This week on the Secret Library we are delighted to hear once more from Andy Armstrong, one of our heritage volunteers, on a significant piece of cataloguing work we’ve asked him to help us with. In this piece, Andy turns his attentions to the various utilities once managed by the Council on behalf of the people…
Category: Social History
More Tales from the Horsforth Research Guide
This week we hear from Library and Digital Assistant Jan Pinder with another fascinating ramble around Horsforth, following on from last year’s Tales from the Horsforth Research Guide… The Horsforth research guide was produced as a starting point for anyone wishing to use the Central Library stock to find out more about the history of…
The mystery of Leeds United’s first colours
This week we welcome back guest author Pete Slater. Pete is one of a small team of volunteers working with us for the joint Leeds Libraries/British Libraries Voice of the Fans exhibition celebrating football fanzines and football fan culture. One of Pete’s roles has been research using our microfilmed local newspaper collection – this article…
Working on the Spark Collection: a history about the Leeds Triennial Musical Festival in early years
Following Lauren Stead’s article in May, we now welcome MA student Xuan Li for a further exploration of the Central Library’s Spark Collection… Over the past few months, I’ve had the chance to work on a short-term archive project at Leeds Central Library, exploring the fascinating Spark Collection. This archive is named after Frederick R….
Marching Online Together
This week we welcome Claire Warwick and John Boocock for some hidden history drawn from the annals of Leeds United fan culture. Claire and John will be speaking about the same subject at a talk on Monday July 7 – tickets are still available so please come along if you want to hear more. The…
‘The List’: Statto Edition
Part III of heritage volunteer Pete Slater’s trilogy of articles based on his research into football fanzine history. You can hear Pete talk about that research at a research showcase coming up on June 26 – part of the programme for the Voice of the Fans exhibition, a co-production from Leeds Libraries and the British Library. You can also browse the full…
Carnivals, Fairs, Shows, Festivals, Feasts and associated Parades in West Yorkshire
This week we hear from Library and Digital Assistant Kirsty Lodge, with a deep-dive into the traditions and heritage of festivities in our region… By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes… Ray Bradbury uses this quotation from Shakespeare’s Macbeth to describe the mix of excitement and fear evoked by the arrival…
Football Fanzines: Creating ‘The List’
Part II of heritage volunteer Pete Slater’s trilogy of articles based on his research into football fanzine history. You can hear Pete talk about that research at a research showcase coming up on June 26 – part of the programme for the Voice of the Fans exhibition, a co-production from Leeds Libraries and the British…
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