Pride Month Book Display 2025

Posted on 3 July 2025 by giasimmons

June was Pride Month. Did you catch our display in the SSL? This display contained books on Pride, the history of Pride and books on the LGBTQ+ community.

Some of these items were on loan to the Social Science Library from the Collections Storage Facility (CSF). However, most items in this display were from the SSLs own collection.

We also included several eBooks in this display. Here are a few examples.

Do you have any recommendations of LGBTQ+ books? Please let us know by emailing ssl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Listen In : How Radio Changed the Home Book Display

Posted on 7 May 2025 by giasimmons

To tie in with the Weston Library exhibition titled, Listen In: How Radio Changed the Home, (running until the 31^st August 2025), we have created a pop-up book display.

A display of books in the Social Science Library that ties in with the exhibition in the Weston Library entitled "Listen In : How Radio Changed the Home".

The exhibition in the Weston Library, which primarily focuses on the early years of radio, explores how life in the home changed with the introduction of this new device.

The book display in the SSL is made up of books about radio during this time period and the history of broadcasting in Britain. It also contains items on the importance of the radios introduction around the world and the role that it played during certain social and historical events.

This book display contains books from the Collections Storage Facility (CSF) and the Social Science Library’s own collection. The items from CSF are for use in the library only and cannot be borrowed. Many of the SSL items are loanable.

You can find out more about this, and upcoming exhibitions in the Weston Library on the Visit Bodleian website.

Oracles, Omens and Answers Book Display

Posted on 14 April 2025 by giasimmons

To tie in with the Weston Library exhibition on Oracles, Omens and Answers, we have created a pop-up book display.

A display of books in the Social Science Library to tie in with the Oracles, Omens and Answers exhibition in the Weston Library.

The exhibition in the Weston Library (which runs until 27th April 2025) looks at several time periods and traverses the world, looking at ways that people tried to find answers to some of life’s questions.

The book display in the SSL includes books on the concept of divination as well as books on the anthropological studies of the practices that are displayed in the Weston Library exhibition.

You can find out more about this, and upcoming exhibitions in the Weston Library on the Visit Bodleian website.

Spring Wellbeing Book Display

Posted on 7 April 2025 by giasimmons

Spring has arrived at the Social Science Library! It is a wonderful time of year to spend outdoors exploring the world around us.

A display of Spring themed books in the Social Science Library.

The team at the Social Science Library have put together a book display on the subject of Spring Wellbeing and getting out into nature! This display includes books on nature walks around Oxford, seasonal recipes and gardening, just to name a few.

These books are on loan to us from the Collections Storage Facility (CSF). They are for use in the library only and cannot be borrowed. This book display can be found around the corner from the issue desk in the Social Science Library.

If you would like to take a break and read one of these books, why not make use of the Wellbeing Corner in the SSL? Located behind the reader PC area is a space where readers can take some time to relax while visiting the library. In our Wellbeing Corner you will find:

Mindful colouring books and colouring pencils
Puzzle books
Origami material and instructions guides and books
Jigsaw puzzle

Women’s History Month 2025

Posted on 14 March 2025 by giasimmons

As the calendar changes from February to March, our pop-up book display changes along with it. This month is Women’s History Month, with International Women’s Day falling on 8^th March 2025.

A display of books about women's history and books about important women in the Social Sciences.

The display includes several books on Women’s History in general. It also includes a selection of books written by, or on the subject of, prominent women in the different Social Science fields that you find in the SSL.

The books in this display are a mixture of physical books and eBooks. Some books are loanable and others are for use in the library only. If you are unsure, please ask a member of staff. The display was put together from the SSL’s own collection and also includes several items from the Collections Storage Facility. The display can be found around the corner from the Issue desk in the SSL and it will be up for the entire month of March.

International Women’s Day falls on 8^th March every year. The theme for this year is Accelerate Action, with the purpose of accelerating action for gender equality.

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. If you would like information on where to access other resources on Women’s History, why not check out the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies LibGuide.

LGBT+ History Month Book Display 2025

Posted on 31 January 2025 by giasimmons

The month of February is LGBT+ History Month. Here at the SSL, we have put together a book display for the occasion.

A selection of books on LGBT+ history in the Social Science Library book display

The theme for this year’s history month is Activism and Social Change.

