Home › Posts tagged Sainsbury Library

Sainsbury Library

The Sainsbury Library is the University’s dedicated Business and Management library. Part of the Saïd Business School (SBS). It offers borrowing, IT and printing services and a variety of workspaces.

LGBT+ History Month 2026

Posted on by — No Comments ↓
A photograph of the towers of Exeter College and Lincoln College. Both colleges are flying the progress pride flag from their flagpoles.

Exeter and Lincoln College, taken on Turl Street. 

A photograph of the entrance to Hertford College where the classic rainbow pride flag is being flown from the flagpole.

Hertford College, taken from Upper Reading Room. 

February was LGBT+ History Month in the UK, and across the Bodleian we marked the occasion in style. This year’s theme was Science & Innovation, looking at the lives and contributions of past queer pioneers, as well as how science has impacted the LGBT+ community both positively and negatively throughout history. In this post we’ve gone through our libraries’ collections to pull out some key resources on queer history from the shelves.  

LGBT+ History Month is a great opportunity to learn more about queer history and culture, but the learning doesn’t have to stop after four weeks. Visit your local library and check out some of the books we’ve highlighted, or do your own deep dive into the LGBT innovators of the past – after all, who doesn’t love going down a research rabbit hole? You can also visit the official Schools OUT website where they’ve prepared some resources, useful links, and an events calendar to get you started. Finally, we’ve signposted some Oxford events and resources at the end of the post, so keep reading! 

History Faculty Library – Catherine

The trainees in the Old Bod & Rad Cam aren’t responsible for putting together our themed book displays, but our libraries still marked LGBT+ history month with a host of interesting books and e-resources. 

The HFL’s open shelves are well-stocked with books on the history of sexuality and the history of science; finding the overlap between these subjects can be more challenging, but if you look out for them, you’ll find some fascinating stories. This year’s display focused particularly on biographies and studies of LGBT innovators, looking closely at the lesser-known parts of their lives and identities. As well as shining a light on queer historical figures and authors, our display looked at queer communities’ relationships with health and medicine over time. I’ve highlighted a few select works below, but for a full list of books on the display and topical e-books, check out the History Faculty Library blog and pick one out for yourself.  

A copy of 'The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke' by Jeffrey C. Stewart. The cover features a portrait of Alain Locke against a white background - he is an African American man with short cropped hair dressed in a white suit.
A copy of 'Leonardo: the artist and the man' by Serge Bramly. The cover is a sepia-toned drawing of da Vinci's face in profile.
A copy of 'Before AIDS: gay health politics in the 1970s' by Katie Batza. The cover is a pink-and-purple toned photograph of drag queen Nurse Wanda Lust, with an inset of the performer Stephen Jones.

The New Negro: the life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart 

Alain Locke (1885-1954) was a philosopher, author, and academic, best known for being the first African American Rhodes Scholar and for publishing an anthology on race, culture, and politics titled ‘The New Negro’. Locke was an intellectual activist and a strong proponent of racial equality but was not outspoken about his homosexuality in the same manner during his life, viewing it as a point of unique vulnerability. In this biography, Jeffrey C. Stewart provides a full overview of Locke’s experiences as a gay black man at the forefront of an intellectual movement, exploring his personal relationships and his long search for a life partner.  

Leonardo: the artist and the man by Serge Bramly 

Originally published in 1988, this translated biography attempts to reconstruct the mysterious life of one of the most famous innovators of all time. Everyone has heard of Leonardo da Vinci: the original Renaissance Man was a painter, an engineer, an inventor, an anatomist, a theorist, and more. However, a lot of knowledge about his personal life is speculative, second-hand, and subjective, including theories about his sexuality and his alleged trial for sodomy. This book explores Leonardo as an artist, looking at his astonishing scientific career, and as a man, musing on his relationships and his identity.  

Before AIDS: gay health politics in the 1970s by Katie Batza 

Many LGBT studies into the history of medicine focus on HIV/AIDS, and for good reason, but this book looks past that to find another significant story. It explores the well-established ‘self-sufficient gay medical systems’ which existed across America long before AIDS emerged. Born from fears of being outed or having their sexuality pathologised in mainstream institutions, gay health centres provided advocacy, advice, and treatment for queer men. Katie Batza follows these clinics from their foundation to the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, revealing how they helped shape the politics of health and sexuality in modern America.  

Bodleian Old Library – Rebecca

While we didn’t have a dedicated display in the Old Library, there are plenty of hidden gems on our shelves. In-keeping with the theme for the 22nd UK LGBT+ History Month, I’ve picked out some titles from and about LGBT+ scientists and innovators. 

A copy of 'Berlin's Third Sex' by Magnus Hirschfield. The cover features two similar-looking people dressed in conventionally masculine and feminine outfits respectively.

A recent addition to the History New Books Display in the Upper Reading Room is a 2025 re-issue of Magnus Hirschfeld’s ‘Berlin’s Third Sex’. Hirschfeld established the Scientific Humanitarian Committee, the first gay rights organisation and advocacy group, as well as the Institute for Sexual Science. As a doctor, he employed scientific principles in the fight against homophobia and transphobia, even advocating for gender-affirming care. 

Just to the right of the display, in the history of science section, you’ll find ‘The Very Idea of Modern Science: Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle’. Natural philosophers Bacon and Boyle were both instrumental in the development of the scientific method. There’s also evidence to suggest both men were gay, with the latter being one of LGBT+ History Month 2026’s featured historical figures.  

A copy of 'Uncle Tungsten: memories of a chemical boyhood' by Oliver Sacks. The cover features a black and white photo of a middle-aged man and a young boy (presumably Sacks himself).

Oliver Sacks’ (first) autobiography, ‘Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood’, can also be found here. It wasn’t until he published his second autobiography, towards the end of his life, that he spoke openly about being gay. Sacks was a Queen’s College alumnus and neurologist by trade. While perhaps best known for his polarising writings, he nonetheless led a successful medical career and co-founded the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function at the Beth Abraham Hospital. 

Just downstairs, in the Philosophy Room, there are several titles relating to the renowned Judith Butler, author of ‘Gender Trouble’. Their work is certainly innovative, with their impact extending beyond feminist and queer theory into several branches of social science. Most notably, they founded the International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs. Butler is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. 

A copy of 'The Sociology of the NHS' by Margaret Stacey. The cover features a pair of surgical tongs holding a length of thread.

And finally, tucked away in the Lower Gladstone Link, you’ll find a 1974 issue of The Sociological Review’s Monograph Series edited by Margaret Stacey. Stacey was a sociologist, lecturer, and researcher. She was particularly active in the field of medical sociology, helping to re-conceptualise it as ‘a sociology of health and illness’. Aged sixty, she and fellow academic Jennifer Lorch became partners. 

Taylor Institution Library – Jules

The Taylor Institution Library (otherwise known as the Taylorian), is the university’s Modern European languages and literatures library. As such, a ‘Science and Innovation’ theme is not particularly in the wheelhouse of our collections! Nevertheless, I did my best to highlight the LGBTQ+ History that is present on our shelves. 

Here are the books I chose: 

  • Strangers : homosexual love in the 19th century 
  • Sophia Parnok : the life and work of Russia’s Sappho / Diana Lewis Burgin 
  • Gendering the Portuguese-speaking world : from the Middle Ages to the present 
  • A little gay history of Wales / Daryl Leeworthy. 
  • Becoming lesbian : a queer history of modern France. 
  • In a queer time and place : transgender bodies, subcultural lives / Judith Halberstam. 
  • Queer roots for the diaspora : ghosts in the family tree / Jarrod Hayes. 
  • Time binds : queer temporalities, queer histories / Elizabeth Freeman. 
  • Polari, the lost language of gay men / Paul Baker. 
  • Courtly and queer : deconstruction, desire, and medieval French literature / Charlie Samuelson. 
The LGBT+ History Month book display at the Taylorian. The shelves are filled with books and surrounded by miniature progress pride flags.

Social Science Library – Summer

Unlike the Taylorian, this year’s theme of ‘Science and Innovation’ paired perfectly with our collections at the Social Science Library. The SSL is well stocked on books around LGBT+ political activism, anthropological and sociological perspectives, and the history of sexuality. For this book display, I drew upon books in the SSL and CSF which highlight the contributions made by LGBT+ scientists, inventors, and innovators across the social science subjects. I also selected material in the collection that reflects how science has sometimes been used to medicalise and pathologise LGBT+ identities, reminding us how we need to continue addressing these issues today. 

The LGBT History Month display at the SSL.

I have included a selection of titles from the SSL book display here, but for a full list check out the Social Science Library blog post on the subject.

