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…
Exploring Leeds Central Library – The Basement
Over the next few weeks we’re going to take you around Leeds Central Library, down into the deep dark depths of the basement and up to the lofty glazed ceilings of the top floor. Because when you have your very own 137 year old building it would be a shame not to explore it to…
Rare Book Round Up – Lockdown Special
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. With libraries dating back to the 1800s we’ve got an awful…
People of Leeds #16: The Brothers Johnson, Swimmers Extraordinaire
A previous blog post took a look at the Cookridge Street Public Baths where the general manager and swimming instruction was Professor Peter Johnson. Today, librarian Helen Skilbeck takes a closer look at Johnson and his younger brother. This article forms #16 in our People of Leeds series. Peter and his brother John Baptist (J.B.)…
New Year, Old Leeds
An extremely brief snapshot of the New Year period through the last century in Leeds, culled from our Leodis archive of historical Leeds photos…
The Secret Library | Leeds Libraries Heritage Blog 