This week we hear from Leanne Speight, student at Leeds Beckett University, who has been part of a team working on a fantastic new website looking at the ‘Leeds Blitz’ of 1941… I remember my Great Grandma telling me in passing about her work in a munition factory during the Second World War. It was…
Author: Leeds Libraries
Searching for Alice Mann
As part of our series for International Women’s Day, librarian Antony Ramm lays out the path that took him to one of his favourite women of Leeds: Alice Mann… I first came across the name of Alice Mann (1791-1865) while reading Derek Fraser’s collection of articles in Volume 53 of the Publications of the Thoresby…
The ‘Vivacious’ Audrey Mann
When looking through our collection of playbills, it’s easy to let them all blur into one. Girls! Strip shows! Dancing! But what was it like to be one of those girls, and were they all doing the same thing? Librarian Zoe Scott Fitzgibbon chatted with Audrey Mann to find out more. Audrey Mann, born in…
Staff Picks – Favourite Women of Leeds
For International Women’s Day 2021 our staff have chosen some of their favourite women with Leeds connections. We hope you enjoy reading about Catherine, Beryl and Sue. Catherine Buckton (1826-1904) was a writer and campaigner who was passionate about women’s education, child welfare, suffrage and social reform. She was in fact the first woman to…
The Story of Leodis – photographic archive of Leeds
Today’s post comes from Senior Librarian Manager Louise Birch who will take us back in time to explore the origins of the Leodis website, and what it was like to be an indexer of images. The year is 1999, Tony Blair is Prime Minister, Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’ exhibits at the Tate, about 12 million…
A Pirate’s Life for Her!
Fidget Theatre’s new show Pirate Bonnie launches next week for the half term holidays so we caught up with them to find out more about their brand new production and the inspiration behind it. Can you introduce yourselves and Fidget Theatre? Hello! We’re Fidget Theatre – theatre makers Ruth Cooper and Andrea Heaton. We’re based…
Rare Book Round Up – Illustrious Illustrations
Each week our Collections Manager Rhian, brings you our ‘Rare Book of the Week’ on our social media accounts, too good to be lost in the daily deluge of tweets and Instagrams we wanted to bring you a round-up of some of our favourites. This week it’s the turn our beloved illustrated beauties. We’ll begin…
Rediscovering the Lost Streets of Victorian Burmantofts and Sheepscar
Funded by a Jane Moody Scholarship, University of York PhD researcher Joanne Harrison is collaborating with Leeds Central Library’s Local and Family History department and Leeds Museums and Galleries to deliver five online workshops. She reports here on this exciting project that will bring an improved experience to users of the Leodis archive, and a…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 