The University of Aberdeen

Library, Special Collections
and Museums

Inspire to Enquire

News & Events

Dickens Fellowship event – 6^th December 2012
Members of the Aberdeen branch of the Dickens Fellowship attended a meeting in the Seminar Room of the Special Collections Centre. Attendees were also shown an exhibition of Dickens related material in the Wolfson Reading Room. Items on display included first editions of all Dickens’s novels, from the first, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1837), to the unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870), plus all five of his ‘Christmas’ books, including A Christmas Carol (1843).

Bookbinding Workshop – 27^th November 2012
A bookbinding workshop was held in the Glucksman Conservation Centre for members of the public as part of Book Week Scotland. Under the tutelage of book conservator Brannah Mackenzie each of the nine participants made a single section case bound notebook during the hour-long workshop. Following the workshop participants attended a talk on bookbinding given by Jane Pirie, Rare Books Cataloguer. The participants enjoyed the evening and the feedback was very positive.

Family History Society of Buchan talk - 17^th November 2012
Andrew MacGregor, Deputy Archivist, delivered a talk to 25 members of the Family History Society of Buchan about the relevant family history resources available to researchers at Special Collections and this was followed by an opportunity to view some of the original documents at first hand.

The material on display was drawn from the University’s own institutional records and local collection of printed material, in addition to its extensive deposited collections of business papers, family and estate records and personal papers. Items on display included: plans, drawings and sketches of Cairness House by James Playfair (1789 – 1793), a register of births/marriages/deaths (1856 – 1920) from the Episcopalian Church congregation at All Saints Church, Strichen and a journal of whaling and sealing voyages in 1875-1884 by David Hawthorn Cardno. See here for the full list of the resources that were displayed.

For more information and contact details for the Society see their website here.

RLUK (Research Libraries UK) Annual Conference - 14^th-16^th November 2012
Siobhán Convery, Head of Special Collections, together with Laurence Bebbington, Deputy Librarian and Head of Library Services, delivered a presentation to the RLUK annual conference: “Inspire to Enquire”: Public Engagement at Library, Special Collections and Museums at The University of Aberdeen.

Public engagement has become an important activity for research-led universities and their libraries. This should involve not only developing research opportunities and making available the findings of research in an accessible way but also engaging in other outreach and community-based initiatives. Opening up library services, facilities and expertise more widely has enormous mutual benefits for universities and their libraries, and the communities in which they exist.

The presentation outlined initiatives and approaches to a range of public engagement activities involving community-based liaison, schools outreach activities, family fun days and events, special collections and museum exhibitions, visitor engagement and other innovative initiatives in Library, Special Collections and Museums at the University of Aberdeen.

Great War Enquiry Day event - 27^th October 2012
Andrew MacGregor, Deputy Archivist, attended an event at the Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen, organised by Aberdeen City Museums. The event was the first of many to be held across the city and Aberdeenshire in preparation for the 100^th anniversary of the start of World War One in 2014. The event invited members of the public to bring in their artefacts relating to the war with a view to finding items that could be borrowed for temporary exhibitions in 2014. In attendance were specialists not only from Special Collections, but from Aberdeen City Archives, Aberdeen City Libraries and Aberdeen Maritime Museum. In what was a very successful day, around 60 members of the public came along with diverse items such as war poetry, trench art, military maps and photographs.

Conservation training for volunteers - 24^th October 2012
Staff at the Glucksman Conservation Centre held a training session for volunteers on the 24^th October. The aim of the morning was to provide an introduction to, and tour of, the Glucksman Conservation Centre, and the interventive and preventive conservation work carried out in Special Collections.

Handling training was provided for the volunteers which covered: using books rests and supports, handling large format flat and rolled material, handling mixed archive collections and handling and moving large format bound material safely. Printed guidelines for assigning condition and usability grades to material being catalogued were provided for the volunteers as a guide for judging when material should be restricted from access. The volunteers were given the opportunity to ask questions and to raise any concerns that they have had while handling fragile material.

The feedback from volunteers was very positive and in total five volunteers attended the session.

Pharmacopoeia exhibition talk - 20^th October 2012
Jane Pirie, Rare Books Cataloguer with the Special Collections Centre at the University of Aberdeen gave a fascinating talk about the stories behind the exhibits of the Pharmacopoeia exhibition currently running at the Sir Duncan Rice Library until the 1^st December 2012. She explained the importance of the items on display and how they came to be held in the University of Aberdeen’s Special Collections.