Sainsbury Library – Heidi

I really concentrated on the “innovation” part of the title when compiling my display, as it aligns well with the business school’s focus. I aimed to highlight technological developments, innovative ways of thinking, and innovators in their fields, all in relation to LGBTQ+ history. 

The library’s LGBTQ+ Business Resources LibGuide proved an invaluable starting point for exploring the relationship between LGBTQ+ history and the business world. My subsequent research inspired me to divide my display into four groups – Businesses, Memoirs, Technology, and Economics – based on the broad themes I saw within the Sainsbury Library’s collections. 

A full description of the display can be found on my Sainsbury Library Blog post! 

The LGBT+ History Month display at the Sainsbury Library. This is the 'businesses' section, featuring books on organisations and corporations.
The LGBT+ History Month display at the Sainsbury Library. This is the 'memoirs' section, featuring books on innovators and individuals.

Signposting

Every LGBT+ History Month the University of Oxford hosts a flagship lecture, panel, or speaker event. This year’s event, ‘What about queer?’ was a panel discussion on the evolving use of the word ‘queer’ and its significance in academic, political, and cultural contexts. Keep a look out for a summary or recording, which will likely go up sometime in March. In the meantime, have a look at this recording of the 2025 lecture, ‘Losing and Finding Oneself Through Queer Poetry’. 

If you’re looking for more recommended reading, take a look at these nonfiction reading lists prepared by the New York Public Library and Chicago Public Library – or if fiction is more your thing, have a look at these recommendations by Essex County Council and UCL.  

Finally, for more library resources on LGBTQ+ history throughout the year, check out this LibGuide made by a former HFL trainee. There’s information on Oxford researchers working on LGBTQ+ history, guides to databases and archives, and a whole host of material organised by topic, time period, and format. Pick a subject and get reading!

Day in the life of a Sainsbury Library trainee

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

8:00-8:40  

On my journey to work, I start to think about how I’m going to organise my day. I usually try to split it into four parts, with a different project or goal for each section. It works well by keeping me busy and my work varied! 

8:40-10:50 

I’m not on the desk this morning, so I settle into the office and get started on my current favourite task: updating our LibGuides! The Business and Management LibGuide has information on databases and journals (which only occasionally changes), but our Hot Topics need more frequent attention.

A Screenshot of the Business of Arts LibGuide, with database and consulting firm links

The one I am currently refreshing is the Business of Arts, Culture, & Entertainment, which involves scouring the internet for books, news sources, and consulting firm insights to ensure MBA students taking this elective have up-to-date information. 

10:50-11:10 

I reach a natural stopping point and, deciding it’s time for a coffee, head downstairs to the café with my latest book in hand. Being able to order virtually any book from Offsite Storage has revived my love of reading after university, and I enjoy squeezing in a few pages whenever I can.

11:10-12:00

Back upstairs, I turn my attention to exploring a new database that the library staff have been given trial access to. The goal is to compare it with some of the databases we already subscribe to, to see whether it offers anything different or complementary. I spend the next hour clicking through its features, keeping it open in one tab while some of our most-used databases sit open in others, and jotting down notes as I go.

Photograph of a plate of food and a muffin

12:00-1:00

Lunchtime! Today I have roast pepper chicken with jollof rice, and a muffin for dessert. Thanks to staff discounts at the Business School, the whole lunch costs under £3 – a definite perk.

1:00-3:30 

I’m on the enquiry desk for the afternoon, one of my three half-day desk shifts each week. I begin by bringing five Oxford Futures Library boxes upstairs and scanning them in on ALMA using our dummy patron ID. Part of my trainee project is working towards producing standardised catalogues for these collections, which means creating a record for every individual item. 

Assortment of archive items including folders and cassette tapes.

I enjoy doing this task on the desk, as it’s easy to pause while helping readers, and there’s much more space to lay materials out than at my office desk. However, some archive boxes contain more than 30 items, so it can be a very time-consuming process.

3:30-3:50

Time for an afternoon break! I grab a green tea and take a short walk, passing the many statues that have recently appeared around the Business School. 

3:50-5:00 

The final part of the day is busy with enquiries, both by email and in person. Most questions we get on the desk relate to setting up accounts for databases and news sites, but there are always a few more unusual – and often very niche – data requests that come in by email. Between enquiries, I also set up our Personal Development library display, designed to support students with research skills, mindfulness, and productivity during Hilary term. Closing up is straightforward, as the library remains open for as long as the building does, so it’s just a case of tidying the desk and office before heading home. 

Wrapping up for Christmas

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

The evenings are getting quieter, the libraries are getting chillier, and the returns trolleys are piled high with books… it must be the end of Michaelmas term! It’s been an eventful eight weeks across the libraries: we’ve marked Black History Month and Disability History Month, contributed to Green Libraries Week, put on exhibitions about great academics and gothic artists, and even found a little extra time to do some library tours. The work doesn’t stop just because the students have gone home, and we’ve got plenty to do over the holidays, but the end of term is a chance to breathe out and get ready for the new year. In the meantime, here’s a quick blog update looking back at our first few months on the job.  

A stack of green books arranged to look like a christmas tree and decorated with paper 'baubles'.
The SSL winter wellbeing book display, decorated with paper christmas trees and stars.
A stack of brown books arranged and decorated to look like a reindeer's face.

Some very crafty book displays made by Summer! (Social Science Library)

This term has gone as quickly as the daylight hours, but it’s been great to watch the business school get steadily more festive – especially after the fairy lights were strung up outside the library window! I’ve had so many enjoyable moments over the past eight weeks: learning the curious (and sometimes frustrating) world of Leganto with Anna (our Collections & Instructional Materials Assistant), getting involved with the Oxford Futures Library archives, and even running a crochet workshop with Cui (our Circulation & Customer Service Librarian) – she’s already made some beautiful bookmarks despite only taking up crochet this term! I’ve also greatly appreciated the variety of work I’ve been able to do with the Rare Books team at the Weston Library during my time there this month. All in all, this term has encouraged me to approach the rest of the traineeship with confidence, and I’m excited to keep developing my skills and shaping my trainee project as we head into the new year. 

Heidi Cruft, Sainsbury Library 

A lot has happened in the Art library this term- I’ve scanned a lot of book chapters, issued and returned a lot of material, packaged a lot of interlibrary loans, filled and emptied a lot of crates, helped (at least I hope) a lot of readers- and endured a few broken lifts, exploding radiators and technical issues along the way. It’s been really satisfying to slowly get the hang of more things and better understand the scale of things going on to keep a library running- it’s not just stamping books! I’ve really enjoyed the training sessions this term- especially the visit to the special collections at the Weston- and loved spending a full week at the Taylor Institution. Next term I plan to get stuck into my trainee project in sorting out the chaotic Haverfield room, and helping the subject librarians with some collections management. 

Olly Marshall, Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library 

Term passed in the blink of an eye, but it’s been a lot of fun. The HFL is a really interesting place to work because there’s always something going on: from VIP events to student inductions to spontaneous explosions (not a joke!), this job definitely keeps you on your toes. I’ve reviewed reading lists, done inventory checks, sent damaged items off for repair, hunted for missing books, and kept track of the infinite spreadsheets required for all those tasks. I’m really enjoying getting to work behind the scenes and keep things operating smoothly for readers, and I appreciate the amount of work that goes into running an academic library even more now. While it’s hard to pick out just one thing, a highlight of my term has been getting started on my very collections-focused trainee project, and I’m looking forward to delving deeper into archives and special collections next term. For now, though, I need a few calm weeks to take advantage of the millions of books just waiting to be read (the real perk of the job). Catherine Birch, History Faculty Library 

A marble bust of Isaac Newton wearing a pair of reindeer antlers.
Isaac Newton is feeling festive
(Old Bodleian)

A marble bust of Voltaire decorated with reindeer antlers and a tinsel scarf.
Voltaire wanted to dress up too! (Taylor Institution)

Michaelmas has gone by so quickly! This term has been a lot of desk time, displays, photography, and using the mysterious trainee power to arrange meetings with interesting people within the Bodleian. I’ve made themed displays (I especially loved my Halloween one), started photographing all the rooms in the Taylorian for a social media bank, and helped readers find many a book. The most interesting training for me this term has been the visits to the Weston to see the rare books and conservation work, and to CSF (the Bodleian Offsite Storage facility). I’ve made a lot of headway on my project, which involves designing a creative public outreach event for the Strachan collection of Livres d’Artiste / Artist’s Books. I’ve sent a lot of emails to all sorts of people, who have been more than happy to help me with my idea. My favourite days are the ones I can sit in the archives room and go through the collection while listening to music. In Hilary term, I’m looking forward to the training with the Centre for the Study of the Book, where we’ll learn about printing methods, and get to use a hand-operated printing press! Jules McGee-Russell (they/them), Taylor Institution Library 

