National Maritime MuseumAs something unexpected, we visited the National Maritime Museum's Caird Library & Archive today. It was located further outside of London proper than we usually go so we got to the museum by ferry - which just seems like a relaxing way to commute. The National Maritime Museum was opened in 1937 by King George VI and the Caird Library was named for Sir James Caird who was an esteemed (and wealthy) shipping tycoon. Our tour was led by Mike, Library Archivist and Vicky, Archivist Assistant and it was very neat to be able to see actual relics from the Titanic. The Royal ObservatoryIncluded in our ticket was entry into the Royal Observatory - which is the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The Royal Observatory also houses the Prime Meridian (seen below) and London’s Planetarium. It took a giant hill and a great many steps to venture to the Royal Observatory but it has one of the most spectacular views of the London skyline and who doesn't want to stand on 0° longitude? Shockingly, it's also home to one of the best hot dogs I've ever eaten (sorry not sorry, USA) - except here they called it a sausage baguette.
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I know I say this about a lot of things, but, one of my favorite places to visit has always been Oxford - maybe because I still have a latent desire to attend university there but I was excited to return. No one knows exactly when Oxford was founded (which is a sore spot as their rival Cambridge knows exactly when they were founded) but we know that it is one of the first universities in the United Kingdom and is still one of the most prestigious in the world. Bodleian LibraryDating back to the 15th Century, the Bodleian is historic in many ways - and it was where our Oxford trip officially started. Pictures were not allowed inside but close up pictures of the architecture and the stairwells were permitted. Our tour was especially fun because we had a tour guide-in-training accompanying us who was a part time actor. Christ Church LibraryOne of the highlights of my entire trip, to be honest, was the second half of our day at Oxford where we got an exclusive tour of on of the libraries from one of Oxford's 38 colleges, Christ Church. Christ Church is one of the largest colleges of Oxford and was established in 1546. The college librarian, Steven Archer, was kind enough to be our tour guide of the Christ Church library and archives.
Though the students were in session (and studying for finals), we still were able to sneak a peek at the book holding rooms as well as venture into Steven's office (this office has housed famous author, Lewis Carroll - and it is through this office window that Carroll looked out and created Wonderland). Meeting Steven was also one of the best highlights of the trip because it was reassuring to see someone not so far off in age from me grow their career to this height - especially in Academia. A stone's throw away from Kew Gardens lives the National Archive which is currently featuring a Suffragettes vs. The State Exhibition that was too good for me to pass up - especially considering the research I am doing in the U.K. This immersive exhibit was one of the best I've seen - maybe because I'm so interested in the topic at hand - but like the Royal Institution, this exhibit was completely devoid of any women of color. This was disheartening for me because, through my research, I know for a fact that the women in the South Asian and Black communities were very involved with Suffrage in the United Kingdom. To leave them absent from an exhibit like this was a blatant erasure.
Per their website, Kew Gardens is London's largest UNESCO World Heritage site and home to an array of different a beautiful landscapes and gardens featuring plant life from all over the world. Maybe a bit less known is Kew’s Library. The library contains thousands of years of plant knowledge including information on the naming, classification and uses of plants, plant ecology and conservation, and wild plants of the world. The Library’s main subject area is plant taxonomy and systematics but the collection also contains a variety of other materials that are suitable for a non-specialist audience - such as the history of garden design, botanic gardens and biographical information on botanists and gardeners. There is also a collection of maps and travel literature relating to expeditions and regions of botanical importance. And also, interestingly enough, a wonderful display of little known items from Beatrix Potter (the author of Peter Rabbit and quite the botanist, herself). Andrew Wiltshire - from the Beatrix Potter Society - gave us lovely talk about Beatrix and her life's work and the acting head of the Library Art & Archives, Fiona Ainsworth, gave us up close and personal access to some of their rarest books, illustrations, letters, and documents including Charles Darwin's personal correspondence. After the tour we got to sneak through the back door into the gardens to explore at our leisure.
The largest library in the world and the National Library of the United Kingdom, the British Library (the building it's currently in, anyway), was established in 1997 (the British Library was created 1973, and prior to that was a part of the British Museum). The British Library is different from a lot of public and university libraries, however, because the majority of the collections are held in closed stores, and are ordered to a reading room. In order to see an item in the collection you need to have a Reader Pass. The Reader Passes are free and are valid for a period of between one month and three years The Conservation CentreTucked away in the British Library lies the Conservation Centre where they treat and conserve items at different levels, in different ways, and for different reasons. At the beginning of each year, the Conservation Centre team assesses and prioritizes items for treatment and provide a detailed estimate of the proposed treatment and how long it will take to complete. The conservators at the centre specialize in an array of areas and we were lucky enough to see some of the projects they were working on - which included an ancient British flag - which when brought to the Centre was falling apart, but is now almost ready for display. The British Library: Behind the ScenesPart 2 of our day at the British Library consisted of a tour of the British Library itself but once our tour guide discovered we were graduate students studying to be librarians he gave us a behind the scenes peak at how the library operates on a staff based level. Which, was very exciting to us especially considering how vast the British Library collection is.
The Royal Institution was founded in 1799 in an attempt to introduce the general public to science and new technologies. The Professor of the History of Science and Head of Collections, Dr. Frank James, was kind enough to give us a tour of the Royal Institution - where scientists such as Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, John Tyndal, James Dewar, and the Braggs lived, worked, and researched.
One of the most jarring aspects of the Royal Institution however was it's complete lack of diversity of the scientists highlighted in it's exhibitions - there are zero scientists of color featured. There is also less than a handful of women mentioned and only one photographed, Kathleen Lonsdale, as shown above.
Been in LDN for a few days now and have gotten properly situated. The University of Westminster Marylebone Campus is situated near the Baker Street underground station and opposite Madame Tussaud's is a great location (not FSU Study Centre great, but still phenomenal) for the month. The view from my 12th floor window - better than I could've imagined. What I shall lovingly refer to as my living nook. A true WC is the door on the right, cupboard/closet on the left, and the way out straight ahead. Me, my people, and tower bridge. Some fancy shots from our River Tour Welcome Reception.
In conjunction with our first few days in London, USM put on quite a few London Alive tours - the one I chose to go on, naturally, was the Death, Mayhem, and Murder tour of Westminster with Dr. Andrew Wiest. Dr. Wiest took us to some of the most famous sites of historic London and taught us a bit about their torrid past. Unfortunately for us, and any other tourist visiting London in the next few years, Big Ben and the Elizabeth Tower is under restoration until 2020. There wasn't quite enough Murder and Mayhem for my liking (I'm hard to please) but this tour was an excellent intro to London and yielded quite a few historic photos like the quintessential telephone booth photo below.
The time has finally come! I'm off to London for the British Studies program through the University of Southern Mississippi. For the next month, plus an extra week long holiday, I will be earning my last three credits towards my Master's Degree in Library and Information Science before graduating in August.
Though I'll only be receiving three credits for my time abroad, USM meant the MLIS BSP to be worth six credits with the program encompassing two courses: LIS580 British Studies in Librarianship : a comparative or historical study of library and information institutions, collections, models of service, and professional practice in the United Kingdom LIS587 British Studies Research : an in-depth research project using the resources of metropolitan London and/or the United Kingdom. London has always been my first love, and I'm beyond excited to be able to have another chance to live and study abroad. |
While studying for my MLIS, I am taking my love for diverse librarianship abroad for a semester to the heart of London in hopes of gaining firsthand knowledge and understanding about the history, organization, and maintenance of collections in historic British libraries, archives, and museums. ArchivesCategories |