The exhibition includes early records of plants for specific medical treatments which were recorded in texts such as the late 15^th century De Hortus Sanitatis, which translates as the Garden of Health. This volume illustrates some of the medical methods practiced in Scotland five centuries ago and is one of the earliest European medical texts. It contains detailed writings and annotated illustrations on plants, herbs, animals, and minerals.

Jane described how the handwritten notes and signatures found throughout the books can reveal important information about the owners of the texts and the connections of the material to the north-east and also talked about the people involved in the making of the books and their connections with the authors, the printers and the illustrators.

See here for further information about the exhibition Pharmacopoeia: The Art of Making Drugs.

Friends of Aberdeen University Library 50^th birthday reception and display - 4^th October 2012
On the evening of the 4^th October a party was held to celebrate the 50^th birthday of the Friends of Aberdeen University Library. Some forty guests, old Friends and new, viewed an exhibition of highlights from over 150 additions to Special Collections and Museums that the Friends had either bought or had contributed towards buying over the years.

Amongst the items on display was the Fraser Cup; a cup hallmarked for 1660, which was inscribed in 1725 on the occasion of James Fraser receiving his honorary degree. James Fraser (1645 – 1731) attended King’s College, Aberdeen between 1660 and 1664. He became the first Secretary and Registrar of the Chelsea Hospital and provided funds to rebuild parts of the university including a new library to which he also contributed some important books.

For more information and an image of the cup see here.

Also on display was a Charles II inscribed, silver-gilt tankard (originally presented to King’s College in the 1660s) and a proof copy of Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Redgauntlet.

Lives in the Oil Industry Oral History Archive used in new exhibition – 22nd September – 27th October 2012
A new exhibition titled OilScapes at Peacock Visual Arts, Aberdeen, curated by Zeigam Azizov(Royal College of Art) and Janet Stewart (University of Aberdeen), will feature an audio collage using recordings from the Lives in the Oil Industry Oral History Archive.

OilScapes explores connections between oil, industry and visual culture with particular emphasis on human mobility and the natural environment. The exhibition will feature the work of five international artists – Zeigam Azizov, Peter Fend, Melik Ohanian, Aga Ousseinov and Owen Logan as well as featuring the audio collage.

The Lives in the Oil Industry Oral History Archive was completed between 2001 and 2006 and includes interviews with nearly 200 people, totalling nearly 800 hours of recordings.

For more information on the oral history archive see here. Also see the factsheet on sound recordings held by Special Collections here.

For more information on the exhibition see here.

British Astronomical Association display – 9^th September 2012
Tying in with celebrations for British Science Week and a conference of the British Astronomical Association at Aberdeen on the 9th September, the Wolfson Reading Room hosted an exhibition of the University’s rare astronomy books. With captions specially prepared by Dr John Reid from the Department of Physics, this event drew over 40 visitors, and featured key works by Kepler, Galileo and many others who laid the foundations of modern astronomy. Among the exhibits were an extremely rare handwritten copy of Copernicus’s Commentariolus (1525) interleaved with another later work, and a beautiful, modern colour facsimile of Apianus’ Cosmographia (1550). Also displayed were works that marked some notable contributions from the North East to astronomy, including A Young Gentleman and Lady’s Astronomy (1778) by James Ferguson of Rothiemay.

Doors Open Day – 8^th September 2012
Over 100 people visited the Wolfson Reading Room in the Special Collections Centre as part of Doors Open Day. Visitors were able to view the new facilities and services on offer and the wide variety of local publications and journals available to consult in the Reading Room. They were also able to look round the purpose built rooms for those wishing to consult specialist material such as microfilm and sound recordings.

Training day on pest management by David Pinniger – 26^th and 29^th June 2012
In association with ICON Scotland, the Glucksman Conservation Centre hosted its first training event on Pest Management in Archives and Museums, with eminent heritage entomologist David Pinniger. The one day workshop hosted 16 delegates from Special Collections and Museums, The National Galleries of Scotland, The National Archives of Scotland, The University of Glasgow, The National Trust for Scotland and from private practice. Subjects covered in the workshop included pest identification, pest damage identification and practical steps for pest management.

David Pinniger also gave a presentation for over 30 members of staff from Special Collections, Museums, the Library, Campus Catering, Custodian Staff and Aberdeen City Archives. Following the talk, David Pinniger was given a tour of the Zoology and Herbarium collections, where he gave practical advice and made insect identifications.

‘Discovering the Archives’ collaborative exhibition - 18^th June – 27^th July 2012
Community volunteers from the Bailies of Bennachie collaborated with University staff from the History department and Special Collections, as part of an exhibition in the New Library to explore places in the landscape and family links across the north-east.

