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December 19, 2025
Lord Elgin Records 19th Century China
One of the works in the ECA Rare Book Collection that places us firmly in a place and time in history is a book of photographs taken around the time of the notable expedition of Lord Elgin, James Bruce, to China on a diplomatic mission and military campaign. If one does not know much about Chinese history, which I must admit I know little of, you might view this image at first glance as simply another beautiful view of Chinese landscape and architecture. Upon further reading into the life of the 8th Earl of Elgin and the Old Summer Palace, as well as the photographers whose works are featured in the album, it becomes a much different story. One of these photographers was the talented Felice Beato who was known for photography that created images of war as a continuous process. He documented each stage of his subjects, including gruesome scenes of the aftermath of battles and seizes. This method provides great insight into the progression of Lord Elgin’s presence in China as many images fit into his timeline. Although the above photograph taken in 1860 seems to show a sturdy structure overlooking a stunning mountain range, it does depict a cultural landscape that was near the end of its time and one that was extremely vulnerable at the time. The caption for the image tells a snapshot of the gruesome story. The caption reads “View of the Summer Palace, Yuen-Min-Yuen, showing the Pagoda before the burning, Pekin. Octr 1860.” This could easily be one of the last photographs of the site before its infamous looting and burning on October 18, 1860. Many of the items taken from this event are still held today in the UK and other prestigious museums in Europe, although there is an ongoing conversation of where these works of great art and cultural importance belong.
Illustrated London News: trial access now available
We now have trial online access – until 20th May 2016 – to the Historical Archive of the famous Illustrated London News, which covers the entire run from the inaugural edition of May 1842 to 2003 when publication ceased.
Access available here and also via the E-resources trials page where comments may also be made.
That which we call a rose
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet
Juliet, Romeo and Juliet
Today is the first day of the exam period, so it is a stressful time for students. We have been trying to help out with our relaxation table, located in the Main Library Foyer. It has some things to help students de-stress while they are studying, like tea and aromatherapy. However, we also want to encourage students to take regular breaks while studying. As little as six minutes of a quiet activity can help us to relax, so we have provided some activities that students can try, such as puzzles and colouring in.
Today, we have been doing something a little bit different. To celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th birthday, which has just passed on April 23rd, we have been encouraging students to make some Shakespeare-themed origami!
All you need is a square or rectangular piece of paper, so why not try a rose, a heart, or a skull? You could even make a paper model of the Globe!
If you are looking for an even more productive break, you could come up to the Centre for Research Collections on the sixth floor, where all students are welcome to look at our Special Collections material. We have a lot of early English drama, including many editions of Shakespeare plays published before 1660, such as this lovely 1631 edition of The Taming of the Shrew:
William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, 1631. JA3706. © The University of Edinburgh. See it here.
Remember, the library has more to offer than textbooks and study space!
Open Education Resources (OER) Workshop – 4th May
STAY LEGAL – OPEN EDUCATION RESOURCES (OER) WORKSHOP
Stay legal. Learn how to create teaching and research presentations that can be shared openly on the web without infringing copyright. Read More
New content for Twentieth Century Religious Thought : Islam
Significant new content is now available in C20th Religious Thought, Vol. II: Islam – more than doubling its size. Read More
APCs paid in the wild
As part of the Lessons in Open Access Compliance for Higher Education (LOCH) project we have been looking at the problems of identifying Article Processing Charges (APCs) that the Library is not currently aware of – which we colloquially call ‘APCs paid in the wild’. We have written a short case study that is currently under open review at The Winnower:
Improving estimates of the total cost of publication by recognising ‘APCs paid in the wild’
The take home message from our ‘APCs paid in the wild’ case study can be summarised as:
We estimate that these costs could account for up to 20% extra in the total cost of publication that is not currently being accounted for. This additional cost is important to take into account when institutions are negotiating fair offsetting agreements for open access publishing.
We would welcome any constructive criticism on the work so please have a read and leave an open review so that we can improve the article.
Boxing Clever
Rehousing is a key part of conservation. But why is it so important? Find out in this week’s blog from Special Collections Conservator, Emily…
We recently received a large number of drop spine boxes to house the Laing Western manuscript collection. This was a part of a month-long project to conserve this collection, which you can read more about by following this link. These boxes are handmade to match the exact dimensions of the book. Not only do they look great on the shelves, they also provide excellent protection for the books. However, they are relatively expensive and time consuming to make. So the creation of these boxes is often outsourced, and reserved for our most important collections.
