Pearls in the Strong Room

Everyone is familiar with the sight of poppy sellers in the run-up to Armistice Day, but did you know that there was another campaign of remembrance before that? Library Digital Assistant Becky takes us hunting for Pearls in the strong room. Rachel Tretheway’s moving book, Pearls Before Poppies (361.76) relates the story of an appeal…

Rare Books Round Up – Big Garden Birdwatch Edition

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 of Birds. This weekend marks the…

Christmas Pudding

Day 2 of our Heritage & Special Collections Advent Calendar. Today librarian Helen Skilbeck has a Christmas Pudding recipe for you. Please let us know if you give it a go. The Leeds company Goodall, Backhouse and Co. produced a range of ‘household specialities’ including Yorkshire Relish, egg and custard powder, ginger beer powder, quinine…

Comic Art and Caricatures in our Collections

In today’s post our Senior Librarian for Special Collections, Rhian Isaac, explores the connection between comic books and some of the library’s prints, books and periodicals from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. This weekend is the annual Thought Bubble Comic Convention, a two day celebration of comics, their creators and their fans. We have…

Leodis has upgraded to a new site

In our blog post this week, Senior Librarian-Manager Louise Birch introduces readers and users to our exciting relaunched Leodis photographic archive… After twenty something years of the old yellowy-beige colour scheme and Louis Le Prince video we are long overdue an upgrade. The existing Leodis software was becoming outdated and had we left it any…

The Other Project: Exhibition

The Other Project, co-ordinated by Third Year Fine Art student Mia Ferullo, is a collaboration between Leeds Central Library and York St John University’s second year students. The students were divided into four groups, each being given an issue of the Leeds Other Paper. With a combination of Fine Art, Photography and Illustration students, this…

The Other Project: Chapter Four

The Other Project, co-ordinated by Third Year Fine Art student Mia Ferullo, is a collaboration between Leeds Central Library and York St John University’s second year students. The students were divided into four groups, each being given an issue of the Leeds Other Paper. With a combination of Fine Art, Photography and Illustration students, this…

People of Leeds #19: The Pioneering Life of Jessie Beatrice Kitson

On the Secret Library this week we hear from Local and Family History’s Josh Flint who in celebration of International Women’s Day writes about the first women to be Mayor of Leeds, Jessie Beatrice Kitson and examine how she is represented in the Local and Family History Collection. This pioneer was part of the famous…