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THE FRIENDS OFTHE FRIENDS OFTHE FRIENDS OFTHE FRIENDS OFTHE FRIENDS OFABERDEEN UNIVERSITY LIBRARYABERDEEN UNIVERSITY LIBRARYABERDEEN UNIVERSITY LIBRARYABERDEEN UNIVERSITY LIBRARYABERDEEN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Spring / Summer MeetingSpring / Summer MeetingSpring / Summer MeetingSpring / Summer MeetingSpring / Summer Meeting

Queen Mother Library Seminar RoomAberdeen University Library

Bedford Road, Aberdeen

Thursday 15 May 2008

AGM at 7.00 pm followed at 7.30 pm by

Northness: Aberdeen’s northern connectionsby

Neil Curtis, Senior Curator, Marischal Museum

Inuit Boat

Fur Coat for half-Inuit Lady

Aberdeen has had many and varied connections with the Baltic, Scandinavia,the North Atlantic and Canada, including the Scots Colony in Danzig, the

Canadian fur trade and the whaling industry. This talk will explore some ofthese connections through a focus on objects in the University’s museum

collections.

Those of you within easy reach of Aberdeen may also be interested to see thecurrent display in Marischal Museum (until 11 May) which also has a similar

theme: Material Histories, exploring the links between the North-East ofScotland and the fur trade in Northern Canada.

Friends’T he

Friends’Friends’Friends’Registered Charity No. SCO 09009

Spring/Summer 2008newsnewsnewsnewsnews

The Friends of Aberdeen University Library

Once again we welcome all new andestablished Friends to our News andtrust that we will have the pleasure ofyour company at one of our forthcomingevents.

Friends’ Membership CardsPlease bring your Membership Cardwith you when you use the UniversityLibrary if you have no other Librarymembership identification. This willalso mean quicker access when youcome to Friends events.

Remember that as Friends you areentitled to 10% off George WashingtonWilson items from Queen MotherLibrary CopyShop.

Single copies of the postcards which theFriends funded recently, depicting someof the Treasures held in Special Librariesand Archives, are available from theCopyShop in Queen Mother Library at25p each.

Principal’s Reception at Chanonry Lodge, Old Aberdeen

by kind permission of the PrincipalProfessor C Duncan Rice

Thursday 12 June at 5.30 pm

Once again the Principal has very kindly extended to us the hospitality ofChanonry Lodge - and garden, weather permitting - for a recruiting evening.The occasion is primarily aimed at potential new Friends and number restrictionsmean that regrettably only existing Friends who bring a potential new membercan be accommodated.

If you would like to come in this capacity, please let us know byFriday 2 May and tell us the number of guests you’ll be bringing.

Please contact: Sheona Farquhar e-mail s.c.farquhar@abdn.ac.uk or tel: 01224 273773

A model of the new Library building will be available to see in the Old TownHouse, High Street, Old Aberdeen, immediately before the evening at ChanonryLodge. Please feel free to turn up at the Old Town House between 4.45 pm and5.15 pm, when the University Librarian, Chris Banks, will be there to explainour plans and answer any of your questions. There is no need to book for this.

Chanonry Lodge

Links with theUniversity of AberdeenAlumnus Association

Many of you will know of theUniversity of Aberdeen AlumnusAssocia t ion , for Aberdeengraduates, and we are aiming tohave c loser t i es wi th theAssociation in the future.

We will be advertising eventsreciprocally which should help toswell the numbers and provideadded attractions for each group.You may thus have seen newfaces at the Librarian’s talk to usin March.

Any Friends of the Library whoare graduates of Aberdeen maygo to Alumnus meetings as aguest of someone who is alreadya member.

If you’re interested in joining theAlumnus Associa t ion p leasecontact the Secretary:

Mrs Gai l Murdoch , e -mai l :donald.murdoch@btopenworld.comtel: 01224 594536

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FriendsWeb site

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/friends/

Autumn / Winter 2007Meeting

Our Autumn / Winter Meeting on 15thNovember saw a welcome returnfrom our President. Jack Webster is,of course, an acclaimed author andjournalist and would, we knew, giveus a lively evening. This time hespoke to us on Ernst Hanfstaengl(1887-1975), a mentor to Hitler andfriend of Winston Churchill, whomJack interviewed.

