Thursday 29 July 2010


Thoroughly enjoyed library 'away day' to St John's College Library. As I said to Isla before we went ' its always nice to see whats behind the door' . I have to admit I wasn't expecting quite such a large door! The library was much larger than I expected and contained such a wide variety of material from 'Batman' DVDs to 15th century manuscripts. There were lots of nooks and crannies to hide away and study in - some a bit dark and gloomy but others really light and spacious. I particularly liked the reading rooms set aside for the law students with views over the masters garden and the courtyards. Interesting to hear that they are doing away with their computer room because it is under used and that the students want it to be replaced with more study areas and not more relaxed comfy seating areas as had been suggested. I don't envy the bookshelver though - having to cover three floors! Also how nice to have your own book repairer tucked away in the basement and a chap that comes in specially to hoover the special collection! I think everyone would like to have the job of Fiona the Biographical Librarian, tracing and keep records of all Johonians past and present. The atmosphere and scent of leather bounds volumes in the Old Library really gave the library a sense of history. Apologies that it brought on the ILL cough! Fascinating to see the handwritten shelf lists at the end of each book case. Many thanks to Katie for her informative and interesting guide around the library

2 comments:

  1. You're very welcome Sheila. I'm glad you liked it, and sorry that the Old Library made you cough. We do try and keep it as clean as possible (hence the weekly book hoovering), but there's only so much you can do. If I spend a day putting out an exhibition, I always find I have 'hayfever' by the end of it. But it's a small price to pay for getting to work with the collection.

    I didn't realise we had 'Batman' in the AV room, but I see that you're right.

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  2. great post - glad you found the trip so interesting. I'll have to think up some more destinations!
    I.

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