This week we hear from Library Officer, Will Poulter, on a surprising perspective of the Yorkshire Dales… One of the joys of working in the library is that sometimes I come across books that strike me, that I may never have known exist. This happened recently when I came across a modest journal by a Chinese…
The History of Book Illustration
This week Central Collections Manager, Rhian Isaac discusses The History of Book Illustration through our collections here in Central Library. Illustrated texts pre-date the printed book by thousands of years but unfortunately much has been lost from early civilisations, such as Greece, China and Rome due to the fragility of the material. Ancient Egypt is the exception…
The Golden Age of Childhood
Join us on an exploration of classic children’s books from our collection and the evocative illustrations that accompanied them. Many books that we now regard as children’s classics, such as Aesop’s Fables and the stories of Grimm and Anderson, were originally written for adults. They were simply tales intended to inform and instruct. In 1860,…
Yorkshire – owt or nowt?
Librarians Antony Ramm and Sally Hughes report on a Yorkshire-themed collections day school for arts students… This week the Central Library welcomed two groups of design students from the Leeds Arts University to explore our collections on the theme of Yorkshire. The aim was to inspire these young creatives to develop work that explored the subject…
New Research Guide: Yorkshire Battles
This week we hear from Josh Flint, from the Local and Family History department of the Central Library, who introduces his recent research into books exploring the rich history of battles and other conflicts in Yorkshire… Yorkshire has been the battleground for some of the bloodiest, treacherous and most vicious battles ever fought in Britain. This…
A new Civic Hall for Leeds
Last week was the 85th anniversary of the opening of one of the most recognisable buildings in Leeds – the Civic Hall. Librarian Helen Skilbeck looks back at the opening day itself where King George V and Queen Mary visited Leeds to officially open the building. The idea of building a new Civic Hall was…
Back-to-Back Houses, Harehills
University of York PhD researcher Joanne Harrison reports here on her research over the last year. The Local and Family History Library and My Research One aspect of my research that has been particularly interesting over the last year stems from my use of the Leeds directories held in the Local and Family History Library….
Andy Goldsworthy at Hyde Park Picture House and the Art Library
Kiera Falgate, Library Officer on the Central Library’s Arts Floor, tells us about the art of Andy Goldsworthy. Andy Goldsworthy, who grew up near Harrogate, is one of the most influential and fascinating living British artists, and his work can be found from New York to Wakefield, in pristine galleries and in sheep fields. In…