 

It’s been a busy Michaelmas term here at the SSL. Going from the whirlwind of over 100 library tours for new students in 0/1st week to emptying out after 8th week, the library almost feels eerily quiet without the readers. But just because most students have gone, does not mean the workroom has got any quieter – from an influx of new reading lists to review and books to process, to hunting for missing books and working on my two projects – there’s been plenty to keep me busy! The SSL has received 2 donations that make up the bulk of my project work – 40 boxes of working papers from the University of Bradford and 70 shelves of books from a single donor. I now have endless hours of work transcribing book spines and embellishing Alma catalogue records to keep me busy when the rest of the library gets too quiet! Along with enjoying getting stuck into my project work, one of my highlights this term has been working on the new book displays – from Black History and Disability History months to Bonfire Night and Winter Wellbeing, it’s been great fun researching interesting and unusual books in the CSF that I can add to my displays. I’m looking forward to the training sessions of next term, particularly the one around student wellbeing initiatives in the libraries, and I’m sure Hilary term will go by as quickly as Michaelmas did!

Summer Mainstone-Cotton, Social Science Library 

Welcome from the Trainees of 2025!  

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Hello again, loyal readers, and welcome to part two of our introduction to the 2025/26 Graduate Trainees. This time, the spotlight is on the Business, Law, and Social Sciences libraries, as well as this year’s College trainees.

Noughth week was busy! We’ve been running induction tours, putting up Black History Month displays, visiting the newly opened Schwarzman Humanities Centre, and somehow keeping our libraries running smoothly. The city is covered in falling leaves (romantic, autumnal, stunning) and the beginnings of the expected wet weather (slippery cobblestones, my nemesis). Regardless, we’re all set to give warm welcomes to our incoming freshers. 

Now, let’s meet some more trainees! 

Trainee Introductions: Business, Law and Social Sciences 

Heidi Cruft – Sainsbury Library, Saïd Business School

Hi everyone! I’m Heidi, the Graduate Trainee at the Sainsbury Library in the Saïd Business School.   

Although my BA wasn’t in Business – I studied English at the University of Cambridge – I got a taste of what business students might be looking for while working with them during a summer scheme at my college. That experience gave me some insight into their research habits and made me appreciate how unique the Sainsbury Library is among the Bodleian Libraries: we primarily serve postgraduates, with a strong focus on journals and databases.  

I knew quite early on in my undergraduate degree that I wanted to pursue a career in libraries and was lucky to gain experience by volunteering at two of Cambridge’s college libraries. That proved invaluable – not only did I get to work with some fascinating special collections, but I learnt a lot about the day-to-day tasks common across most libraries, including processing new books, shelving, and answering enquiries.  

I’m really enjoying my role at the Sainsbury Library so far, and it’s been lovely to get to know the (quite large!) team here. I’ve particularly enjoyed learning how varied everyone’s roles are – it’s shown me how much collaboration goes on behind the scenes in library work. 

The Saïd Business School from the outside at night.
Photograph taken from the SBS website: The School | Saïd Business School

Gemma Hammond – Bodleian Law Library 

Hello! I’m Gemma, the graduate trainee at the Bodleian Law Library.  

I have a BA in History and an MPhil in Ancient History, both from Oxford. I’ve always been interested in working in libraries in some capacity, so after my Master’s I looked for volunteering opportunities and found a position in the library of a small theological college. This was a really useful experience because as well as getting a lot of shelving practice(!) I got to do all sorts of other background tasks (cataloguing, checking reading lists, working with the archive). I went on to work part-time as an evening and weekends library assistant in the Old Bodleian and the Art Library, which was much more focused on front-line reader services: issuing and returning books and generally helping readers and problem-solving.  

What I enjoy about working in libraries is that it’s relatively structured but also involves a variety of tasks, and you never quite know what will come up so it doesn’t get boring! I decided to apply for the graduate trainee role because I wanted to learn more about working in libraries in general, and technical services in particular, and to hopefully work out whether to commit to a further Master’s.   

I’ve really enjoyed my first month at the Law Library. Everyone has been welcoming and very helpful, and I feel like I’m beginning to settle in and become part of the team. I’ve obviously had a lot of experience using the Bodleian libraries as a student as well as working in them for the past year or so, but before now I hadn’t ever been in the Law Library. I don’t know much about law as a subject at all, so I’ve been learning a lot! I’ve also been getting used to the library itself, since of course although they’re all under the Bodleian Libraries umbrella, each library has its own idiosyncrasies. The Law Library is reference only, so no one can take the books out, which is a change from the libraries I’d worked in previously. As well as legal texts, the library houses the Official Papers collection, some of which date from the 16th century. 

So far, I’ve mainly been processing new books (putting tattle-tape in them and stamping them) and labelling them (there’s two different types of labels, reflecting the two classification systems that the library uses). I’ve also got to grips with using the Bookeye scanner, which is actually a lot easier than it looks! There’s not been too much shelving to do but the library has been getting busier as the beginning of term gets closer, so I’m sure I’ll soon have the opportunity to properly test myself on the library layout and shelfmarks. I’ve also spent some time at the Enquiry Desk. The (Grade II*-listed) building that the library is in can be a bit of a labyrinth and I’m still working on how best to answer the inevitable questions from readers about how to find the water fountain… For October I’m hoping to get involved in the book displays we have planned and looking forward to the start of a new term!   

The reading room and bookstacks of the Bodleian Law Library.

Summer Mainstone-Cotton – Social Science Library 

Hi everyone! I’m Summer, the graduate trainee at the Social Science Library (the SSL).   

Whilst a medievalist at heart, having studied an MA in Medieval Studies, I feel that I’m starting to find my feet amongst the Social Sciences (there were plenty of economic and political influences in the medieval world after all!) At the SSL we serve a mix of undergrads and postgrads, with probably our largest undergraduate cohort being the PPE students – I’m always a bit daunted when their big economic textbooks come to me for processing!   

I was fairly inexperienced with library work before this traineeship. As a student I spent a lot of time in libraries and became quite good at the detective work of tracking down obscure research books, but the inner workings of libraries remained a mystery. During my MA I did a placement at Cambridge University Library, but that was with special collections rather than reader or technical services – I learnt a lot about childbirth in medieval medical manuscripts, but I’m yet to find a use for that knowledge in the SSL! Far from being a disadvantage though, it’s made everything here feel new and interesting – I still get a lot of satisfaction from stamping books with the Bodleian stamp (even if I haven’t managed to stamp in a straight line yet).  

I’ve really enjoyed my first few weeks at the SSL. Everyone in the library has been very friendly and patient with my many questions and triple checking alma holdings editing – I’m still terrified I’ll accidently delete a book from the system!  

The traineeship offers a great mix of technical and reader services alongside the Wednesday training sessions, which makes every day new and interesting. I’m looking forward to the upcoming chaos of Michaelmas term and I’m sure this year will fly by! 

A view down the shelves at the Social Sciences Library.
More shelves and book displays at the Social Sciences Library.

Trainee Introductions: Colleges

Amy Fry – Christ Church College Library 

Hi everyone! I’m Amy, the Graduate Trainee at Christ Church Library for this year. My position is slightly different to the Bodleian Trainees: I’m technically employed by my college, but I still get the same training sessions and experiences. The best of both worlds!  

I studied Music at Lincoln College before starting this job, probably the only other Oxford college library whose beauty can compare to Christ Church’s (I still can’t quite work out where my loyalties lie…), however the world of libraries is rather new to me. It was actually the advertisement for the Bodleian Trainee scheme that sparked my interest in librarianship as a career, and after some great advice from Lucy and Marina, the librarians at Lincoln, I decided I would give it a go.   

Christ Church Library is a wonderfully impressive place to work. Vertically split into the Working Library downstairs and the Special Collections upstairs, it offers such variety on a daily basis. Downstairs, my responsibilities include much of the day-to-day tasks involved in keeping the library useful for students: processing, shelving, collections management, and fielding questions (if I know the answers that is…). Upstairs, I get to help out with exhibitions, and over the course of the year will also put on various short pop-ups. I’m currently planning one to celebrate the Christ Church 500 Music Festival – a rather cool experience for a music grad! I’m lucky to have joined such a welcoming and knowledgeable team here (9 of us total!) and feel very excited for what the rest of the year will hold, both in Christ Church and across the wider Bodleian Libraries! 