Laing manuscript collection, before rehousing
Laing manuscript collection, after rehousing
Time to relax
The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it
Sydney J. Harris
Revision week is well underway and the library is getting busier and busier. Libraries are great places to study, offering a quiet, calm space to work. The Main Library is even offering extra study spaces for students during this time.
However, we have more to offer than study spaces! As part of our ongoing campaign to help students, we have been offering free hand massages today!
We hope that everyone who received a massage really benefited from it, but if you missed out, never fear! We have set up a Relaxation Table in the Main Foyer, which will be around for the next few weeks, offering fun activities such as origami, puzzles, and colouring. Remember, it is important to take breaks to stay focussed! There will also be aromatherapy, bubble wrap, and relaxing herbal tea for students to take away, among other things. Don’t miss out, and make sure to Tweet or Facebook us your thoughts and creations (#happylibrary)!
Also, watch out for us on Friday, when we will be celebrating Shakespeare’s 400th birthday and World Book Night! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more details.
To get you in the party mood, here’s an image of Shakespeare from our collections:
Title page of The Works of Mr William Shakespeare, Vol.1, 1709. S*.30.1. © The University of Edinburgh. See it here.
Remember, we have more than just textbooks and study spaces! Happy studying!
Trial access to ClinicalKey
We are trialling access to Elsevier’s ClinicalKey database until 22nd December 2016.
ClinicalKey is a clinical search engine that helps health professionals make decisions anywhere, anytime, in any patient scenario. ClinicalKey’s Smart Search saves time by preventing unnecessary extra searches. Look up “myocardial infarction,” for example, and Smart Search recognizes its acronyms, synonyms, related surgical procedures and drugs, as well as the fact that it’s a cardiovascular disease associated with high cholesterol.
ClinicalKey allows you to access the latest (indexed daily), most evidence-based answers in every medical and surgical speciality. It contains:
- 1400+ Topic Pages
- 1000+ full-text reference books
- 600+ full-text journals
- 17,000+ medical and surgical videos
- 300+ Procedures Consult videos and articles
- 2,200,000 images
- 50+ Clinics
- 850+ First Consult monographs
- 2,900+ drug monographs
- 4,500 practice guidelines
- 15,000 customisable patient education handouts
- Fully indexed Medline
- Clinical trials from the ClinicalTrials.gov database
- See the full list of content at http://elsevierresources.com/clinicalkey/files/2016/04/Master_Content_List.xls.
See the ClinicalKey overview video below…
Browse the e-resources on ClinicalKey
Further information
More information about ClinicalKey can be found at https://www.clinicalkey.com/info/uk/how-clinicalkey-works/ and a complete userguide is available at https://www.clinicalkey.com/info/uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2014/09/CK_UserGuide_Version2.0.pdf
Further video guides on the Topic Pages, Filters and Presentation Maker available at https://elsevierresources.com/clinicalkey/clinicalkey/trial-resources/
Log in for more personalised content – Interested in trying out the CME area, presentation maker area or saving search histories? Select Login, then “Other Institution Login”, then “UK Access Management Federation” from the drop down menu and then click on University of Edinburgh and then select ClinicalKey from the menu and then the Library link. You’ll now enter your EASE login and CME credits will be logged.
Access ClinicalKey on or off campus via the E-Resources Trials webpage or DiscoverED. Please fill out the trial feedback form with your comments on this trial and whether you would like the library to subscribe.
Additional study space in the Central area
There is a wide range of study space available across the University, full details of which – completely with interactive map – may be checked here.
However, as the exam period approaches, additional space has now been made available.
Collections
Hill and Adamson Collection: an insight into Edinburgh’s past
My name is Phoebe Kirkland, I am an MSc East Asian Studies student, and for...
Cataloguing the private papers of Archibald Hunter Campbell: A Journey Through Correspondence
My name is Pauline Vincent, I am a student in my last year of a...
Projects
Cataloguing the private papers of Archibald Hunter Campbell: A Journey Through Correspondence
My name is Pauline Vincent, I am a student in my last year of a...
Archival Provenance Research Project: Lishan’s Experience
Presentation My name is Lishan Zou, I am a fourth year History and Politics student....