He provided us with the story of anintriguing international figure, whosewife once prevented Hitler fromcommitting suicide, and also gave usyet another fascinating glimpse intoJack’s own professional life as authorand journalist.

Professor Mike Meston give a flavourof the evening below.

Hitler’s Mentor -Ernst ‘Putzi’ Hanfstaengl

The evening began with a shortSpecial General Meeting, at whicha technical amendment to theFriends’ Constitution was approvedto comply with new regulationsissued by the Office of the ScottishCharity Regulator.

We were then delighted andprivileged to have our President, JackWebster, with us to give a fascinatingtalk with the intriguing title, Hitler’sMentor.

The mentor in question was Dr Ernst(‘Putzi’) Hanfstaengl, who hadmoved in the highest society inGermany, Britain and the USA. Asemi-aristocrat in Munich, he hadstudied at Harvard, knew the futurePresident Roosevelt and ran a family

by the US embassy about the risingpolitician Adolf Hitler, of whom he hadnever heard, although Hitler had thenheard of him. Putzi went to one of theoriginal Bierkeller rallies and, as manygenuinely cultured persons then were,was greatly impressed. An invitation toHitler to the Hanfstaengl family villagave Hitler an access to German highsociety which he might have beenunlikely to achieve otherwise.

Although he never joined the Naziparty, Putzi was tarred with the brushof the failed Putsch and took refuge inAustria, while Hitler hid at theHanfstaengl villa before beingimprisoned.

However in 1933 Hitler was electedChancellor and immediately tookadvantage of Putzi’s world-widecontacts (including friendship with BobBoothby, the MP for Aberdeenshire) byappointing him Press chief of the Naziparty. But Putzi was not alwayspolitically correct, was disliked by thelikes of Goering and Ribbentrop, and,when he became more aware of Hitler’strue nature, was probably indiscreet inhis comments.

In 1937 he was asked to fly to Spain inHitler’s private plane, ostensibly toobtain better access for Germanjournalists. The pilot however warnedhim that it was actually a Gestapo plotto kill him and arranged an engine

failure very close to the Swiss borderto let Putzi escape.

He made his way to London, but madean enemy of Lord Beaverbrook byraising a successful libel actionagainst his newspapers. The resultseems to have been that when he wasinterned on the outbreak of warBeaverbrook had him transferred toCanada under house arrest. Howevera personal phone call to PresidentRoosevelt quickly had himtransferred to Washington as anadviser on Hitler’s mentality andmotivations. He was placed undermilitary guard, but the guard was hisown son whom Putzi had sent toAmerica on the outbreak of war andwho had then joined the US Army.

Putzi returned to the family home inMunich after the war, largelyforgotten by Germans, but Jack hadbeen interested in a brief BBC featureabout him and succeeded in makingcontact with him, developing afriendship over several years.

Our President’s most stimulatingaddress was warmly received by themany Friends that evening and a voteof thanks was proposed by GrahamHunter.

Professor Mike Meston – Friends’Committee

Ernst ‘Putzi’ Hanfstaengl together with Adolf Hitler, at Cafe Heck inMunich in the 1920s (when he acted as Hitler’s Press Agent)

business in New York until the 1920s;he was also a high grade pianist.

On returning to Munich he was asked

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Postscript

Jack Webster’s Aberdeen

Many Friends will know that JackWebster’s latest publication, JackWebster’s Aberdeen (Birlinn, 2007,ISBN 978 184158472 price £20), isnow available.

In this new book Jack does not attemptto emulate the previous histories ofthe city but condenses the knowledgeand wisdom of past research and hisown experience.

From Robert the Bruce to WillieMiller, Isaac Benzie and RaggieMorrison to Cocky Hunter and MaCameron, and bringing us up to datewith Annie Lennox and DonaldTrump, there are fascinating tales ofwar and peace and everything fromschool and university to the historyof sport, cinema and theatre,stretching from Lillie Langtry toHarry Gordon and Scotland the What?

There are thanks to so many peopleincluding the staff in HistoricCollections and Graham Hunter, ourTreasurer. An enthralling read.

Jack previewed his new book at oneof the Music Hall’s ‘Look Who’sTalking’ lunchtime talks in October.

The Life ofLewis Grassic Gibbon

As we all know, Jack’s busy life ofresearch and publication never stopsand for those interested in LewisGrassic Gibbon (the pen-name of JamesLeslie Mitchell) and his entrancing andimmortal Scots Quair trilogy Jack hadyet another treat in store for us.

