Stratford-on-Avon

The other day our class took a day trip by coach to Stratford, the town where William Shakespere was born, lived, and is buried. Originally we had planned to visit the Shakespere library as a group, but unfortunately we were unable. So instead we were able to tour the city on our own until 7pm when we had tickets to see a lost play of Shakespere's, Cardenio.

During the day I went with a few fellow classmates on a walking tour of the city. We walked along the river, such a beautiful setting to spend the day. Many people were rowing in boats and walking along the river as well. Just being in such a beautiful setting made the day trip there worth it. I would have to say it is probably the prettiest place I have ever been.

During our trip we also went shopping. There are so many little shops along the streets that we could not help but spend some money while we were there! Of course, being girls we ended up spending a little too much money, but we got some cute clothes! Along the store fronts we happened upon a public library. Although it was not the one we orignially intended on touring, we were able to look around and observe. Afterwards we headed to the Shakespere library, but it had already closed for the day. We had heard it closed at 5pm, but it had closed before 4:30. A little disappointed, we headed back through the town and grabbed some dinner before the show.

The show put on by the Royal Shakespere Company and it was FANTASTIC! I truly enjoyed every minute of it. It was also nice that the story is not very well known; I was able to be surprised by the events that took place. Overall, our day trip to Stratford was fabulous and I hope to make it back there someday. Throughout the visit we were able to see Shakesperes birthplace and his gravesite. I really enjoyed my visit here and I had a great time with some friends.

Christ Church College Library

As part of our tour around Oxford, we visited Christ Church College, just one of the 38 colleges that make up Oxford University. Made up of two collections, this library has more issues with finding space for their new editions than funding, which is a rare thing for libraries in todays economy. One of the most used libraries on the Oxford campus, Christ Church College Library has a huge and very important collection of musical scores and manuscripts, making it one of the leading music libraries in the world.

The current library was in 1772 and remains in same place today; even the books inside are arranged and placed in the same order as they were when the library first opened. Everything in the library's collection is available to the public in some way or another. Some books are available online, in pdf form, and other books are only in their original printed form. The library has over 100,000 early printed books which are arranged on the shelves by collection rather than subject. The only part of the library that is cataloged by subject is the music collection. Continuing the process of this type of organization allows for users to see which books were donated by which patron, and to get an insight into the books individuals read at the time. Our tour guide also explained that certain books have annotations inside of them. Another way that readers can gain a different perspective of the work; a way back to the thoughts of an earlier time.

The online catalog for these books is almost complete; about 2/3 of the collection of early printed books is available to patrons online and 100 percent of the music collection is available online for patron use. The early printed book collection here at Christ Church contains many science books, including several 1st editions of Newton, Coppernicus, and Galileo. Two first edition books of Galileo's one from 1543 and the other from 1546 exist in the collection.

I found the tour of Christ Church College Library to be very interesting. The decor of the library was preserved in great condition and I loved being able to see the way the library had looked when it was originally built. The decorations on the walls really captured what the books on the shelves were about and I truly enjoyed that about the library.

Bodleian Library

The Bodlein Library is located in Oxford, just a short train ride away from London. Our class traveled there yesterday and it was a beautiful day! The first settlement in the area was around the year 700. Oxford is located almost in the middle of England, making it easy to get to from all areas. Originally, monks began schools in the area, educating young boys before sending them off to the University of Paris (the closest University at the time).

As most of us are familiar with, the two countries of England and France have not always been the best of friends. Eventually, the students from Oxford who were studying in France were kicked out do to fighting between the two nations. They came back home where the monks who had educated them earlier decided to establish a university there.

In the begining, there was not a school built for these children to use. Students and their teachers would use the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin as their classrooms; the church still exists in Oxford today. After seven years of schooling, the students would recieve a Masters, and from there they would be able to teach their own students. Today, Oxford University is made up of 38 colleges including the orignial colleges which were started as far back as the 13th century.

Our tour guide was very knowledgable about the history of the university and the way in which it operates today, and how it operated in the past. She also explained how the school began to expand outside of the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin and into buildings built for the school.

Construction on the first building was started in 1425 but took over 15 years just to complete three of the four walls. Before the fourth wall was finished, the builder died. In order to hurry the process along, a new builder was brought in, who decided to add a second story to the building, with the intention of it becoming a library. Upon the completion of the building, Duke Humfries donated his collection of books to the university where it remained until the entire collection, except for three books were destroyed during the time period known as the reformation.

Afterwards, a name by the name of Thomas Bodley, a former student of Oxford, donated his large collection of over 3,000 books to the school around 1598. Not only did he give his books, but he also had the library refurbished after the damage and destruction caused by the removal of the Humfries collection. Bodley had heavy wooden shelves made and installed for the books in the library, but the weight of the books and the shelving was too heavy for the building and the foundation to handle. It was then that Sir Christopher Wren, who has been tied to almost all of our library visits so far, saved the day! He reinforced the building to be able to withstand the weight of the books.

The Bodlein Library began the first copyright library with the second largest collection of books. Today, the library houses over 11 million books in their collection. The Bodleian is not a lending library; books can be used inside of the building but must not be taken out. In order to use a book, the patron (typically and student or researcher), must tell the librarian which reading room they will be working in. Only librarians can take the older books off of the shelves.

Another library, part of the Oxford campus that we visited on this tour was the Radcliffe Camera. Built after the man John Radcliffe donated money to the school for the collection of medical and science books. I really enjoyed this tour, and I am so glad I was able to visit such a historical library. I would love to one day be a student at Oxford and utilize the resources of the Bodleian for my studies.

Royal Geographical Society

Our class met wth Eugene Rae, a librarian at the Royal Geographical Society one afternoon. Mr. Rae was full of interesting information and historical facts. He shared some of his knowledge with us, about particular artifacts, photographs, and items which are part of the Society's collection. Mr. Rae also helped to explain how the library works and the history of the society itself.

Oringally, the Royal Geographical Society was housed in one building, but spread out throughout mulitple rooms. This made accessing the collection, archives, and other documents difficult for both the staff and the patrons. In 2004, the completion of construction on the building, resulted in one large reading room. In here, all the materials can be accessed from one easy and simple location. Moving all the items into one large reading room also created a secure feeling; a contained space helps to ensure items stay inside of the library and are not taken out with patrons.

While some items are kept out in the reading rooms, most of the 2 million items belonging to the society are kept inside of climate control rooms to help with preservation. These items include but are not limited to books, periodicals, pictures, objects and artifacts, and documents. prior to 2004, the online card catalog was not completed. However, since the remodel and rennovation in 2004, the items and records have been fully cataloged and are available online. Mr. Rae explained to our class that a list of all the items was made, multiple photocopies were created and then sent to India, where individuals there input the information onto an online database.

Admission to the Royal Geographical Society is free to memebers, non-members must pay a £10 fee; anyone who is not a member is allowed to use the resources inside as long as they pay the daily fee. Certain exceptions are made for non-members who are using the library as a resource for educational reasons.  The Royal Geographical Society is only a lending library to its members. While non-members are allowed to come in and use the resources, they are not allowed to take any books home.

While on our visit, our guide explained many objects and documents on display inside of the large reading room. Not knowing much about the history of world exploration, or British explorers, I was extremely interested in listening to the history of the objects. The documents and artifacts shared with us were truly priceless. Shoes, hats, photographs of the Arctic from some of the first people to visit were unbelievable. These items were all in such fantastic condition as well. Learning about them and their history was a very interesting and entertaining way to spend the afternoon. I wish I had more time to go back and learn some more from Mr. Rae.

Photo courtesy of weddingreview.co.uk

National Art Library @ The Victoria and Albert Museum

Visiting the library inside of the V & A Museum was probably my favorite tour so far. I was unaware that such a large collection of books and a library open to the public existed in this museum. Opened before the museum, the library was originally part of the School of Design, first belonging to the Sommerset House and then in 1884 moved to its current location. It is still one of the few functioning victorian librarians left. An important fact of the National Art Library is that it is not a lending library. Books can be accessed on used on in the two reading rooms, but they cannot be taken out. Because of this, the library provides its users with multiple copy machines, both color and black and white, and scanners to email photos to themselves or save the pictures onto USB drives.

Requests are submitted to a librarian as a desk and from there, books are retrieved from the stacks every half past the hour. So, if a patron arrives at the library at 10:35, they will have to wait until 11:30 to get the book they requested. The library has a huge collection of periodicals and catalogs; many of which are used by auction houses such as Sotheby's. The collection also contains a large amount of manuscripts, many Medieval from the 15th century. The collection also contains 11 Dicken's manuscripts.

