’s name, rank, regiment, honours, date of birth, date of death, and burial along with a brief biography. The First World War biographies also contain photographs of the men and personal information contributed by friends, family, professors, and military commanders. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/historic/memoriam/
‘From Castle to Croft to Cowshed: on the architecture of the Cluny Estate’ talk - 2nd November 2009
As part of the University Museum Evening Lectures series, Dr Nicola Mills gave a talk about the Gordon of Cluny papers. The talk was held on occasion of the completion of the project to catalogue the Cluny papers. Dr Mills talked about the architecture of the Cluny Estate and the talk was illustrated with images of maps and photographs from the collection. Items on display included a very nice map of estate improvement from 1789 for the Kinsteary Estates in Nairn (MS 3600/1/6/22/3).
Please click here to see the catalogue entry for the Cluny Papers.
Chapel 500 celebrations - 4th October 2009
As part of the celebrations for the quincentenary of the consecration of King’s College Chapel, a small exhibition of material relating to the Chapel went on display from Special Libraries & Archives and the University Museum Collections. Professor Peter Davidson, Chair in Renaissance Studies, spoke about the collections to two specially invited audiences.
University of Aberdeen Alumni Association Talk - 1st October 2009
Head of Special Libraries & Archives, Siobhan Convery, gave a talk on some of the treasures under the care of Special Libraries & Archives and provided a rare opportunity for alumni to see its many treasures at first hand. On display were rare items such as a priceless illuminated codex of the Hebrew Bible (MS 23) which is dated 1493/94 and is one of the University’s finest treasures. The Bible was the creation of a scribe, Isaac ben Balansi, possibly undertaken whilst in exile in Naples. The bible has been in the possession of the University since the early seventeenth century and was admired for its ‘exquisite penmanship’ by the eminent Dr Samuel Johnson when he visited Aberdeen in 1773 in the course of his tour of the Highlands.
Doors Open Day - 12th September 2009
For the second consecutive year, Special Libraries & Archives took part in Doors Open Day, a scheme where the public can explore a range of fascinating buildings. Staff provided four guided tours around the archives stores and a display of rare materials was on show. There was a full house for all the tours, amounting to around 50 people.
Other buildings on campus and at Foresterhill including the Zoology Museum & Natural History Centre, Old Town House, Institute of Medical Sciences, The Suttie Centre and the National Hyperbaric Centre were also open, and we’ll be doing it all again in 2010.
The Town & County Hall was the venue for the first Tartan Day Family History Fair, hosted by Aberdeen City Archives and representing many City and Shire archives, local studies libraries and family history societies. Staff provided access to our archive catalogue and we answered many enquiries from attendees in what was a very successful day.
The Fair was devised for the Year of Homecoming but it is planned that this Fair will become an annual event.
A free booklet on researching your family history in Aberdeen City and Shire called ‘Routes to your North East Roots’ has been launched. The booklet is available at all associated organisations and local libraries and can also be downloaded here.
‘The Treasures of the Gordons of Cluny’ talk - 7th July 2009
Dr Nicola Mills gave a talk to the Trustees of the Cluny Estate, family members and specially invited guests about some of the treasures held within the Gordon of Cluny Papers (MS 3600).
The talk was held on occasion of the completion of the project funded by the Trustees, to catalogue the family’s extensive papers. The collection forms part of the written heritage of the North East and Western Isles of Scotland. Records relating to emigration from the Western Isles, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, are of special interest, alongside papers relating to agricultural improvements, estate management, topography and regional infrastructure improvements.
Please click here to see the catalogue entry for the Cluny Papers.
Literary Treasures highlighted at Word Festival - 17th May 2009
Senior Rare Books Librarian Keith O'Sullivan gave a talk about the literary treasures held by Special Libraries & Archives and this was followed by a display of some rare literary texts from the collection. On display were texts by Robert Burns and Walter Scott, first editions by Charles Dickens and Aldous Huxley and an original manuscript of Thomas Hardy's 'An Imaginative Woman: a Wessex tale' from 1893.
Trace Your Roots talk at Word Festival - 17th May 2009
Deputy Archivist, Andrew MacGregor, gave a talk about the family history resources found within the University collections and this was followed by an opportunity to see some of the original documents at first hand. Amongst the material on display were student class photographs; and eighteenth-century wage book for servants form the Earls of Fife estates at Duff House, Banff; a register of baptisms from St Clement's Church, Aberdeen (1837-1885); and an admission register covering the period 1909-1934 from the Demonstration School in Aberdeen.
The Evolution of Evolution at Word Festival - 15th May 2009
As part of the University's Darwin 200 celebrations, historian Dr Ralph O'Connor and biologist Dr Stuart Piertney pieced together the story of evolution supported by a large range of material from the collections of Special Libraries and Archives. Most notable were 1st editions of Darwin's Origin of Species from 1859 and Descent of Man from 1871. The image illustrated is a letter in the University Collections from Charles Darwin to the students declining the rectorship at Aberdeen citing his ill health (MS 2289).
Children’s Word Festival event: Creative Writing Workshops - 14th May 2009
University Archivist, Siobhan Convery, and poet Ken Cockburn held two creative writing workshops drawing on a range of local archive material including maps, photographs of farming life and the diaries of a nineteenth-century Aberdeenshire farmer, Alexander Mathieson. The workshops introduced the children, from Kittybrewster and Braehead primary schools, to the life and times of Mathieson. They were encouraged to consider the unusual language, dialect and voice, to draw out differences and similarities between life now and 100 years ago, and to think about the value of diaries and journals in learning about the past lives of ordinary people. The children were also encouraged to create their own diary entry.
These workshops were supported by an award under the University of Aberdeen's Cultural Engagement Scheme. A downloadable teaching resource will also be available soon.
Please click here to see the catalogue entry for the farming diaries.
Royal Asiatic Society of Hong Kong visit - 12th May 2009
University Archivist Siobhan Convery, gave a talk to the Royal Asiatic Society of Hong Kong about the collections held by Special Libraries and Archives and illustrated this with a tour and a display of some choice items from the collections. On display were items such as the 15th century Hebrew Bible, drawings from 1793 of Cairness House by the architect James Playfair and an edition of the popular medicinal text, Hortus Sanitatis, or Garden of Health (1491).
The Society was also shown the plans for the new library.
University of Aberdeen Alumni Association: St Alban’s Psalter event - 11th May
Jane Geddes, Professor of History of Art, gave a talk to the Alumni Association about the 12th century St Albans Psalter. Special Libraries & Archives supported the talk by providing a special facsimile of the Psalter from the collections.
The original manuscript is owned by St Godehard’s Church in Hildesheim, Germany but a digital version is viewable via our website http://www.abdn.ac.uk/stalbanspsalter
Family History Fair - 25th April 2009
King’s College was the venue for 2009’s Annual Conference of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies. Special Libraries & Archives had a stall alongside other local archives and local studies libraries and staff provided access to our archive catalogue and we answered many enquiries from Fair attendees in what was a very successful day.
A free booklet on researching your family history in Aberdeen City and Shire called ‘Routes to your North East Roots’ has been launched. The booklet has been produced for the year of Homecoming and in association with local archives, local studies libraries, museums, registrars and local heritage organisations. As well as a ‘how to’, the booklet serves as a directory to the organisations which hold original records or secondary sources of information for family historians. Also included in the booklet are five ‘ancestral stories’ that have been written using the archival sources.
The booklet is available at all associated organisations and local libraries and can also be downloaded here.
University of Aberdeen Alumni Association talk - 31st March 2009
University Archivist, Siobhan Convery, gave the first of two talks scheduled in 2009 to the Alumni Association. The subject was the North-East’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and was accompanied by a display of some of the University’s extensive collections relating to slavery. On display were papers of Gordon of Buthlaw and Cairness relating to their plans of buildings works on their Georgia Estate in 1860, a journal by Marischal College medical graduate Jonathan Troup (c.1764-1799) recording his observations as a plantation doctor on Dominica and lists of slaves on Belmont Estate, Jamaica owned by John Shand from the Papers of William and John Shand of the Burn and Arnhall, Fettercairn.
Jewish Festival of Purim - 10th March 2009
For the fourth year in a row, Special Libraries and Archives played its part in the local Jewish community’s celebration of the Festival of Purim. Central to the event is the reading from the Scroll of Esther, a copy of which is held in the archive collections.
The Purim Festival commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people of the ancient Persian Empire from a plot to kill them. The scroll is read by a Rabbi and the community take part in what is a carnival like atmosphere. For more on the Festival please see the Press Release from the 2006 event – http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~wox004/release.php?id=506
Opening of the Kosterlitz Centre for Therapeutics – 16th September 2010 
Doors Open Day – 11th September 2010
The British Society for the History of Science Conference – 22-25th July 2010
Family History Fairs – 10th and 31st July 2010
Lady of the Lake exhibition – 8th May – 4th June 2010 
The focus of the workshop was World War 1 and in particular the correspondence of Amelia Laws (
Event to celebrate sponsorship of new Photography Archive Room by Aberdeen Harbour Board - 22nd April 2010 
‘An Inspector Called: John Bisset Chapman and literary Britain’ talk - 9th March 2010
University of Aberdeen Alumni Association talk - 31st March 2009