For two performances at the end ofMarch, Aberdeen’s His Majesty’sTheatre put on Grassic Gibbon,fulfilling Jack’s ambition for manyyears to stage a performance of GrassicGibbon’s life story.

It took us from the author’s early yearsin Auchterless and Arbuthnott to hislater life in Welwyn Garden City,Hertfordshire, from the struggle forrecognition in his youth to hissuccessful years and premature deathat the age of 34.

Not only was Jack himself in theaudience but also Grassic Gibbon’s son,who lives in Devon - a rare treat indeed.

The gestation for this most marvellousproduction is given in the University’sThe Aberdeen magazine January 2008p29, Man of Mearns: Jack Websterpays tribute to his North-east literaryhero and the inspiration for his firstplay.

Marischal MuseumLectures

Enclosed wi th the Autumn /Winter issue of the Friends’ Newswas a copy of the brochure for theMar ischa l Museum Tuesdaylecture series, held in the LectureTheatre at Marischal CollegeMuseum. The lec tures wi l lcontinue to be held here until theend of the current series, the finalthree being:

Tuesday 13 MayArt and history into life:

the pageant revival inScotland

Juliette Kinchin,University of Glasgow

(Society of Antiquaries ofScotland – Free)

Tuesday 27 May‘The Old Ship Zion’:

using the trawler radioband to transmit gospelsongs among North-East

Scottish fishermen FrancesWilkins

(Elphinstone Institute - £2)

Tuesday 10 JuneHow old are the stave

churches?Dr Ola Storsletten,

The Norwegian Institute forCultural Heritage Research(Society of Antiquaries of

Scotland – Free)

www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/historic/museum/

lectures.shtml

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Tales from the Stave:Elgar’s other ‘Enigma’

byChris Banks, Librarian,University of Aberdeen

Chris Banks enthusiastically took upthe invitation from the Friends’Executive Committee to speak to usat our Spring meeting and you wereall keen to come to hear what she hadto say.

Chris worked at the British Libraryfor 20 years before joining theUniversity of Aberdeen last Autumn.At the BL she spent much of her timeworking with its Music Collectionsand in this talk for the Friends sheillustrated the range of thosecollections through one work, Elgar’sViolin Concerto in B minor.

Professor Derek Ogston writes:(Friends’ Committe) writes:

On the 13th March members of theFriends of the Library and theAlumnus Association with guests metin the Seminar Room of the QueenMother Library. They were welcomedby Roy Thomson our Chairman, whointroduced Chris Banks, appointed asthe University Librarian last autumn.

Chris began by outlining her owncareer with over twenty years in theBritish Library, much of it workingfor its Music Collection and latterlyas Head of Music Collections. She

proceeded to captivate the largeaudience with an absorbing account ofthe work of the British Library MusicCollection. This was illustrated by thearchival material relating to theevolution of a major music score,Edward Elgar’s eloquent violinconcerto. In the talk extracts on musicmanuscript were shown and shortrecorded passages from the concertoplayed.

The concerto began its writtenexistence on fragments of paper. In1909 Elgar started a new sketch bookand in it appears part of the work. Someof the early manuscripts revealed largeparts of the initial composition erasedwith only small sections marked to beretained, providing an insight into hismethod of working. Elgar workedtowards completing the violin part ofthe concerto, rehearsing this with hisown piano accompaniment, the fullorchestration being completed later.

The progress of the work was furtherilluminated by quoted extracts from thediary of Elgar’s wife, letters to friendsand comments by music critics such asErnest Newman. Proofs of the nearly-completed score in the British Libraryshowed heavy annotation, some inElgar’s own hand. Finally the concertowas performed in 1910 with FritzKreisler as the soloist and wasenthusiastically received.

Further illustrated archival materialheld in the British Library MusicCollection included letters referring tothe good ticket sales, the favourablepress reception, copies of theprogramme and tickets, records of theprinting costs of the score, and theroyalty and copyright payments.

Elgar realised the potential of thegramophone and made a number ofrecordings of his own music, the mostcelebrated being the historic recordingof the violin concerto made in 1932with the sixteen-year old YehudiMenuhin as soloist and Elgar asconductor.

The types of material held in the MusicCollection of the British Library were

listed – manuscripts, both sketchesand scores; printed music; books;letters and papers of composers;sound recordings; journals andnewspapers. They were acquired forthe Collection by gift, bequest,purchase, loan and legal deposit.

The talk continued with Chris Banks’vision for the University’s new libraryand its collections.

She saw the new building providingthe opportunity to unite the presentstock, the historic archive and thebooks in store in ideal conditions.Dedicated areas will furnish scope forexhibitions, readings and musicalrecitals: it is a building that hasalready been an inspiration to artistsand musicians.

This section of the address concludedwith a brief outline of the structureof the planned building with its viewsup through an open atrium.

Chris ended with an explanation ofthe title of her talk. The manuscriptbears the dedication, ‘Herein isenshrined the soul of …..’ Theenigma is the identity of the soul –perhaps of his wife, Alice, or someother lady with five letters in hername. We will never be sure!

Professor Mike Meston proposed avote of thanks for a memorable talk,endorsed by an appreciative audience.

5

The following interview appeared inInformation Scotland, the journal ofCILIPS, the Chartered Institute ofLibrary and Information Professionalsin Scotland, Vol. 5 (5), October 2007.

It is reproduced here, with updatings,by permission of the Editor of thatjournal and of Chris Banks.

Career crescendo: interview withChris Banks, the new AberdeenUniversity Librarian

Chris moved from the British Libraryto her new post as the Universityembarks on the creation of a new£57m library.

Why did you enter the library /information profession?

I came to the profession through thefield of music. I took a taught Mastersdegree in Historical Musicology - askills-based course which includedelements of palaeography,transcription, editing, etc, - beforeentering the book trade, working foran antiquarian music dealer.

My first foray into librarianship waswith the Library of English NationalOpera and then in 1986 a job cameup on the British Library CuratorialTeam in Music. This was acataloguing post which also involvedworking with manuscripts,exhibitions and reader services.

In 1995 I was appointed Curator ofManuscript Music at the BritishLibrary with a remit to implement theintegration of the manuscript musiccollections with the printedcollections and the move of themanuscripts to the St Pancrasbuilding, where they are nowavailable as part of a holistic musicservice. In 1999, I additionallybecame Deputy Music Librarian. In2003 I was appointed Head of MusicCollections.

My last big move took me out ofmusic librarianship to become Head

of Reference and Research withadditional responsibility for the budgetfor electronic resources. I moved frommanaging a team of 13 to a large staffof 95.

What do you consider to be yourbiggest achievements in your careerso far?

I think these have been in the areas ofopening up collections to wideraudiences, both from the resourcediscovery point of view (working inpartnership with higher education) andalso through activities intended forwider audiences: exhibitions, publicevents and via the broadcast media.

The BBC Radio 4 series Tales from theStave, presented by Frances Fyfield,reached large audiences through theunlikely route of talking about onemanuscript and examining it from thephysical, biographical and culturalperspectives. Inter alia the programmeshelped to illustrate just why we keepsuch historic documents and what else,aside from the main intellectual‘content’, those documents mightreveal.

What prompted your wish tomove to the academic sector... and to Scotland?

My last task as a Head of MusicCollections at the British Library tookme to Aberdeen and while there I askedfor a tour around the Library. Not longafter that it emerged that the jobopportunity was there. I was veryinterested in the chance to move on tosomething bigger, and to be involvedin such a landmark building project - achance that few librarians get in theirlives. I find the prospect enormouslyexciting: we are creating a nationalresource, one which will enable us toopen up our historic collectionsalongside our main library resources.

I have friends in Scotland and I adorethe countryside. Everyone has beenincredibly friendly and welcoming. Ilove Old Aberdeen and the way it has a

collegiate feel and also that it is soclose to a bustling and culturally alivecity centre. On top of that I haveexchanged a three-tube commute ineach direction for a three minutewalk!

What do you expect the biggestdifference will be between workingat the British Library and workingat the University of Aberdeen?

I’m sure it will be different in all sortsof areas - not least that students canborrow material! There will be theopportunity of working closely withthe academic staff on developing theLibrary’s collections so that they areimmediately relevant to the researchand student communities.

What do you consider will be thebiggest challenges in your newpost?

I thought the greatest challengewould be building up a new networkfrom scratch but that happened reallyquickly. A big challenge will beworking with the fundraising team onraising the remainder of the capitalfor the new building. Resourcediscovery is also very important inenhancing access to the heritagecollections.

What will be your main prioritiesin your new post?

These are multifaceted. Getting toknow the institutional priorities andwho the key players are is important.As for the new building, we will bebringing together two elements of thecollections which have been separate- Historic Collections and the mainLibrary collections and theirassociated staff and functions.Engagement with the widercommunity is another priority: theground floor of the new building isdesigned as a public space and willhave a wider role to play.

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Progress on theNew Library

The University’s The Aberdeenmagazine: intelligent conversationfrom the University of Aberdeen forJanuary 2008 p9-11 keeps up itscoverage on the progress of theplanning of the new Library.

of us would recognise. “The Libraryis a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.You go through all these periods inyour university career, with ups anddowns, and the library is just thatconstant thing that’s always there, andyou’re always there, whether you’rehaving a good day or a bad day, or aquick day or a slow day. It’s just sucha big thing in a student’s life. It’s thefocal point.”

Edinburgh, like us, seeks to show newways to make accessible and promoteits Special Collections. “For somestudents a highlight of their studentcareer is the chance to view andhandle a rare and beautiful object.”Again, we, too, hope to emphasisethis part of the University’scollections and many of us willempathise with this response.

So we’re doing the right thingplanning for a new Library! Butunlike Edinburgh, we’re notanticipating transferring Careers,Counselling and Disability servicesfrom the new student ‘Hub’ buildingto the Library.

Byrds and Banks …

William Byrd and Richard Turbetwill be names familiar to many ofyou, Richard being a member of theLibrary staff and author of thedefinitive work on Byrd, the greatestEnglish composer of the 16th century.

Richard has been on the staff for 30years, primarily involved incataloguing work, more recently theStationers Hall and Sir Walter ScottCollections, both in Special Libraries.To celebrate this landmark and his60th birthday, the UniversityDepartment of Music put on a specialconcert in King’s College Chapel inFebruary.

Richard was asked to choose aprogramme of Byrd’s music, whichwas prefaced by a new short workwritten especially to mark the

Under the title Green light we are alsogiven the nail-biting background to thelast minute appearance of theChancellor of the Exchequer, AlistairDarling (a Law graduate fromAberdeen), at a London reception toshare the University’s ambitious plansfor the new Library.

Morten Schmidt, from the Danisharchitectural firm which won theinternational competition, schmidthammer lassen, explained how the newbuilding should “radiate” knowledge tothe surrounding world. His bywordswere light, height, flexibility and space.As well as being the University’sintellectual hub and a place for staff andstudents to mingle and connect, theLibrary is also to be a multi-facetedcultural centre for both the academiccommunity and the city of Aberdeen.

Everyone at the London reception drankhappily to realising the dream of a“Library fit for purpose in the 21stcentury”.

The December issue of InformationScotland included an article on theUniversity of Edinburgh Library’srebuild project’ in the context of thecurrent ‘great wave of university librarytransformation’, which includedAberdeen in its listing. In the article theDirector of Library Services there,Sheila Cannell, made several verytelling, pertinent - and comforting! –points.

She feels that the digital library can bean isolating experience for students andresearchers because it delivers theinformation and resources they requiredirectly to them; but the physical librarycan counterbalance this by providing alively intellectual environment for‘conversation’. Students report thatwhen they come to the library theyrevert to a work and study mindset,helped by being surrounded by books,which they see as the collective wisdomof past generations of scholars.

One student spoke about his time atEdinburgh in a way that I’m sure many

What do you think are the currentmajor threats to - and opportunitiesfor - the academic sector of theprofession?

For some there can be a generalperception that everything relevant isavailable on the web, that it is full-text and that libraries are no longer‘places’ - a challenge for an institutionbuilding a new one! We know thatmany students will start their researchwith the web and that alarmingnumbers don’t necessarily feel theneed to know about library catalogues.

There is the gap between aspirationand funding: electronic resources anddigitisation programmes areexpensive; increasing and varieddemands on library spaces brings acost; ensuring that we remain relevantand don’t stand still has all sorts ofresource implications and we mustn’tlose sight of ensuring that our uniqueitems are discoverable. Thetechnology brings opportunities - it isthere to help us open up collections,especially for those not physicallyable to get to them.

How would you encourage someoneconsidering entering the libraryand information profession today?

