Support is Visual – The Visual is Vital

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A collection of stickers and postcards from the Scottish Committee Anti-Apartheid Movement Collection.

A collection of stickers and postcards from the Scottish Committee Anti-Apartheid Movement Collection.

‘Support is Visual’ the leaflet said at first glance, a glance that stopped me in my tracks. I was struck by the unusual, yet powerful slogan, and started thinking about the necessity of visual support.

Over a month spent in amongst the stacks, working on the Scottish Committee Anti-Apartheid Movement Collection, has drawn my attention to the vast array of ways that people displayed their support; from stickers, to diaries, greetings cards, plastic bags, leaflets, flyers, banners and sashes. Not to mention posters of every size, painted by hand or printed in their hundreds, and letterheads; providing a constant reminder of what was being fought for.

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Beautiful Ghosts; or Robeson’s Echo: the Archives & Special Collections’ Reading Room

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LIGHT BOX (293)

echo: “a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound”

Of the quartet of striking archival images chosen to welcome researchers to our Reading Room, both on the signage outside and the glass banners inside, it is the Paul Robeson image which, to me, most keenly reflects the nature of our remit here. Robeson sings out to that Glasgow May Day 1960 crowd, but his message echoes down, 56 years to the month, saying to us now – listen again, and look!

His image inside our Reading Room appears like a beautiful ghost, his hand hailing a welcome whilst simultaneously pointing a way forward, always forward; looking back to see ahead.

Our shining new Reading Room offers researchers a bright light to do just this. It offers study space for nine readers at any one time – an oasis of silence from the hubbub outside, with lockers for your valuables, and actual pencil sharpeners, for your actual pencils. With access to our Archives and Special Collections, allowing readers to view invaluable primary source material, revolving copies of which will appear in our windows to tempt you inside, as well as access to the knowledge and expertise of our staff, the Reading Room offers researchers a perfect echo chamber of reflection and illumination – preserving the past to inform the future.

The Archives and Special Collections’ Reading Room is open Monday to Friday, 9am until 5pm, by appointment only – archives@gcu.ac.uk.

~ Símon Docherty
Archive Assistant

 

Shall brothers be for a’ that: the Archives of the Scottish Anti-Apartheid Movement

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'Let's Look Back' by KMS, (Click to enlarge), taken from Rixaka - Cultural Journal of the African National Congress, March 1986

‘Let’s Look Back’ by KMS, (Click to enlarge), taken from Rixaka – Cultural Journal of the African National Congress, March 1986

The power of the archive lies in our ability to ‘look back’, to sit with the privilege of hindsight, learning about what was, thinking about what could have been and speculating about what’s to come. Source material helps shape our understanding and transform previous assumptions. The past comes alive, and through us, the struggles and successes are overcome and won again; never to be forgotten.

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19th Century British Pamphlets

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We are happy to announce that the library recently added the 19th century British pamphlets archive  to our collections via an agreement between JISC Collections and publishers JSTOR.

This collection of 26,000 19th century British pamphlets provides online access to some of the most significant collections of 19th century pamphlets held in UK research libraries. The digitisation of some 26,000 paper copy pamphlets, has created over 1 million page images that focuses on the political, economic and social issues that fuelled the great Parliamentary debates and controversies of the 19th century. This resource provides researchers, students, academics and teaching staff with an immensely rich and coherent collection of primary sources with which to study the socio-political and economic landscape of 19th century Britain.

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Digital library of core eresources on Ireland

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We are happy to announce that the library recently added the digital library of core eresources on Ireland to our collections via an agreement between JISC Collections and publishers JSTOR.

This core collection of 620,000 pages and around 80 key journals, 210 monographs and more than 2,500 manuscript pages is available free of charge to further and higher education institutions in the UK and the Republic of Ireland  as part of the JISC Digitisation Programme. The project is providing online access to a comprehensive, multi–disciplinary digital library of research materials relating to Ireland, spanning the 18th century to present. Ceased rare periodicals essential to the study of Ireland’s cultural and political life can be found alongside journals publishing vital contemporary scholarship in their fields.

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Downloading from British Standards Online

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We’re currently encountering difficulty downloading British Standards via the Firefox browser.  The following action is recommended as BSOL seek to remedy the issue:

  • Click on the standard number from the search results.  This navigates to the item’s bibliographic data.

BSOL FF 1

  • Click on Download PDF.

BSOL FF 2

  • You will then get the option to open or save the file:

BSOL FF 3

Internet Explorer and Google Chrome are the recommended browsers for accessing BSOL.  The above steps, however, allow standards to be downloaded with Firefox at this time.

 

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports 1974 – 1996

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We are happy to announce that the library recently added the database Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports to our collections via an agreement between JISC Collections and publishers Readex.

The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report has been the United States’ principal record of political and historical open source intelligence for nearly 70 years. The original mission of the FBIS was to monitor, record, transcribe and translate intercepted radio broadcasts from foreign governments, official news services and clandestine broadcasts from occupied territories. FBIS Daily Reports, 1974–1996, available exclusively from Readex, constitutes a one-of-a-kind archive of transcripts of foreign broadcasts and news that provides insight into the second half of the 20th century; many of these materials are firsthand reports of events as they occurred.

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Science Classic

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We are happy to announce that the library recently added the archives of the journal Science covering the years 1880 – 1996 to our holdings via an agreement with JISC Collections.

Science Classic is fully integrated with the current content of Science Online making it easier to search the entire collection. The archival content includes ground-breaking research articles and reports; news of the week and news focus; Editorials, letters, book reviews, policy forms, article reviews, brevia, perspectives, association affairs and technical comment abstracts. AAAS has included all content that was published in print between July 1880 and December 1996. As the journal came online in 1997 content published prior to 1997 was not previously available until the archive was digitised.

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Migration to New Worlds

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We are happy to announce that the library recently added the database Migration to New Worlds to our collections via an agreement between JISC Collections and Adam Matthew publishers.

From government-led population drives during the early nineteenth century through to mass steamship travel, Migration to New Worlds showcases unique primary source material recounting the many and varied personal experiences of 350 years of migration. Explore Colonial Office files on emigration, diaries and travel journals, ship logs and plans, printed literature, objects, watercolours, and oral histories supplemented by carefully selected secondary research aids.
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Introducing edShare@GCU

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edShare@GCU is the University’s new educational resources repository. It allows staff to store, share and preserve a wide variety of learning and teaching materials in one central location. Staff can upload and manage their own resources and have the option to share them openly on the internet, with all members of the University, or with a select group of students or staff. The repository accepts any permanent resources created by GCU staff and provides a point of contact for copyright and intellectual property rights (IPR) advice within the GCU community.

Where do I start?

The repository can be accessed at https://edshare.gcu.ac.uk. You can log in with your domain username and password.

Why has this new repository been built?

The repository will enhance learning and teaching by enabling staff to manage, store and share a greater variety of digital resources, providing broader and deeper learning opportunities for students. It also supports flexible learning by allowing Continue reading →