The volunteers chose three documents from 1424, 1662 and 1709, taken from three collections: the papers of Arbuthnott of Arbuthnott, Duff of Meldrum and Leslie of Balquhain. The volunteers also researched and produced text for the exhibition boards, providing transcriptions and selecting highlights such as place names and their representation in the landscape via maps and modern photographs.

The exhibition was part of the Bennachie Landscapes 2012 Summer Events Series. The initiative draws together the Bailies and University staff and students from Archaeology, History, Anthropology, Education, Music and Special Collections and Museums. The work has been funded by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and will result in an exciting new heritage project for the hill and its surrounding landscape.

For more information see here.

The exhibition panels can be viewed as a PDF here.

90^th anniversary of the discovery of insulin events – 25th May – 8th June 2012
As part of the 90^th anniversary of the discovery of insulin and the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine to graduate and former Professor of Physiology John James Rickard Macleod, a series of public lectures and exhibitions were hosted at the Suttie Centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Macleod graduated in medicine in 1898 and after working in London and Canada returned to Aberdeen in 1928 where he held the post of Professor of Physiology, until his death in 1935. He had been jointly awarded the Nobel prize with Frederick Banting in 1923.

The events included public lectures by Arthur Ainsberg, co-author of “Breakthrough: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical Miracle” and a display of exhibition boards created by Ainsberg in association with the New York Historical Society. The display, “Breakthrough: The Dramatic Story of the Discovery of Insulin”, had previously been exhibited from October 2010 to January 2011 at the New York Historical Society.

As part of the anniversary some items from Special Collections, University Museums and Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society were on display, including photographs of MacLeod as a student, the Nobel diploma from 1923 (MSU 1041) and the Nobel prize.

For more information see here.

Charles Dickens bicentenary events – May 2012
As part of ‘Dickens 2012’, an international celebration of the life and work of Charles Dickens to mark the bicentenary of his birth, a series of lectures were organised by the University.

Special Collections prepared a display as part of Paul Schlicke’s presentation ‘Dickens and Popular Entertainment’. Paul Schlicke is former Senior Lecturer in English at the University and noted expert on Dickens. On display were an array of first editions such as Sketches by Boz (1836), a volume of the Illustrated London News and a selection of original Aberdeen playbills.

Special Collections have one of the most distinguished collections in the world of materials by and about Dickens, including many rare first editions of his works.

For more information on the full lecture series see here.

New building tours
Since we moved to the New Library there have been numerous tours of our new facilities by various groups, far too many to name individually! We have had visits though from many local Probus groups, the Grampian Decorative & Fine Art Society and the Saltire Society. We hope in the near future that as many people as possible can benefit from tours of our new facilities.

Harbour Board Photograph Collection added to Digitool – March 2012
As part of the Gallery exhibition Set in Silver: Contemporary Reflections on Glass Plate Photography, work has been completed in transferring the digital images of the Harbour Board Photographic Collection to a new online system of digitally enhanced photographs. Users can now ‘zoom in’ on the photographs to reveal fantastic details, without losing the quality of the image. The online system is called Digitool and the Harbour Board photographs join the already transferred George Washington Wilson photographic collection which were made available on Digitool in April 2011.

The Aberdeen Harbour Photographic Collection consists of about 6,000 glass plate negatives dating from the 1880s to the 1930s. They are mainly images of the harbour and surrounding area, but include some of Aberdeen city and further afield. The photographs were taken by the Board's engineering staff as a record of port developments and activities. See here to search the collection.

Workshop on the Late Medieval Bible – 1st March 2012
Dr Eyal Poleg, Centre for the History of the Book, University of Edinburgh, led a workshop on Late Medieval Bibles, in the Special Collections Seminar Room. Late Medieval Bibles (1230-1500) are the first mass-produced pandects, or single-volume Bibles. They were written by professional scribes and artists who produced revolutionary small and portable books. These new Bibles spread quickly across Europe, and within few decades appeared from Spain to Bohemia, from Italy to Germany. They follow a distinctive and remarkably similar layout, which was replicated in Gutenberg’s celebrated 42-line Bible and has influenced Bibles down to the present day. Their uniformity, length and the sheer number of surviving manuscripts (more than 1,500), have hindered their scholarly analysis. The workshop attended by a number of staff examined the unique features of the Late Medieval Bible, based on the Library's own manuscript collection. The workshop is part ongoing research as part of the project: The Medieval Bible in Scotland.