The outside of Christ Church Library in the fog.

Leah Duffin – New College Library 

Hello. My name is Leah, and I am the Graduate Trainee at New College Library. As I work in one of the colleges my role is different from the other trainees. I work across a multitude of projects, execute various tasks, and contribute to the successful running of the library. I am fortunate to feel quite settled in this role as I started in July and have had lots of exciting opportunities since then.  

I hold a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and History and a masters in Medieval Studies from University College Dublin. I have spent much of my academic career in libraries and upon completing my master’s I found myself drawn to a career in libraries. Due to the nature of my master’s research, I worked closely with special collections, and I knew that I wanted to foster this interest in a more professional capacity. Thus, I decided to move away from Ireland and combine my passion for history and libraries and what better place to do that than Oxford!  

Perhaps I show my bias but, in my opinion, New College is one of the finest colleges in Oxford and the library has become a welcoming and wonderful place to work. New College Library is home to a renowned collection of rare books and manuscripts; this includes 384 manuscripts and thousands of rare books and incunables. I was particularly drawn to this role as it allowed me to use the knowledge I gained in my studies through working with a rich repository of special collections whilst also learning more about librarianship and supporting readers. Here at the library, our year is full of opportunities to showcase our special collections, as we often hold exhibitions for the public to come and view our treasures! We also assist academics and readers in viewing our collections. Recently, I aided in curating our current temporary exhibition on the American illustrator Edward Gorey. I was responsible for deciding which items to showcase along with carrying out research, creating labels and designing the promotional material. As term has begun, we are busy holding inductions for new students, purchasing books from readings lists and planning our next exhibition that will take place in November. I am looking forward to what the next few months have in store! 

New College Library and Bell Tower from the outside, surrounded by trees and plant life.

Women’s History Month Book Displays 2025

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

March is Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day fell on 8th March, which means that it’s time for another book display update from the Trainees! In this post, you will find information all about the book displays that were put together in the Social Science Library, New College Library, Taylor Institution Library, and the Sainsbury Library at Saïd Business School.

If you would like to find out more information about Women’s History Month or International Women’s Day, why not have a look at the International Women’s Day website. To find other resources on Women’s History, check out the Bodleian’s Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies LibGuide.

Gia Simmons – Social Science Library

Happy Women’s History Month! We do love our book displays here at the SSL and this month is definitely no exception. For this display, I was able to collaborate with a few colleagues to create an extensive two-part book display.

While creating this display, I decided to set myself a challenge. I wanted to include at least one book on the subject of at least one woman from as many of the subjects that are housed in the Social Science Library as possible. This was definitely not an easy feat as we house a wide variety of subjects such as Politics & International Relations, Economics, Anthropology, Geography, International Development, Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, Sociology and more. For the other section of the display, one of my colleagues compiled the books on women’s history more generally.

In deciding to try and create a display with women from each of our subjects, I was able to explore new historical figures that I had not been previously aware of. Some of the subject librarians in the SSL were kind enough to give me some suggestions of women to research and I added many of them to the display. Here is the list of books about these women that were included in this display with the name of the women written in bold:

The theme for International Woman’s Day this year was Accelerate Action. Although I did not follow a specific theme for this display, the inclusion of women from a wide range of disciplines was of paramount importance to me, as each of these women have been a notable force for change in their fields. Some of these women you may have heard of, some you may be unfamiliar with. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend that you look into the impact that they have made on their fields. If you would like more information on the book display, I also wrote a blog post for the Social Science Library Blog.

Jess Pascal – New College Library

For this year’s Women’s History Month display, I first checked out last year’s display so I could avoid repeating too many books and give others a chance in the limelight, though some were just too good to miss! In the same spirit, I drew on as many interesting acquisitions I’ve seen recently as possible – this is an advantage of processing the majority of new books that come into the library. A particularly useful source of new books about women’s history was the Warden’s kind donation of all the books longlisted for the Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize for non-fiction books, which is associated with New College. This included several titles on women’s history, including The Waiting Game and Shakespeare’s Sisters. 

Fortunately, there were a lot of books to choose from on women’s history – the hardest part of this display was getting my initial longlist down to just 12 books! In line with the UN’s theme for International Women’s Day this year, ‘For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment’, I aimed to represent a diverse cross-section of women’s history within the scope of the library’s collections. Nevertheless, the display has a bias towards English women, as they are most represented in the library here at New College to align with teaching priorities. 

Books used: 

Ackelsberg, Martha A. Free Women of Spain : Anarchism and the Struggle for the Emancipation of Women. AK Press, 2005. 

Briggs, Robin. The Witches of Lorraine. Oxford University Press, 2007. 

Burke, Jill. How to Be a Renaissance Woman : The Untold History of Beauty and Female Creativity. Profile Books Ltd, 2023. 

Clark, Nicola. The Waiting Game : The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2024. 

Ferry, Georgina. Dorothy Hodgkin : A Life. Granta Books, 1998. 

Gregory, Philippa. Normal Women : 900 Years of Making History. William Collins, 2023. 

Jenkins, Lyndsey. Sisters and Sisterhood : The Kenney Family, Class, and Suffrage, 1890-1965. Oxford University Press, 2021. 

Romney, Rebecca. Jane Austen’s Bookshelf : The Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend. Ithaka, 2025. 

Rupp, Leila J. Worlds of Women : The Making of an International Women’s Movement. Princeton University Press, 1997. 

Saunders, Corinne J., and Diane Watt, editors. Women and Medieval Literary Culture : From the Early Middle Ages to the Fifteenth Century. Cambridge University Press, 2023. 

Simone, Nina, and Stephen Cleary. I Put a Spell on You : The Autobiography of Nina Simone. Second Da Capo Press edition., Da Capo Press, 2003. 

Targoff, Ramie. Shakespeare’s Sisters: Four Women Who Wrote the Renaissance. riverrun, 2024. 

Lindsey Evans – Taylor Institution Library

For our Women’s History Month display, I was keen to showcase books and films about women’s achievements across the breadth of cultures represented in the library’s collections. Since the Taylor covers a very wide range of modern European languages – from French to Frisian, Spanish to Yiddish – this gave plenty of scope. Almost a daunting amount of scope, in fact.  

The finished displays (with one item taken away by an interested reader 😊 )

For the broad topic of ‘women’, it would have been impractical to canvas everyone in the team of subject librarians for recommendations. (Also this month we have a dedicated St Patrick’s Day display going up, which has been curated by our Celtic subject librarian, Janet.) And so I began a solo process with SOLO, the catalogue, to narrow things down. 

Initially my thinking went to works by, or about, celebrated female authors and feminist theorists, past and present. (“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman,” wrote Simone de Beauvoir, on whom there are several hundreds of books in the Taylor, for example.) Another consideration in my mind, however, was to highlight the impact of women whose voices might be less well known. In the end, I settled on a range of titles documenting women’s contributions to art, politics or society at different points in history and in various language communities. These women include crofters in the Hebrides, Welsh women shaking up the status quo, powerful noblewomen of 18th-19th century Russia, female creators in 19th century Germany, and sisters (in the literal sense of blood relatives) who were active in Irish public life over the ages. 

With the Taylor being home to a large DVD collection, and even a bookable space for library users to watch them in, it’s also great to be able to publicise films as well as books on a theme. I chose a sample of films by foreign-language female directors to highlight women’s contribution to cinema. I aimed to include some directors who are less familiar to Western audiences, so alongside the French filmmakers Agnès Varda, Céline Sciamma and Claire Denis, we also find the Czech director Věra Chytilová, Ann Hui of Hong Kong and the Saudi Arabian director Haifaa al-Mansour. 

Charlotte Edwards – Sainsbury Library

As the Sainsbury Library is embedded into Saïd Business School , I was able to see the celebrations for International Women’s Day extend through the whole school. We had a women’s day themed social, the catering team put together a great cake display (photographed by my supervisor) and there was a book talk by Iris Bohnet and Siri Chilazi on their new book Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results (which I of course included in our book display in the library!).  

More focussed in the library, I also gave the Sainsbury Library Women in Business Libguide a refresh, including some of the books I found as part of my book display research.  

It was nice to be able to highlight some physical books unique to the Sainsbury Library: 

  • Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design for Real Results / Iris Bohnet & Siri Chilazi 
    • A book talk was hosted at Saïd Business School on 10th March when Bohnet and Chilazi presented their evidence-based approach to create fairness in the workplace by providing an even playing field. In line with this year’s theme, Accelerating Action, they present ‘Actionable solutions’ to establish this fairness in the workplace.  
  • The Mental Load: A Feminist Comic / Emma 
    • Appearing on our Inclusive Leadership reading list, I discovered this book by a colleague’s recommendation. This comic covers the sometimes-frustrating reality of being a woman in a male dominated workplace in an engaging, easily digestible form. And yes, I ended up reading this in one sitting.  
  • The Lockdown Lowdown: Women and Covid, a gendered pandemic / Sarah Lightman (ed.)  
    • The Lockdown Lowdown: Graphic Narrative for Viral Times are graphic narratives written by a diverse range of artists during the first COVID lockdown in 2020. The series highlights the strange experiences and emotions felt during this time. This special edition of The Lockdown Lowdown demonstrates how women experienced the pandemic differently to men, both negatively and positively. In a textbook-heavy library it is exciting and refreshing to find other narrative forms such as The Lockdown Lowdown and The Mental Load.  
  • Beyond Leaning In / Melanie Ho 
    • This book is based on research about Business but is formatted as a novel. Ho creates a narrative intended to begin a conversation between people from friends and family to co-workers. The variety of characters across different genders and ages aids in giving readers new perspectives on the issue as to why it is so hard to close the gender gap. 
  • Why do so many Incompetent Men become Leaders? (and how to fix it) / Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic 
    • When browsing our shelves in the Annexe, I came across this book and admittedly loved the title. Chamorro-Premuzic explores why competent women and men who don’t fit the stereotypical leader profile (many organizations identify leadership with negative qualities like overconfidence and narcissism) are passed over for leadership roles. And the negative impact of this. Chamorro-Premuzic explains what really makes a leader and how new systems could rectify having the wrong people in charge.  
  • Women’s Economic Empowerment: Insights from Africa and South Asia /  
    Kate Grantham (ed.), Gillian Dowie (ed.) & Arjan de Haan (ed.) 
    • Aimed at students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers, this book presents research coming from the International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) programme. The research covers topics such as unpaid domestic work and childcare, the influence of social and cultural norms that prevent women participating in better paid economic sectors and more in the Global South.  

When researching for books I tried to keep my focus very Business and Management based, drawing on some books that are on reading lists for Inclusive Leadership. As World Book Day was happening whilst I was compiling my display (for which we had another book display) I also thought to include some more general feminist literature, so some of my book display picks may already be known to you, but hopefully there is something new here as well. 

Other Books Included: 

A Day in the Life of a Sainsbury Library Trainee

Posted on by — 4 Comments ↓

Anna Roberts – Sainsbury Library

08:40 

Whilst sipping tea from my KeepCup on the bus, and glaring at the traffic ahead, I email my supervisor because I think I may be a little late!

09:03

 I arrive in the library. My opening shift is made a lot quicker and easier because my supervisor starts work a bit earlier than everybody else. This means she usually does most of the opening up. However, if she is not starting early then these are some of the tasks that we do: folding up blankets on our blanket shelf, returning books on the library system that were in our library return box, walk around the library floors turning the lights on and tidying up the desks and chairs (students and staff at the school can use the library outside of staffed hours), check and replenish paper levels in the printer, and check our IT equipment loan folder. The library is embedded within the Saïd Business School which means the building is already set up before staff come in and business students can still use our library after we go home too!

09:10 

We had a mystery wire on our enquiry desk this morning which may have been lost property, but it does look like some of the HDMI cables that are connected to our docking stations. So, I went to investigate whether there were any missing cables.

The PC area cables and wires in our lower reading room were a complete mess like vines all curled up together. So, I decided to tidy the area up a bit.

09:20 

Part of desk duty is to monitor our library email inbox. So, I checked the enquiries that we had. Usually, they will involve a mixture of readers asking for business-related research help, some asking for help accessing library resources both online and offline, and others will be requesting access to databases. Some of our databases require staff to create accounts for students, others have a limited number of IDs that we issue to students for a set number of days. Due to high demand, there is often a waiting list for these IDs.

We also welcome and grant access to library visitors, usually non-Saïd Business School students, occasionally others, into the library. Reception rings us to say that a visitor is here and wants to use the library. Often the visitor is already racing up the stairs so you must get an access card ready and hopefully meet them at the door before anyone else enters and leaves-otherwise the visitor will be trapped in the library!

09:30 

As the library was quiet, armed with blue tack, a pen and sticky notes I went around our PCs checking if they had the ‘how to log in’ labels on the monitors. I re-tacked some of them and recorded the number that didn’t have any and the docking stations that require their docking labels too. I plan to update those without another day.

09:50  

My colleague, who also works at the library’s Egrove site, gave me a book which had been requested for scanning. Egrove Park is the location for the business school’s Executive Education services, which includes some residential courses. We have a small collection of roughly 955 books which can be borrowed by users at Egrove and by members of the university.

I check ALMA for any other requests to triage and fulfill. I then wrote a post-it note for the part to be scanned and placed the book on my desk in the office.

I also checked the SBS intranet to keep up to date with news within the school. I read an article giving the Dean’s message about International Women’s Day (IWD) the next day. Internal communications were also requesting staff to send along a picture and a couple of words for IWD. I created a book display for IWD and a window display for the Oxford Africa Business Forum. As I was planning to write a blog post about my book display, I decided that I would also send a picture and some words along for this. You can read the blog post ‘Celebrating in True Library Fashion’ and see a list of the books on our Sainsbury Library News page.

A selection of cakes with lots of heart designs
A picture of part of the bakery display that the catering put on for Valentine’s Day

11:00 

My colleague who was covering my 20-minute morning break came along to cover. I went to the school’s café/common room to help myself to a free tea in my KeepCup. Staff at the school get subsidized food at the common room and dining hall which means a 50% – 60% discount on cakes, pastries, cheesecakes, and whatever other delights the café and catering team rustles up! I go to the tea stand where there are free teabags and an urn of hot water. I listened to some music and relaxed for a bit.

11:20

Back on desk duty after my break.

My colleague asked someone on site to check Harvard Business Review on SOLO as it appeared to have disappeared. I took a look and indeed it was an empty page. Whilst I was testing a different browser, I also assisted some readers with in-person enquiries and welcomed visitors in.

As part of my SOLO investigation, I tried searching in Journal Search and Harvard Business Review and came up with no results. I then tried searching for other journals, same result. I then tried searching with filters and nothing was appearing! Something was wrong! I then compiled an email for OLIS help with screenshots to report the problem. It is always useful to include precise information about the browser and what you are doing when asking for assistance. The team sent out an email to the library mailing list to inform all the libraries and staff that SOLO was experiencing problems, and they thanked our team for reporting it.

In a lovely gesture, a reader whom I had assisted with printing came to the desk especially to say thank you for my help before leaving. This is always very appreciated.

12:30 

Journal search is back up! We are lucky to have a fantastic OLIS team who work hard, often in the background, to make sure the Bodleian Library keeps running! A few of my colleagues on site were in a meeting whilst all this happened and didn’t even know that there had been a problem.

Tart and salad on a plate
Oxfordshire Blue and Mushroom tart, plus salad! -Keeping us healthy

13:00 Lunch break

My colleague for the afternoon comes to enquiry desk to changeover. It often seems to be the case that the phone starts ringing, someone wants to borrow IT equipment and something else pops up right when you are transferring. Anyway, I greeted the visitor and then went for lunch, leaving things in my colleague’s hands.

For lunch, I went to the school’s dining room and got an Oxfordshire Blue Cheese and mushroom tart plus the ambient salads that the kitchen provides- very yummy! Staff can get a good quality hot meal or ambient meal for around £2.50 each day- what a bargain! I listened to some music whilst eating and then read my book outside sitting on the school’s amphitheatre steps because it was finally sunny (if a bit chilly though).

14:00 

I had a few plans about what I wanted to do like completing the scan and deliver request and completing my blog post. I recently discovered ‘Bodley and the bookworms- Scan and deliver video which I can’t get out of my head when I hear or read‘scan and deliver’. I decided to focus on finishing my blog post as this was more time sensitive. It is often the case as a trainee that you will be juggling a few tasks at a time and that you may be producing blog posts or book displays to mark different events/themes in the year, either local to your library or subject, nationally or internationally. So far, I have done Business of AI, Financial Times ‘Book of the Year’ displays and now IWD and Business in Africa. I will consult with members of the team about future displays.

A stack of 4 large blue boxes and a trolley with 10 grey cardboard archive boxes
Blue crates and archive boxes-took me four trips!