The annual budget for the acquisition of new items is £300,000 per year. New items are always being purchased and added to the collection. Roughly 46 employees work in the library, restacking books, cataloging new ones, and helping costumers. The most unbelievable thing to me about this library is that the books on the shelves are not in any real order; they are placed on the shelf by size, in a semi-alphabetical order. Once I heard this I was not surprised it took an hour to find patron's books!

Our class was also given the opportunity to look at some of the treasures of the National Art Library. We were able to see an original Charles Dickens manuscript for David Copperfield, which was donated to the library by John Forester. The library also has a large collection of artist books; even though they do not official collect them, they have a significant amount in their possession.

I really enjoyed the fact that anyone can get a library card for the National Art Library. Even though we are not residents of the UK, my fellow classmates and myself were allowed to use and access the materials held in this library. I really enjoyed this tour, and seeing a sort of behind the scenes look at how this library works and functions.

London Library

The other day our class went on a tour of the London Library. This library has a rich history; it was founded in 1841 and continues to be utilized by over 7,000 members today. We met with Jane Oldfield who gave us a brief history and introduction of the library along with a tour of part of the 15 miles of shelving contained within the library's walls.

Thomas Carlyle, the founder of the London Library wanted to establish a place where books could be checked out and taken home. He did not understand why people would want to read inside of the library and not in their home. The collection began with mainly books in the humanities and art fields, but has largely expanded today. The London Library is private; memebers must pay a fee to use the books. Because of this, their funding comes from private sources such as the membership fees, donations, legacies, and bequests. Originally the library was founded with 500 members.

Over the years, many people have become members of the London Library. Some of these members include Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Rebecca West, Agatha Christie, T.S. Eliot, and even Winston Churchill who served as Vice President of the library in 1948. The library is still used today by writers, actors, and the general public.

Instead of using a system such as Dewey, like we do in the United States, the London Library arranges their books by subject and by size of the physical book. The big books go on the bottom shelves and the smaller ones on the top shevles. Our tour guide explained that there are over 1 million books in the collection, with 97% of them accessable to the public for ciculation. This includes 30,000 rare books. Only hardback books are placed on the shelves, and no book is ever taken out of the collection. No weeding takes places; the only time a book is taken off the shelf is when it is checked out.

The London Library has an allowance of £282,500 to spend on the purchase of new books which includes one third of that budget to be used on periodicals. There are four reading rooms in the library; each room is used daily, by many people. The first of the reading rooms was built in the 1890s.

I am very glad to have been able to visit the London Library. The building itself, with all the architecutural changes and styling was facinating. I had no idea a library existed in the world where books of all ages were open to the public in general circulation. I am dissapointed that I do not live closer to such a fantastic resource otherwise I would become a member!

Old Royal Naval College

After visiting the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, our group went on a tour of the Old Royal Naval College. Before becoming a Royal College, the land and buildings were part of a royal palace which served as the home to many royals. Built in Greenwich, it was the perfect spot to watch for invasions both by land and by sea. In 1705 William and Mary used the land to build homes for former sailors. The plans were drawn up by Sir Christopher Wren. In 1869 the home closed and in 1873 the Royal Navy signed a lease for use of the buildings for 150 years. During that time period, students used the former buildings for classrooms.

Prior to the school moving in, the 4 buildings on the property served as homes for sailors. The property contained living quarters, a church, a bowling alley, and the largest painted ceiling in Europe which was built as a dining hall for the men. The sailors prefered not to eat in such a large and fancy environment, so after a short period of time, the Great Hall was transformed into a museum. Also known as the Navy Museum, this room housed exhibits, artwork, and even had Lord Nelson lie in state after his death. Once the Royal Navy signed their lease, the Navy Museum continued to stay inside of the Great Hall. All the paintings inside, including those on the ceiling and the wall, celebrate the British Navy and Britian in some way.

The current chapel that is on the property is not the orignial chapel which was designed by Wren. In 1779, a fire destroyed the chapel and a new one had to be built. A resident of the property, James Stewart, was responsible for designing and rebuilding the new chruch. Stewart changed some of Wren's orignial ideas; he created a curved ceiling and took out a large space behind the altar. The church today was beautiful; it had lovely artwork inside along with a beautiful organ and marble work.

Our tour guide for this was fantastic. She was so knowledgeable, not just about the history of the college and the homes before, but also of British history. I learned a ton of new information on this tour and I am so glad I was able to be apart of it. Although we did not visit an archive or a library, this was one of my favorite visits so far.