New book about the Library and Archive Collections – 14th December 2011
A new book – The Library and Archive Collections of the University of Aberdeen, an Introduction and Description (Manchester University Press with the University of Aberdeen, 2011), traces the history of the collections over 500 years. It is the most substantial overview of the collection to be published since the 1930s and greatly extends available knowledge of the artefacts contained within it. The new book, edited by three Aberdeen academics - Dr Iain Beavan, Professor Peter Davidson and Professor Jane Stevenson, also describes significant historical items which have never previously been published.

The University of Aberdeen’s collections are of significant international importance as an intact accumulation of everything from 1st century Papyri to 21st century artists’ books, with important and unique Mediaeval and renaissance manuscripts, early printed books and a superb collection of material focused on the Jacobite risings and the Stuart Dynasty. The book begins with the books and manuscripts given at the foundation of King’s College in 1495, continues with the collections which accrued to Marischal College from its foundation in 1593 and the fusion of the two colleges in 1860 into the modern University of Aberdeen.

Many staff assisted the authors and contributed chapters to the new book. Kim Downie, Digitisation Officer, did the reprographics and photography for the book.

Friends of Aberdeen University Library: Judging a book by its cover: what bindings cam tell us about books - Thursday 26th May 2011
Jane Pirie, Information Officer and Rare Books Cataloguer, delivered a talk about the art of bookbinding in the Old Senate Room, King's College at 7.30 p.m. The talk followed the Friends' Annual General Meeting and Jane discussed the materials and techniques used in bookbinding and showcased some of the beautifully crafted examples from our collections.

Aberdeen City and Shire: launch of new website 'Routes to your North East Roots'
A new website providing researchers with a first point of access to information about their ancestors was launched on Monday 16th May. The Routes to your North East Rootswebsite is a result of a collaborative effort by local archives (including Special Collections), local studies libraries, museums, registrars and local heritage organisations to promote the wealth of resources on offer to those interested in researching their family history in the north-east of Scotland.

The site also serves as an important directory to the different organisations in the north-east which hold original records or secondary sources of information for family historians and provides advice and guidance on how to begin researching your family history.

Granite Month - 4th May 2011
Andrew MacGregor gave a talk about the University's granite collections as part of the programme of events planned for Aberdeen City Council's Granite Month.For more information about the Granite Festival, see here.

Saltire Society Talk – 15th February 2011
On the evening of 15th February, Keith O’Sullivan, Senior Rare Books Librarian, addressed the local branch of the Saltire Society at Rubislaw Church Centre, Aberdeen.

The theme of his illustrated talk was Aberdeen’s special collections, both archival and printed: from the medieval Aberdeen Bestiary to twentieth-century gems such as the library of John Bisset Chapman. Emphasis was given to the fact that our special holdings continue to grow to this day, as witnessed by the donation of a fabulous collection of 18th and 19th century satirical prints and associated books by Loretta Glucksman in 2008. Keith also spoke about access to and promotion of these rare and unique holdings, and the likely opportunities of the New Library upon the delivery of services to a much wider audience.

North Sea Decommissioning Conference - 14th-15th February 2011
Siobhán Convery attended the 11th Annual NPF North Sea Decommissioning Conference in Bergen and delivered a paper to an audience of over 200 oil and gas professionals on the University's oil and gas archive and the Capturing the Energy project.

Family History Talk - 8th February 2011
Andrew MacGregor, Deputy Archivist, delivered a talk to over forty members and guests of the Friends of the Library about the family history resources available to researchers at Special Collections and this was followed by an opportunity to view some of the original documents at first hand.

The material on display was drawn from the University’s own institutional records and local collection of printed material, in addition to its extensive deposited collections of business papers and family and estate records. Items on display included student class photographs, the earliest known team photograph of the University of Aberdeen Football Club dated 1872-73, a salaries book dated 1912-1926 from the business papers of P&O Scottish Ferries Ltd., an 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.

Icelandic Ambassadors visit – 3rd November 2010
On Wednesday 3 November, Special Libraries and Archives were pleased to host a visit by a party including Iceland's Ambassador to the UK, Mr Benedikt Jónsson. The Ambassador was at the University to attend the unveiling of new sculptures at Aberdeen Sports Village by Icelandic artist Steinunn Thoraninsdottir. Ambassador Jónsson's group was shown a variety of objects from the University's rich historic archival printed and museum collections relating to the circumpolar regions. Items displayed included a 1688 version of the Landnámabók or 'book of settlement' printed in Skálholt 1688; an illustrated diary of a whaling journey from 1831, and a wooden bed board from Reykjavik, presented to the University in 1908 - complete with an inscription in ancient Icelandic.