15:00

I go to cover my colleague’s afternoon tea break. Just as I arrive on desk a reader who is doing Futures Library research informs us there should be more blue crates here for her. She has gone through most, if not all now, of the Pierre Wack library! So, I popped downstairs to check if the Bod book van had arrived yet. The van had arrived, delivering 10 blue boxes/totes plus an oversized archive box- I think this was a record for our library (or at least for me!) although I  know that is a tiny delivery in comparison with some of the other libraries. I ended up taking three trips in the lift to bring everything up. It was quite intriguing see some of what is inside the archive boxes- VHS tapes, cassettes, a briefcase folder. My colleague and I scanned in the archive boxes, including an oversized one with a briefcase in it and then my colleague finally went on his tea break.

15:30

A colleague who assisted with putting the book display up and organising kindly offered to be in a photo for the book display for IWD- I was very grateful that she was willing to be in it too! With the photo taken I then finished the blog post for IWD and the Africa Business Forum display and then edited the IWD part slightly to share it with the Saïd Business Schools Internal Communications Team. They very kindly added a bit of context to the library and created an article on Atrium to share with colleagues at the school.

15:45

I went for my afternoon tea break and once again got a tea from the tea station in the school’s common room. I also browsed the pastries and cakes but decided to skip it- they are always very tempting though!

16:05

I caught up on some emails and my to do list.

16:20

Sainsbury Library is currently running an assessment activity concerning where students are sitting and the noise levels of the reading room. We have a board and stickers for students to pick what they are in the library to do and where on our library map, they would prefer to sit to do that. We were also doing some observations in the afternoons where two of us walk around the library and noting where people were sitting and what they were doing e.g. group study, silent study. That afternoon I was doing the observation. Students sometimes looked at us a bit quizzically as we walked around and stood observing the tables.

16:40

Our circulation and customer services librarian showed me how the library records teaching statistics are recorded (this is sessions where staff members have delivered inductions, consultations, and lectures) and SCONUL counts (the SCONUL homepage has a picture of my old library so had to include a link!). Sconul counts are when we, along with other libraries, count the number of readers in the library at a specific time and date. Our circulation librarian is responsible in our library for recording these statistics this and it was good to see what is recorded, why it is recorded and how it is recorded. I have found that there are often opportunities in my day to observe and learn from other staff members about different tasks they do, even if I am not going to be specifically assisting them.

6 books with post-it notes on their covers
Books I need to sort out

16:55

I write a note in my notebook about some of the ‘book stuff’ I need to do: process new books, complete a scan, and a a plastic cover to the dust jacket. Here is a visual picture of it:

17:00

I head to the train station to wait for a bus home!

 

 

 

Happy Christmas from the Oxford Library Trainees!

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Well! It’s the last day before Christmas closure at the Bodleian Library, and as I am writing this, I imagine that some of the trainees in other libraries are making their way back to family and friends for Christmas. It’s been magical to see how Oxford libraries transform at Christmas time. There have been carols in the Divinity School sung by Bodleian staff, busts decorated with Santa hats, and Christmas trees springing up all over our different sites.  

Like the trainees last year, this year we decided to explore our libraries in the festive season through the medium of our very own 12 Days of Christmas- or should I say, Libmas! Originally posted over on our X (Twitter) X/Twitter account below is a list of all the presents that our libraries have ‘sent’ to us, and now to you!  (Singing along is optional.) 

On the First Day of Libmas, my library sent to me- 

A bust of Chichele! 

Henry Chichele was the founder of All Souls College and also Archbishop of Canterbury from 1414-43. One of our trainees has the privilege of working in the library there! 

 

On the Second Day of Libmas my library sent to me-  

Two book displays 

Part of the trainee role is getting to be creative with book displays. Pictured below are some Christmas book sculptures from the Social Science Library. How cute! 

 

On the Third day of Libmas my library sent to me-  

Three window frogs! 

According to cataloguer Peter Spokes, much of the painted glass in the Old Bodleian Upper Reading Room is of 17th century Flemish origin! 

Top right frog has definitely had too much Christmas pudding. 

 

On the Fourth day of Libmas my library sent to me- 

Four festive busts! 

Pictured below are busts of Professor Hermann Georg Fiedler, Prince Edward and Voltaire. 

  

 

On the Fifth Day of Libmas my library sent to me- 

Five old things! 

1)A papyrus dating from 3 AD from St John’s College, in which the recipient is asked why they didn’t attend the sender’s son’s birthday party ! 

 

 

 

2) MS 61 – a rather lovely 13th century bestiary made in York! 

3) A copy of the 27 Sermons preached by Hugh Latimer and held at the English Faculty Library! This edition was printed in 1562 by John Day, seven years after Latimer was burnt at the stake for heresy on Broad Street near Balliol college in Oxford. 

4) One of a series of letters written by Jane Austen to her niece Anna in 1814. St John’s College also owns a 1797 letter from Austen’s father, George, to a publishing house, offering them his daughter’s novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ – they said no! 

5) Last but certainly not least in our list of old things, a book on Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules! Although still used in some select libraries, AACR and AACR2 were a cataloguing standard that have largely been superseded by machine-readable cataloguing, known as MARC 

 

On the Sixth Day of Libmas my library sent to me-  

Six Christmas data charts!  

With roast spuds as the top dish, average Christmas budget, most desired gifts, total UK Xmas spending, average Christmas dinner cost, and toys as largest gift spend! Sprouts beat mince pies…hmm? 

 

On the Seventh Day of Libmas my library sent to me- 

Seven damaged books! 

It’s inevitable that some of the Bodleian’s collections will become a little careworn, however, it’s important that they are able to keep circulating. This is when the lovely Bodleian conservation team step in! 

 

On the Eighth day of Libmas my library sent to me-  

Eight totes for packing!  

Artfully (?) arranged by a trainee into a very vague christmas tree shape, these totes contain books to be refiled in our Collections Storage Facility. 

 

On the Ninth day of Libmas my library sent to me- 9 ladies’ dancing (manuals)  

Exhibited in Blackwell Hall, Weston Library, ‘The Dancing Master’ was a widely popular manual of country dances, first published in 1651. 

The Weston Library is holding a Dancing Master’s Ball in January- join the waiting list here: The Dancing Master’s Ball | Visit the Bodleian Libraries (ox.ac.uk)  

Or learn more about the display: The Dancing Master | Visit the Bodleian Libraries (ox.ac.uk) 

 

On the Tenth day of Libmas my library sent to me-  

10 pre-Raphaelite murals! 

In 1857, 8 artists including Rossetti, Morris and Burne-Jones, painted the #OxfordUnion’s Old Library (then Debate Chamber). Their inexperience meant the art faded and some said it should be covered. 

Read more about the murals and the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in Oxford here: OXFORD AND THE PRE-RAPHAELITES | Ashmolean Museum 

On the Eleventh Day of Libmas my library sent to me- 

Eleven (House of) Lords (Hansard parliamentary sittings reports) a-leaping (on to their trolley)! Did you know the Bodleian Law Library also houses the Official Papers collection? 

On the Twelth day of Libmas my library sent to me- 

Twelve libraries with trainees wish you a very merry Christmas!

Thank you all for reading our blog and engaging with our X posts over Michaelmas term. There is lots more to come in 2024, so watch this space!  

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us! 

Michaelmas term round-up

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

As the libraries empty out over the Christmas vacation, the trainees reflect on their first term.

 

A display including fact sheets and images of suggested titles such as Ableism in Academia and The Oxford Handbook of Disability History
The Disability History Month Display in the Old Bod Lower Reading Room

Christmas at the Old Bod has arrived, and although in the last week there have been fewer visitors, the reading rooms are still peopled with studious readers. I’ve put up some fabulous Christmas decorations (circa 1970), and the tree in the quad has drawn even more tourists in.

The past few months working at the Bodleian have been a lot of fun. One of my favourite activities has been making displays and advertising resources that the Bodleian has to offer, like my recent book display for UK Disability History Month . It means I get to interact with a wider variety of books from our vast collection. What it has fundamentally shown me is that my favourite part of working in a library is the opportunities you are given every day to help people!

Nia Everitt, Bodleian Old Library 

 

 

 

My first term at the Sainsbury Library has been busy with tasks varying from processing new books, weeding old journals, and creating and updating signs for the library (which sometimes involves warming up the laminator!). I have three main highlights so far:

  1. Creating a ‘How to Guide’ for readers with Sainsbury’s Circulation and Customer Services Librarian. The guide covers topics like setting up the university VPN, how to use PCAS services, and how to search, find, borrow and request books in our library. It is over 60 pages long and counting…
  2. Creating an AI book display which then led to creating an AI window display at the library entrance and now updating our Business of AI LibGuide to include books from the display and A visitor even came in asking about the display because they saw the post I wrote on our Sainsbury Library News blog.

