One of the many unique pieces the City archive holds is a photographic print of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt. Taken by A Barton Kent, it was donated to the Northampton Institute Camera club. The photo shows an image of the Abu Simbel Great Temple. The Great Temple was dedicated in 1244 BCE by…Continue Reading Photo of Abu Simbel temple
Last year two members of library staff discovered an unknown manuscript in the City Library Special Collections. The two members of staff, Rob Hodgson and Simon Bralee, unearthed the manuscript whilst auditing the collections. The text The manuscript contains two texts – the Algorismus (or De Arte Numerandi) and the De Anni Ratione – written…Continue Reading Dramatic discovery of medieval manuscript
Last Week City was privileged to host Ms Setsuko Thurlow who discussed her experiences in Hiroshima in 1945. Ms Setsuko Thurlow was in the UK to receive the Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace on Saturday. A Canadian citizen, she has previously received the Order of Canada Medal, the highest honour for Canadian…Continue Reading Ms Setsuko Thurlow visits City
This month we have been celebrating UK LGTBQ+ History Month. This year is extra special as it celebrates the 50 year anniversary of the Sexual Offences Bill 1967. This bill saw the legalisation of homosexual acts between consenting males over 21 in England and Wales. Did you know that Islington has seen many key events in…Continue Reading Celebrating LGTBQ+ History at CityLibrary
City, University of London was founded as The Northampton Institute, and over the years its staff, students and Alumni have sadly, like most people, been unable to escape the ravages of war. Whilst academics provided training for members of the armed forces during World War II, local people sheltered in the basement as bombs fell….Continue Reading “Am now in the trenches for the first time, and it is d— cold.”
City Library doesn’t just do books. We also subscribe to tons of great online resources including access to exclusive streamable TV shows and films with Box of Broadcasts (BOB). This week sees the release of a “live-action” adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book The BFG, starring Mark Rylance. Several of Roald Dahl’s children’s books have been turned into…Continue Reading Discover Roald Dahl at City Library
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. On this day, over 100 years ago, around 20,000 British soldiers died. By the end of the battle in November 1916 there had been over one million casualties on both sides for little military gain. Sadly this high number is not…Continue Reading City Library commemorates the Battle of the Somme
Ireland is known as the land of saints and scholars. This is partly because of its preeminence in monastic scholarship during the early medieval period, but is there more to Ireland than this? The answer is, of course, yes. Ireland is famous around the world for the massive contribution its writers have made to literature. This…Continue Reading Books of the Irish
Marie Curie, who was famous for her discovery of the radioactive element for cancer treatment, was in my opinion one of the greatest women in world history. She is the only woman so far who has won the Nobel Prize twice and the only person to win in two different scientific disciplines. The…Continue Reading Happy International Women’s Day: A tribute to Marie Curie (1867 – 1934)
Today is the 71st anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Russian troops. Auschwitz was the most notorious of many such camps in which many millions of people were murdered during the Holocaust. The majority of these people were Jewish, although many other groups were targeted by this crime: political opponents to the Nazi regime,…Continue Reading Holocaust Memorial Day