I love it that no two days are alike;that there are some really wonderfuland talented people (worldwide) inour profession; and that theopportunity to be entrepreneurial in apublic /’not for profit’ environment

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occasion by Pete Stollery, Head ofthe Department of Music andProfessor of Electroacoustic Musicand Composition. This piece, entitled‘b3:dz’ (pronounced “birds”), fororgan and digital sound, wasprojected over 8 loudspeakers anddrew on various Byrd and bird piecesto wish Richard a Happy Byrdday.

Also included in the concert was aselection of Byrd’s compositionsfrom the manuscript now known asMy Ladye Nevells Booke, completedin 1591. The work, consisting of 42compositions for keyboard by Byrd,was in private hands until 2006when, after an arduous and sustainedcampaign of fundraising, it waspurchased for the nation and housedin the British Library.

Leader of this successful fundraisingwas our own University Librarian,Chris Banks, when she was Head ofMusic Collections there. Her finalduty in this post was a seminar onMy Ladye Nevells Booke inAberdeen’s Department of Music.

Rounding this off so well was the factthat at Richard’s concert Chris sangitems from the manuscript with othermembers of the University’s vocalensemble.

As a postscript to this, Aberdeen ArtGallery will host the first showingin Scotland of the My Ladye NevellsBooke manuscript from 10 May 2008to 02 Aug 2008.

It is one of the most beautifullywritten music manuscripts to survivefrom the late 16th century and is stillpreserved in its original ornatebinding. Chris Banks has beeninvited to talk about the manuscriptat a reception and concert given bythe Friends of Aberdeen Art Galleryand Museums.

500 Years of Printingin Scotland

Showing on the top floor of ProvostSkene’s House in Aberdeen until 25October is a fascinating exhibitionentitled The Local Word and Image:500 years of printing in Scotlandwhich Friends in the North East maybe interested in visiting.

The display examines the history ofprinting in Aberdeen. Edward Raban,Aberdeen’s first printer, was appointedin 1622 and worked for both the cityand King’s and Marischal Colleges.

Many of the most important printedbooks and documents on display havebeen brought together from a variety ofdifferent sources for the first time.

A Historic First forAberdeen …

Apparently, in 1923, without muchfanfare, the first woman was elected tothe Council of the Scottish LibraryAssociation, the professional body forlibrary staff in Scotland. The lady sohonoured was Miss Maud S Best, sub-librarian at Aberdeen UniversityLibrary.

Since than, of course, MichaelSmethurst, whom many of you willremember, held the same position in the1970s, but it is gratifying to think thatwe were at the forefront of such anaccolade.

Aberdeen University’sWriters Festival:

Word 2008 Items in this year’s Word Festivalmay have particular interest forFriends - if you’re quick!. The Festival takes place from Friday9th - Sunday 11th May, on the OldAberdeen Campus and at somevenues in the city centre. For thefirst time most events have anadmission charge but in fact the twosignificant for us don’t.

Tickets should be booked in advancefrom Aberdeen Box Office on:01224 6441122 or online at:www.abdn.ac.uk/word/tickets

Friday 9 May at 4.30 pm

The Linklater LectureDavid Hewitt on Walter Scott

King’s College Centre Friends will remember the stimulatingevening we had a few years ago whenwe heard David Hewitt , RegiusProfessor of Scottish Literature, speakto us on the marvellous collection ofScott manuscripts, publications andmemorabilia which the University hadrecently bought and which has now beencatalogued for Special Collections.

Professor Hewitt is also Editor-in-Chiefof the Edinburgh edition of theWaverley novels, the first scholarlyedition of Scott’s fiction, published in30 volumes by EUP. This massiveachievement has revolutionised ideas ofScott and his work and the theme of thelecture will be: A Reformed Scott.

Saturday 10th May at 11.00 amThe Beast is BeautifulKing’s College Centre

A chance to have yet anotherenthralling session with Dr JaneGeddes, from the History of ArtDepartment, and a regular speakerat Friends’ evenings over the lastfew years.

Dr Geddes will be one of adistinguished panel chaired by Alan

8

Edward Raban, Aberdeen’s first printer

Taylor, editor of the Sunday Herald,which will discuss the AberdeenBestiary, one of our greatesttreasures, the richly illuminatedmedieval manuscript cared for bySpecial Collections. The panel willdiscuss this collection of moralisingstories about animals - theBestiary’s meaning, source andcreation.