Both projects have helped me to learn about the variety of support and services that the Bodleian provides. I have explored business databases, SOLO, ORLO, and other University of Oxford resources doing these two projects. I have realised that readers at Oxford have access to a wealth of resources but, through working on the enquiry desk, you come to realise how many readers do not know about it! So, the final highlight is:

  1. Helping a reader discover something they didn’t know before and helping them with problems they have accessing services.

The reader’s gratefulness after helping or even just visiting the library is like extra icing on a cake. The gratefulness is a reminder that helping someone in a way that, as staff we may feel is small or routine, such as scanning a chapter, telling someone about a useful LibGuide or just showing them where the printers are, can be quite significant for our readers.

Anna Roberts, Sainsbury Library

 

What a learning experience a term can be. ALMA, ORLO lists, law reports, legal databases, citation styles, serials processing, loose leaf binders: they were all quite new to me. Happily, thanks to the great training and brilliant support from library colleagues, they aren’t anymore. But never fear: the readers and the library keep coming up with new and intriguing conundrums (missing books, obscure queries, rare Bodcard colours…). I’ve loved assisting the students, faculty and visitors (there was one reader who was so enthusiastic when I showed them our bookable study spaces that I got the firmest handshake I have ever experienced!), but equally have come to really appreciate the mindful calm that can come from a book moving or filing spell (when not interrupted by an urgent scan request for use in court, or a group of new readers to guide round, or a puzzling mountain of books left somewhere seemingly at random – there’s always something going on!). And of course, our visits to the CSF, conservation studio and special collections were a real highlight. The term has certainly confirmed that I’d love a career in libraries, and I’m looking forward to the next term, when there will be a recurring display to organise, some more to learn about cataloguing, and a Libguide to write! Keeping busy…

Wanne Mendonck, Bodleian Law Library

 

A Christmas tree stands on a marble table in the Union Society Old Library. There are bookcases and decorative walls visible in the background.
Christmas tree standing on the mysteriously chimneyless fireplace in the Union Society Old Library.

Working for the Oxford Union Society Library is amazing! This term the Union was visited by Sir Roger Penrose, Nazanin Zaghari Radcliffe, Tom Hanks, etc and I have tried things I have never attempted before, such as creating displays – possibly my favourite task as I get to research everything from Victorian ichthyology to recreational drugs, Oxfordshire geology to gothic poetry, and medieval table manners to historical transgender figures. I had never used Twitter, never posted on Facebook, and had never run a professional Instagram account and this term I began running the Library’s (Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook). Training can be pretty interesting too; so far my favourite day has been the conservation day at the Weston Library where we learnt how books are fixed, what pests to look out for (we were handed round laminated insects e.g. silverfish), and about active and inactive moulds.

Connie Hubbard, Oxford Union Society Library

 

This term has been a wild ride. Alongside learning an incredible amount from my training process at All Souls, there have been some amazing events in the library such as a play, a visit from a youth orchestra and a formal dinner. We had over 700 new reader applications, over 1000 visitors to our open day and over 200 book requests. All in all, these first few months of my traineeship have been immensely positive. The day to day work has often been chaotic, but this meant I was rarely bored and always learning. I am very excited for the challenges Hilary term may bring, and feel ready to face them.

Elena Trowsdale, All Souls College Library

 

It’s hard to believe that it’s been three and a half months since my first day at the Rad Cam – the time has flown by! But when I stop and reflect, a lot has happened over this period, and I have learned a lot.

Besides some of the big stand-out moments from the training sessions, such as the tour of the CSF or our afternoon with Special Collections, I think the main highlights for me have been the pleasure of helping out readers and the variety of the work; my days regularly involve fielding enquiries at the circulation desk or reception, fetching and scanning books for Scan and Deliver, donning glamorous high vis and directing delivery vans through the quad, creating blog or social media content, processing new books, and more. I enjoyed getting to take on the responsibility recently of sorting out the HFL books for rebinding, and I’m really looking forward to getting started with my project next term.

Xanthe Malcolm, History Faculty Library

 

It’s safe to say that as my first full term as a trainee draws to a close, the experience has been jam-packed! From the day-to-day running of the EFL, to our weekly training sessions (not to mention the cheeky post-training pub trips) there’s always something going on, and always something new to learn. Looking back at my introduction post, I can easily say that I’ve enjoyed everything even more than I thought I would. Highlights being (of course) the tour of conservation studios; the opportunity to see incredible literary figures such as Philip Pullman; and learning more about the EFL’s collections through my project! Being a part of the traineeship has really cemented that I want to continue working in libraries and, having seen next terms’ training schedule, I’m even more excited for the new year.

Leah Brown, English Faculty Library

Anna Roberts, Sainsbury Library (Saïd Business School)

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

The annexe, Sainsbury Library

Hello! I am Anna, and I am the Graduate Trainee at the Sainsbury Library.

The Sainsbury Library is the University’s Business and Management Library and is based on the first and second floor of Saïd Business School, Park End Street. Saïd Business School is the large building next to the train station, with a green ziggurat acting like a look-out tower. We are small, compared to some libraries, with a general purpose lower reading room, a cosy annexe, and a bright, airy upper reading room for silent study. My main duties so far have been to process new journals and books, repairing a book, helping out at the desk and with circulation, assisting with the Executive Education team and their reading lists (which is a whole other blog post!), and assisting with a variety of exciting projects. For instance, I put together a ‘Welcome to the World of AI’ book display (please visit or check out online). I am looking forward to other projects like an ongoing assessment of the sources used by students and making some new Libguides (guides for library users). I have also been learning about the subject of Business Information, in particular, the Business Information Ecosystem and the 60 business-related databases. Unsurprisingly, I still have a lot to learn and lots of database training to do!

The Library has another location at Egrove Park, in Kennington, where Saïd Business school hosts Executive Education courses. I am based at Park End Street but am looking forward to making a visit to Egrove. I have heard it is beautiful location as it is situated in 37 acres of wooded parkland with wildflower meadows. A colleague even spotted some deer waltzing around! However, apparently, the brutalist architecture is not for everyone but I reserve my judgment until I visit.

Whilst I am doing my traineeship in the Business Library, my background is nothing to do with the subject. I did my undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Mathematics at the University of Aberdeen and then an MLitt in Philosophy at SASP (St Andrews and Stirling Graduate programme in Philosophy). Aberdeen’s university library was a wonderful place to study, and the library is famous for looking like a massive ice cube and being inside of it certainly gives a similar impression, with all the outside facing walls being windows of glass. This allows you to see the city, from any point of the library and enjoy the coastline whilst freaking out about exams (hopefully it is calming and not stormy)! I continued working within various universities as a non-medical helper, primarily as Specialist Note-taker (if you need some fast typing let me know). This role meant I got to sit-in on lectures, take notes, and assist students who were studying a whole variety of subjects including Computing, History of Art, Childhood studies and even PGCE teacher training. It was lovely working with students to help achieve their goals and I knew I wanted to continue to assist others in any role I did in the future.

Me, next to part of the book display in the lower reading room, Sainsbury Library

I have always enjoyed libraries since childhood and in Sixth Form had one week of work experience at my local public library. I also worked at Bookends, a student-run bookshop on Aberdeen’s campus where I got a little snippet of shelving, auditing and processing books into our system (much simpler than Alma!). I am interested in librarianship because I believe in the key principle of libraries as preservers of past knowledge for future generations whilst providing access to information and resources to people now. For one of my dissertations, I did a lot of research about the philosophy of democracy. A key pillar of democracy (ideally) is to have a citizenship with a right to access a wide range of ideas and information. This broadens our horizons,  helping us to make informed choices and judgements, whilst also holding fellow citizens in roles of responsibility accountable. Every right we have has a corresponding duty/obligation that we have to each other to make sure everyone’s rights are fulfilled. Libraries act as a physical manifestation to fulfil important rights plus they act as great spaces to study and get lost in a book! I think it would be great to work in a field that has this grand role for society, but that achieves these abstract ends in very practical, everyday means by helping readers and preserving our collections. The combination of person-focused support and technical systems means that there is lots of variety in the field, on top of the variety brought by all the different subjects and I think this makes it quite an exciting career choice. I do not yet know if I want to focus on the readers services or the cataloguing/ technical side because, as perhaps shown my joint degree, I am bad at choosing between two things I enjoy!