From Aberdeen to Ankara: tracing scholarly adventures – 19th October - 4th November 2010
On the 4th November, a small display of William Calder's papers was prepared for a reception held in the James Mackay Hall to mark the final talk delivered by Professor Charlotte Roueché, the 2010 Geddes-Harrower Chair of Greek Art and Archaeology. Professor Roueché is Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at King's College London. Since its inauguration in 1960, the Geddes-Harrower Chair lecture series has been a leading scholarly event exploring Greek art and archaeology and related areas of Hellenic significance. The lectures are given annually to the University community and the general public at the University of Aberdeen.

Working closely with staff at Special Collections, Professor Roueché researched the papers of William Calder which were bequeathed to the University of Aberdeen in 1960 (her grandfather William Buckler was a friend and colleague of Calder and worked with him in Turkey recording inscriptions). The collection includes a valuable series of notebooks, diaries, letters, photographs and "squeezes" (paper impressions) dating from 1908 and documents his travels in Turkey. This research formed the basis of a series of six talks delivered by Professor Roueché.

William Calder (1881-1960) was born in Edinkillie, Morayshire and graduated MA from the University of Aberdeen in 1903. He was Professor of Greek at Manchester University (1913-1930) and Edinburgh University (1930-1951). He travelled extensively in Turkey, recording inscriptions: from 1908 to 1914 with Professor William Ramsay, of Aberdeen, and, from 1924, on behalf of the American Society for Archaeological Research in Asia Minor, publishing the Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua series (MAMA).

Charlotte's research brought to light an interesting connection, previously unknown to her, with the Robert Wilson Trust, created under the terms of the will of Robert Wilson (1787-1871), surgeon and traveller. Calder was just one of many important scholars who benefited from the funds available via the Trust's Travelling Fellowship. Other Wilson Fellows included John George Clark Anderson (1870-1952), who was also born at Edinkillie and graduated with an MA from King's College in 1858, eventually being appointed Camden Professor of Ancient History and Fellow of Brasenose College at Oxford; and Sir William Ramsay (1851-1939), who was Calder's tutor at Aberdeen and travelled with him in Asia Minor prior to 1914.

The papers of William Calder are part of the fascinating collection relating to the American Society for Archaeological Research in Asia Minor (MS 3286).

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 Collections 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 Collections 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/

http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/opendays/

Summer Training sessions on Disaster Planning - 14th July and 18th August 2010
As part of the Library, Special Collections & Museums Summer Training programme, staff from Special Collections 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 Collections, 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 Collections took part in two family history fairs in July. Siobhán Convery, Head of Special Collections 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 Collections 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.

To find out how you can begin researching your family history at the University of Aberdeen see our factsheet here.

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 Collections hosted two school workshops entitled 'Patriotism, Privations and Peace'. Siobhán Convery, Head of Special Collections, 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.

The Aberdeen Harbour photographic collection can be viewed here.

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 Collections, 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 Collections.

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.

For more on Capturing the Energy see here.

'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 see here to view the Collection Description.

Jewish Festival of Purim - 28th February 2010
For the fifth year in a row, Special Collections 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 here.

Special Collections have rich collections of Judaica and Hebraica and a detailed guide to the collections can be found here.

The image above is from the University's Scroll of Esther (MS 1004). Please see 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 see here to view the catalogue entry for the papers of the Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society.

Remembrance Day - 8th November 2009
Special Collections 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 Collections 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.

'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 Collections and the University Museum Collections. Professor Peter Davidson, Chair in Renaissance Studies, spoke about the collections to two specially invited audiences.

For more on the celebrations please see the Press Release -

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/archive-details-4649.php

University of Aberdeen Alumni Association Talk - 1st October 2009
Head of Special Collections, Siobhan Convery, gave a talk on some of the treasures under the care of Special Collections 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 Collections 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.

http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/opendays/

Family History Fair tartan day - 2nd August 2009
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.

Please see our Factsheet on Family History Resources in Special Libraries & Archives
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/guides/hcol/qghcol005.pdf

Start your research now by consulting our archive catalogue
http://calms.abdn.ac.uk/searchingthearchives

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 see here to view 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 Collections 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 Collections. 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).

For more information see the web-link below to the University of Aberdeen Puplic Engagement with Science Unit
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/science/darwin/
Word logo 2009

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 see here to view 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).

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 Collections 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 Collections 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.

Please see our Factsheet on Family History Resources in Special Collections here.

Start your research now by consulting our archive catalogue
http://calms.abdn.ac.uk/searchingthearchives

Aberdeen City and Shire Family History Guide 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 Collections 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.

Special Collections have rich collections of Judaica and Hebraica and a detailed guide to the collections can be found here.

The image above is from the University's Scroll of Esther (MS 1004). Please see here to consult the archive catalogue entry for the Scroll.

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