Friends may also be interested toknow that Siobhan Convery,Archivist in Special Libraries andArchives, who spoke to us soinspiringly a few years ago on herwork here, features in the Word‘Schools Festival’, 6 – 8 May.

She is leading a ‘Written TreasuresWorkshop’ for Primary 5 – 7s on theart of making books. They will learnabout scribes, illuminators andprinters, try using a quill anddiscover hidden treasures from thecollections.

Thanks to you …

Dr Iain Beavan, Head, Special Libraries and Archives, asked for funding fromthe Friends to allow his Department to purchase two volumes of importance.The works will distinctly enhance Aberdeen’s early modern collections andprovide research resources for members of the University’s Centre for EarlyModern Studies. Professor Jane Stevenson (Latin) and Professor PeterDavidson (Renaissance Studies) both gave the volumes a highrecommendation.

The cost of purchasing these works was shared with the National Fund forAcquisitions.

———————————

Philip Sidney The Countess of Pembrokes Arcadia London, 1613 £1,300

A poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney’s writings and specificallyArcadia, are central to early modern English and European literary studies.However we have no early editions of the work, a noticeable gap in ourotherwise very early strong modern holdings. Our earliest edition currently isdated 1662 and we have 18th century editions but for research scholars arereliant on 19th century reprints and more recent scholarly editions.

Ironically, over 350 years ago, Marischal College owned a copy of this 1613edition, bequeathed in 1624, but lost by 1720. We have no reason to believethat this latest volume is our missing one!

The Library has several 16th and17th century editions ofBoissard’s works but not thisparticular text. What isparticularly important andsignificant is the quality andrange of the illustrations, thusof value to History of Art withinthe University and moregenerally for Renaissancestudies and research. Theengravings by Jean-TheodoreDe Bry and his father are heldin high regard and found inmany public collections.

The book also includesdepictions of the Sibyls, the 17th

century paintings in MarischalMuseum and which have beenthe subject of considerable art-historical research. None of uswho were at Dr Mary Pryor’stalk to the Friends a few yearsago will forget that enthrallingevening.

Jean-Jacques Boissard De divinatione 1615 £1,300

QML CopyshopA range of images in full colour

taken from the original paintings,and GWW in black & white

All A4 size, mounted and sealed incellophane bag

£17

9

The Friends of Aberdeen University Library

Friends of AberdeenUniversity Library

Executive Committee

QML, Taylor and the Medical Library

FriendsWeb site

Monday - Saturday 9.00 am - 10.00 pm (all close at 8.00pm on Fridays)Sunday 11.00 am - 10.00 pm (QML) 1.00pm - 10.00pm (Taylor and Medical)

Special LibrariesMonday - Friday 9.30 am - 4.30 pm

produced by QML Reprographics Unit

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/friends/

PresidentMr Jack Webster

ChairMr Roy H Thomson

Honorary TreasurerMr Graham Hunter

Honorary SecretaryMiss Christine A Miller

HonoraryMembership SecretaryMiss Sheona C Farquhar

MembersMrs Chris Banks

University LibrarianProfessor Chris Gane

Vice-Principal(Library and Information Services)

Professor Michael C MestonProfessor Bill NicolaisenProfessor Derek OgstonMiss Eilidh M ScobbieMrs Helen F Stevenson

DonationsJennifer Beavan

We are delighted and most grateful to have been receiving froma former member of staff regular donations to the Friends.

Many of you will recognise the name and many more wouldrecognise the face of Jennifer Beavan, a member of the Librarystaff for the more than 30 years of her professional life. Jenniferalways worked in a ‘front-of-house’ post, ideally suited to herfriendly manner and years of knowledge and experience of thewhole Library system and its idiosyncracies.

Latterly Jennifer was Head of Reader Services in QML but overthe years she had a remit also for many aspects of behind-the-scenes work, which the Library depended on for its smoothrunning such as staff training, implementing disability and healthand safe ty legis la t ion, and planning the Ground Floorinformation and circulation points.

Her ready wit and vast knowledge of literature, history, cinemaand almost anything else which was required of her madeJennifer a bedrock of the University Library for years and sheleft a very obvious gap on her retiral two years ago.

Sadly, since then, Jennifer’s ill-health has caught up with herbut she is always keen to hear the latest news of the Library andthe many staff she knew here.

We much appreciate Jennifer remembering the Friends in thisway and send her our very best wishes.