I  hope to be an asset to the team at the Sainsbury Library, not just because they are fun and fantastic, but because they have been without a full-time graduate trainee for several years and they are very happy to finally be fully staffed! I am extremely grateful to be given the opportunity to work within such an esteemed institution as the Bodleian Libraries. Also, participating in their great training sessions on different aspects of librarianships, has so far, and I’m sure will continue, to be great!

 

A Day in the Life (Sainsbury Library)

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Although our traineeships are based at the Bodleian Law Library, we also get to spend a day each per week at the Sainsbury Library, part of the Saïd Business School. Since it’s been a couple of years since the Sainsbury team had a trainee of their own, we thought this would be a good opportunity to share what business library life is looking like these days.

9.00

Jess: I turn on my computer and leave it slowly loading in order to do some shelving to start the day. I clear my emails, reading updates on SBS, flagging any ORLO reviews for my time at the Law Library, and making sure I’m up to date with all new info on Slack.

We’ve run out of archive boxes (for now…)

Josie: My Sainsbury day is a Thursday, so while I’m waiting for my computer to wake up enough to catch up on emails and Slack messages, I check my desk for any sticky notes bearing updates on ongoing projects or unfinished bits and pieces from earlier in the week. Sometimes there’s a bit of book processing to do – this is always a bit of a novelty for me, since I’m not very involved with that side of things at Law.

9.30

Jess: I’m on desk for the morning shift today. In between answering reader enquiries, I get to work on the Sainsbury Library’s benchmarking spreadsheet. We search other university library holdings for a long list of business databases, which lets the SBS see if it has a competitive number of databases for its students and to identify any gaps our holdings might have. Today I’m starting a new column and working my way through LSE’s catalogue.

Josie: Once I’m up to date on everything, I check in with one of my colleagues to see if there’s anything in particular they’d like me to do today. Quite often, this just means working on the Futures Library- crates of books, papers, and assorted Stuff from the collections of significant figures in scenario planning. Formerly based at the Egrove Park campus, it is now being transferred to offsite storage, so one of my jobs has been boxing up the non-monograph collections. This is always a bit of a mystery dip – it turns out “non-monograph” can mean anything from journal issues and presentation notes to projector slides, diaries, and pretty much anything else that can be put on a shelf. Rather than cataloguing each individual item, we fill numbered archive boxes according to a master spreadsheet, keeping track of which items end up in which box, and then create an ALEPH record for each completed box. I quickly discovered that the boxes fill up much faster than the BSF vans will collect them – the office has been in an increasingly precarious state since mid-November.

11.00

Jess: Break time! I head into the office for a bit of reading time, before returning to the desk at about twenty past. On today’s menu: Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. 

Josie: At some point the person on desk will take their break, so I’ll step out and cover for them. This is a good opportunity to sign into the desk computer, getting all the slow loading out of the way ahead of my afternoon desk shift, before going back to the morning’s tasks.

12.00

Jess: I’m also keeping an eye on the library inbox for the second half of my desk shift. Whilst more complex enquiries still have me poking my head into the office to ask someone for help, I’m getting the hang of doing database account requests. There’s also a new project in tow to make sure each of the data tags in our books are up-to-date. I gather up a trolley of books, removing old tags as gently as possible, and reprogramming new ones.

Josie: I take my lunch break at twelve, so I can be ready to take over on desk at one. I’m pretty sure that the SBS building was entirely designed for networking – I could find a new spot to sit and eat my lunch every week for the rest of the year.

1.00

Jess: Time for lunch! When the weather allows, I love wandering to the amphitheatre-like seating in one of the SBS’s quads and enjoying my lunch there. I crack open my book to read for the rest of my break.

Josie: I settle down at the enquiry desk for the rest of the day. I keep an eye on the library email inbox, responding to those I can and forwarding others on to better-informed colleagues. The library itself is usually pretty quiet, but I’m getting familiar enough with the usual questions about printing, toilet locations, and (occasionally) finding a book. I have yet to be asked about the Bloomberg terminals and their alarmingly colour-coded keyboards, and I’m hoping it stays that way – although help is always only a frantic Slack message away.

2.00

Jess: The Sainsbury Library Annexe is currently closed to readers as material from the SBS’s Egrove Park library is relocated across the Bodleian. Today, I’m looking at print journals! At the SBS, we keep print journals for a limited amount of time before they are withdrawn from the library collection to keep current issues on the shelves. Issues are distributed to fill gaps in other library holdings or taken out of the Bodleian’s collection entirely. My first task is to make individual piles of each of the 14 journals for checking with over 300 individual issues. There are several large crates for the Futures Library project – which Josie has told you about above – so I feel like I’m dodging my way around a jungle gym as I fire up a philosophy podcast on my headphones.

Josie: The Sainsbury is a lending library, which means I occasionally get to do a bit of circulation – another novelty! However, students prefer to use the self-checkout machine beside the desk, so circulation enquiries mostly tend to be of the “something isn’t working” variety- it’s usually the RFID tags (see Jess’s explanation above). Another quirk of the SBS is that some courses run intermittently throughout the year, and these students will often only be in Oxford for a few days at a time. It’s a little jarring to go from the strictly reference-only Law Library to lending several books to a reader who then tells you they’re about to fly back to Chicago for the next month!

Several stacks of sorted serials

3.00

Jess: Nine large bags, two boxes, two-and-a-half podcast episodes, and one exceptionally well-hidden box later, I have all my journal issues sorted. I start with The Economist, as it’s teetering dangerously, beginning to sort issues for checking. I have a spreadsheet that tells me the earliest and latest issues I should have, alongside a list of ones marked as missing. Each journal is out of order, so I work on putting each pile into publication order and noting any missing issues as I go.

Josie: When I’m not dealing with readers, I work on one of my LibGuide assignments. At the start of the year, Jess and I were each given a set of LibGuides to work on- checking links, updating the date range on pre-set searches, and finding new resources to add. Before Christmas I was working on adding recent reports to a guide on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; now I’m looking at a guide on South America, part of a series on “Doing Business” around the world.

3.20

Jess: I retreat to the office for my final Dostoyevsky fix of the day, accompanied by some dried pineapple for a sugar boost to my afternoon.

Josie: If we’re expecting a delivery of Bod books from the offsite storage facility, I’ll head down to the secret cupboard in the car park to drop off any returns, retrieve the new delivery, and process them back at the desk. Unlike most Bodleian libraries, readers need a separate SBS card in order to get into the building, so I double-check the requestors’ permissions on ALEPH in case there might be any issues with that – people do occasionally click the wrong library in the drop-down menu. Around this time, I’ll also take my break from desk, popping down to the cafeteria to take advantage of the daily free tea or coffee we’re allowed as SBS staff.

3.40

Jess: Back into the Annexe I go! Whilst I’m continuing with serials today, there’s another ongoing project to withdraw from the library’s collection any book that hasn’t been borrowed for 10 years or more, starting with the stack (as regularly borrowed titles on reading lists are kept on the ground floor). I check each book to ensure it has the matching shelfmark and barcode, usually taking three large stacks down to the office. Opening up our library cataloguing system, known as ALEPH, as well as using Oxford’s online catalogue SOLO, I make sure each book is held somewhere else in the central Bodleian libraries where it’s available to all students (sorry colleges). If it’s the only copy, I place it on a new pile to go back up to the stack. If not, weed away!
First, we delete the item record – this is a record that is specific to a particular book, versus all books with the same title, author, etc. The next step is to delete the holding record, if the library has no other copies of that particular book at that location – for example, in the SBS, there are separate holding records so the catalogue will tell a reader if a book is in the stack, the annexe, or the main reading room! Each of these books goes through a special secret process to stop it from beeping at the gate, and then gets a nice red ‘WITHDRAWN’ stamp on the inside. They’re then boxed up (with a very fun roller of packing tape) and go on to a second-hand book provider so they can be read and loved.

Josie: At some point I’ll try to have a quick chat with Hal, the Business Librarian – I have some questions about the guide I’m currently working on, and I also want to talk about potential topics for building my own LibGuide from scratch. Current options include banking, financial technology, or another piece for the “Doing Business” series – all a bit daunting, considering I had very little idea of what a business degree involved before starting here. However, I’m finding that the LibGuides, along with all the other day-to-day library tasks, are providing ample introduction, and things are finally beginning to make sense.

5.00

Jess: Home time! I’ll often quickly nab a book I’ve spotted the previous week to enjoy over the weekend.

Josie: The library follows the same opening hours as the main SBS building, so there’s not much in the way of opening/closing routines. Since it’ll be a week before I’m back, I make a note of any LibGuide progress for my future self, say goodbye on Slack, and then hand over the desk to the person taking the evening duty.