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Library events at the MPLS Mental Health Awareness Week 2025

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The theme for this year’s MPLS Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) was community and to reach out and help our community the Radcliffe Science Library hosted 6 different events during 3rd week if term (12-16 May).

This was our first year helping to support this great event organised by the MPLS division but our events seemed popular and we had over 75 attendees at a range of events throughout the week. It was great to see the mixture of staff and students attending, many who were coming to the Radcliffe Science Library for the first time. Two events were particular highlights.

A Blooming Good Time

Our colleague Rodger Caseby from the of the Oxford Botanic Gardenns and Arboretum led an energising planting session. Attendees planted plugs, very young plants, into small post that they could take home with them. Many enjoyed getting to feel real dirt on their hands and the compost we used was created in part from the worries we shred in Michaelmas Term. See or previous blog for more on our worry box. It was great to be able to work with the wider GLAM community to support our readers.

Photograph of young woman smiling and holding two small plants.
Photograph of of small pieces of shredded paper on a pile of soil and compost.
Photograph of a woman smiling and holding up a plant with the worry box in the background.

Blind Date with a Book

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover can apply to books and dating so we made it easy for our attendees by covering the books. Wrapped in paper each book had a brief bio on the cover to entice readers to select them. The books chosen for the blind dates were selected form our Wellbeing and Curiosity Collections. Our attendees were allowed to select up to two books and several wished there were more! One participant said “I’ve never been to anything like this, it was so fun”.

Woman smiling and holding a book wrapped in wrapping paper
Photograph of a book display of books wrapped in wrapping paper below a banner stating Blind Date with a Book.
Woman smiling and holding a book with a cat on the cover.

More Wellbeing

We have further wellbeing activities this term including regular items like our Lego Lunch and an ice cream event! Check out our Wellbeing Calendar to see more RSL events or the Bodleian Libraries Wellbeing page. If you’d like to collaborate with the Radcliffe Science Library on a Wellbeing event then please get in touch rsl-wellbeing@bodleian.ox.ac.uk