Archived Posts
About this blog
A blog about the work and collections of the National Library of Wales.
Due to the more personal nature of blogs it is the Library's policy to publish postings in the original language only. An equal number of blog posts are published in both Welsh and English, but they are not the same postings. For a translation of the blog readers may wish to try facilities such as Google Translate.
Categories
Monthly Archives: September 2010
Binding for the Pope’s library
As a bookbinder one of the most interesting tasks I have been faced with is that of making facsimile books. The challenge of trying to make the paper and binding look, feel and behave as much as possible like the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
An interview with Owen Sheers…
On the 30th of September you shall be coming to the Library. What is the occasion? I was invited by Cyril Evans to come and give a reading and talk at the library. I’ve recently published a novella, White Ravens, … Continue reading
Posted in News and Events
The Book of Aneirin
At a meeting on 9 September, Cardiff Council decided to place the Book of Aneirin, one of the oldest and most important of Welsh manuscripts, on permanent loan at the National Library. The manuscript was written in the second half … Continue reading
Posted in Archives and Manuscripts
Close Your Blinds
One of the Library’s main functions is to protect our collections in order to extend the lifespan and usability of volumes and other objects. To do this we must ensure a clean and stable environment. We must also safeguard our … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Variety – the spice of enquiries
The enquiries section at the National Library of Wales can be a very busy place, and you never quite know where each day’s batch of requests for help will lead. Obviously with the popularity of family history, many of the … Continue reading
Posted in Archives and Manuscripts
Book of Llandaf
Earlier this week I completed work on rebinding the Book of Llandaf.Throughout it’s time in the library’s Conservation Treatment Unit I felt privileged to have the opportunity of working on this volume not least because it is one of the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Supertramp
Next week (26 September 2010) we note the 70th anniversary of the death of W. H. Davies (1871-1940), the “tramp poet” from Newport. He was the author of the well-known poem “Leisure”, which begins: “What is this life if, full … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
All the Records?
People are regularly directed to the National Library’s enquiries service because they have been told we hold “all the records” for a particular organisation, or of a certain type. But whilst the National Library of Wales does hold a vast … Continue reading
Posted in Archives and Manuscripts
Conservation of works on paper
Since 2007 all unframed works have been assessed and 190 items selected for conservation treatment. Many of these are on cartridge paper torn from sketchbooks. There are handmade papers, ‘Ingres’ laid and ‘Fabriano’ wove papers. Whatman papers and boards were … Continue reading
Posted in Kyffin Blog
The Mobile Question
Yesterday, I was one of the many attendees at the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals Becoming Upwardly Mobile briefing day in London. Clearly the topic is a very hot one amongst Libraries of all levels but the clear … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized