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June 19, 2026
The Royal Medical Society publishes journal archives
Supported by the Library’s Journal Hosting Service, Res Medica, the Journal of the Royal Medical Society, is publishing its archives online.
Res Medica was founded in 1957 with the purpose to promote academic research amongst medical students at the University of Edinburgh. The journal is being resurrected by some very keen Society members who will publish the first new issue of the journal on Monday 23rd September.
In the run up to publication of the new issue, a volume of the archives will be published each day. All archives from 1957-2005 will be made available over the next few months.
Volume 1 is available via the journal website: http://journals.ed.ac.uk/resmedica
(click on the Archives link at the top of the page).
The Library’s Digital Imaging Unit has scanned all back issues of the journal and Library Learning Services – with fantastic help and support from the Scholarly Communications team- have been formatting and OCRing scans to make the journal issues and articles searchable.
You don’t have to be a medic to find something interesting, or indeed, controversial in the archives.
The back issues offer a fascinating insight not only to medicine of the time, but also to the history of the Society and the University. It’s been an interesting project – we’ve been mildly outraged (on several occasions) and in particular, at the comments accompanying the report on the decision to first admit women to public business in 1964!! We’ve also had a bit of a chortle at the amount of Guinness adverts.
(Disclaimer: the Library does not endorse drinking Guinness for seven days running!)
If you would like to find out more about using the journal hosting service to publish a new OA peer -reviewed journal or migrate a journal from print to online, please get in touch angela.laurins@ed.ac.uk
Latest find in Heiskell Darwin Collection
Our copy has the name “Henry S. Bradley 1849” on the title page, and the same handwriting has filled in a ship’s position and weather information, for dates in November 1849, on a sample blank table in the ‘Hydrography’ chapter. The positions turn out to show a course of a ship sailing out into the Atlantic from New England.
Henry S. Bradley, we discovered, sailed in November 1849, from Boston, for San Francisco, to join the gold rush in California. He kept a journal of the trip, the manuscript of which is now in the collection of the California Historical Society, and which has since been published. We now know where he learnt to keep up a ship’s log!
New College Library Rare Books feature in Divinity Inaugural Lecture
The Practice of Piety / Lewis Bayly, 1672. New College Library DPL 912
The Redemption of Time / John Wade, 1692. New College Library F7 b1
Today Professor Susan Hardman Moore, Professor of Early Modern Religion, will deliver her inaugural lecture entitled ‘Time’ at 2pm. Professor Hardman-Moore’s lecture features a number of seventeenth century rare books from the New College Library collections, which will be on display in the Funk Reading Room after the lecture between 3-4.30pm.
The titles include John Wade’s The Redemption of Time (1692) and the The Practice of Piety (1672) by Lewis Bayly. The Practice of Piety is part of the recently catalogued Dumfries Presbytery Library, and is inscribed Ex Libris Johannes Hutton, identifying it as part of the original bequest of 1500 volumes from Dr John Hutton.
Pretty Things!
Yesterday was one of those days that remind me why I love my job. We have been searching out images for use in calendars, cards and prints, and Assistant Rare Books Librarian Elizabeth Quarmby Lawrence bought me some of our recent acquisitions to look through for ideas.
I have been photographer here for nearly 10 years and every week something comes through our door that is beautiful, exciting & precious- yesterday an abundance of such items arrived in the DIU. I always feel immensely privileged to be able to work with such an incredible collection- and the team that looks after them too.
My biggest problem was choosing which ones to photograph- there were far too many pretty things to choose from! I tried (and sometimes failed) to set myself a limit of no more than 5 images per original, and the following are some of my favourites.
Susan Pettigrew
Kimono material designs: RB.P.992 Shin-Bijutsukai, issues 21-25, Kyoto, 1903-6.
RB.F.604 A Specimen Book of Pattern Papers Designed for and in Use at the Curwen Press, 1928.
Edinburghers- have you ever wondered where the city’s lovely quarry tiles come from? In the Edinburgh College of Art Rare Book collection we found this- RECA.F.97Maw And Co.’s Patterns, Geometrical and Roman Mosaics, Encaustic Tile Pavements and Enamelled Wall Decorations, pl.19.
Bahaus book cover designs: RB.FF.210 Vierzig neuzeitliche Entwürfe fur künstlerische Bucheinbände : Vorlagenwerk für Handvergolder Kunstbuchbinder und Fachschulen, 1928. Paul Kersten and Paul Klein, No.39.
New College Library welcomes Postgraduate Freshers today
New College Library holds over 250,000 volumes, including rich and valuable Special Collections, making it one of the leading theological libraries in Britain. In addition to the books there are online collections – electronic journals, electronic books and databases which the University subscribes to support your studies and research. As the New College Librarian, my role is to help students get the most out of using the Library. Freshers Week is a good opportunity to take a little time to get to know the Library – do this now and you’ll be paid back later on in your studies.
Here’s my top tips for Postgraduate Freshers to get to know New College Library:
1. Come to the Library
- Bring your University card to get into New College Library
- From next week the Library is open 9am-6pm-10 Mon-Thurs, 9am-5pm Fridays, 12noon – 5pm on Saturdays. Remember that you can also use the Main Library which is open longer at weekends
2. Take a tour
- I’m running Postgraduate Library Tours today 10.45-12 noon
- You should have received a New College Library Guide leaflet in your welcome pack – it’s also available online.
- Or have a look at the Virtual Tour
3. Check out what’s online
- The online catalogue is your key to finding what’s in the Library
- Explore specialist resources for Divinity in the Divinity Subject Guide
- If you can’t find what you’re looking for you can Request @ Book
And don’t be afraid to ask us for help !
We have a new MANTRA!
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Research Data MANTRA (http://datalib.edina.ac.uk/mantra/) , the free online course hosted at Edinburgh University Data Library and designed for researchers or others planning to manage digital data as part of the research process has been refreshed!
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Shortlisted recently as one of 15 good practice examples designed to enhance information literacy skills MANTRA has been upgraded to Version 2 of Xerte Online Toolkits, the e-learning development environment used to create the MANTRA learning materials. This allows delivery of the MANTRA units to a much wider range of devices using HTML5 rather than Flash.
The new MANTRA also highlights the utility of the learning materials for 4 discreet personas:
- Research student
- Career researcher
- Senior academic
- Information professional
We hope you enjoy the new MANTRA experience. Please get in contact with us at the Data Library with your comments or suggestions.
Stuart Macdonald
EDINA & Data Library
New College Library welcomes Undergraduate Freshers today
As the New College Librarian, my role is to help students get the most out of using the Library. Freshers Week is a good opportunity to take a little time to get to know the Library – do this now and you’ll be paid back later on in your studies.
Here’s my top three tips for Undergraduate Freshers:
1. Come to the Library
- Bring your University card to get into New College Library
- From next week the Library is open 9am-6pm-10 Mon-Thurs, 9am-5pm Fridays, 12noon – 5pm on Saturdays. Remember that you can also use the Main Library which is open longer at weekends
2. Take a tour
- Library tours are running in Week 1 on 16, 18 and 19 September – just turn up
- You should have received a New College Library Guide leaflet in your welcome pack – it’s also available online.
3. Check out what’s online
- The online catalogue is your key to finding what’s in the Library
- Explore specialist resources for Divinity in the Divinity Subject Guide
And don’t be afraid to ask us for help !
Asylum Art on Loan from Special Collections / LHSA
These art works, from our Laycock Collection, were created by William Bartholomew at the Crichton Royal Hospital in the 1830s. They are some of the earliest examples of art created within an asylum. They have just gone on exhibition loan to the Djanogly Art Gallery at the University of Nottingham: http://www.lakesidearts.org.uk/Exhibitions.html
Get Connected with University of Edinburgh Information Services
Get Connected drop in sessions for Freshers Week are running in the Main Library mezzanine (above the entrance gates) on 9th-13th September between 10am-4pm. No appointments necessary, just turn up.
Take the opportunity to connect up your own personal devices e.g. laptops, phones and tablets/pads to the University network. Staff will be on hand to help and guide you – I’ll be there myself 1-2pm.
You can also find out more at : www.ed.ac.uk/is/new-students
Welcome to New College Library
A big welcome to all students starting and returning to the University of Edinburgh today, at the beginning of Freshers week 2013. We’re looking forward to meeting you. To help you get started at University, check out this guide for new students to Library & IT services.
If you want to get ahead with using New College Library, you could start with the Virtual Tour.
There will be a programme of tours for students at New College Library – students please watch your email for details. There will also be events happening all over the University Library to help you get connected with your IT and Library services.
Collections
Hill and Adamson Collection: an insight into Edinburgh’s past
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Cataloguing the private papers of Archibald Hunter Campbell: A Journey Through Correspondence
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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
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