This display contains resources on the theme of Activism and Social Change, as well as on the topic of LGBT+ history more widely. This book display contains books from the Social Science Library collection as well as a selection of eBook resources.

Some of the physical books are loanable and some are for use in the library only. Each book contains a bookmark specifying the items status.

This book display can be found around the corner from the Issue Desk in the SSL and will be up for the entire month of February.

If you would like to learn more about LGBT+ History Month, the organisation, Schools Out! have a great deal of information on their website.

There has been a great deal of work done on the accumulation of LGBT+ history resources in recent years. The History Faculty Library held a LGBT+ history hackathon in November 2024 with the aim of crowdsourcing information and resources on LGBT+ history.

Do you have any suggestions on books that we might have missed? Do you have a recommendation of a book centred around LGBT+ history that is not currently in our collection? Please let us know by emailing ssl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, 24-26 January

Posted on 21 January 2025 by joannasoedring

The SSL supports the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch which will be taking place from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 January 2025.

Take a break and join the world’s largest garden wildlife survey to help build a picture of how UK garden birds are faring.

To take part, follow the simple steps below:

Three images with text. The first one shows a calendar and stopwatch and says 'Choose an hour between 24 and 26 January'. The second image is of birds on the ground and on bird feeders and says 'Only record the birds that land in your patch'. The third image is of four blackbirds on one side then a clock saying 30 minutes later and two blackbirds on the other side with text saying 'Record the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time'.

To find out more go to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch homepage.

To brush up your bird identification skills and find ways to attract birds to your garden, take a look at our book display just around the corner from the Issue Desk.

Feel free to take a book from the display to read in the library but please return it to the display after use.

New Years Resolutions Book Display 2025

Posted on 9 January 2025 by giasimmons

Happy New Year from all of us here at the Social Science Library. With the new year and an approaching new academic term, we have created a pop-up book display to help you discover some new hobbies that you may like to try.

These books are on loan to us from the Collections Storage Facility (CSF). They are for use in the library only and cannot be borrowed. We have put together a selection of books on a wide variety of subjects such as yoga, running, knitting, crochet and learning a new language. This book display can be found around the corner from the issue desk in the Social Science Library.

The wellbeing corner in the Social Science Library

Balance between work and hobbies is important. Did you know that we have a Wellbeing Corner in the SSL? Located behind the reader PC area is a space where readers can take some time to relax while visiting the library. In our Wellbeing Corner you will find:

Mindful colouring books and colouring pencils
Puzzle books
Origami material and instructions guides and books
Jigsaw puzzle

Pride Month Book Display

Posted on 19 June 2024 by allenf

It’s Pride Month and to celebrate the SSL has a pop up book display

The book display features books that have been recommended by readers. Most of them can be borrowed from the library so you can read them at your leisure!

Here are some of the titles available in the display:

Allah made us : sexual outlaws in an Islamic African city
Rudolf Pell Gaudio.

“A rich and engrossing account of ‘sexual outlaws’ in the Hausa-speaking region of northern Nigeria, where Islamic law requires strict separation of the sexes and different rules of behavior for women and men in virtually every facet of life.”

Man-made woman: the dialectics of cross-dressing
Ciara Cremin

“On July 27th, 2015, Colin Cremin overcame a lifetime of fear and repression and came to work dressed as a woman called Ciara. This book charts her personal journey as a male-to-female cross-dresser in the ever-changing world of gender politics.”

Gender trouble : feminism and the subversion of identity
Judith Butler

“Arguing that traditional feminism is wrong to look to a natural, ‘essential’ notion of the female, or indeed of sex or gender, Butler starts by questioning the category ‘woman’ and continues in this vein with examinations of ‘the masculine’ and ‘the feminine’. Best known however, but also most often misinterpreted, is Butler’s concept of gender as a reiterated social performance rather than the expression of a prior reality.”

This book is also available as an eBook

The SSL has lots of resources relating to LGBTQ+ studies, and a great place to start is our Quick Subject Guide available in the library.

If you would like to recommend a title to us you can email ssl@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

General Election Book Display

Posted on 12 June 2024 by allenf

The UK is holding a General Election on Thursday 4th July 2024.

We’ve collected some borrowable titles for our collection on the subject of elections, and the voters that participate in them. The display can be found just around the corner from the issue desk!

As well as the books on display there are a number of eBooks available: