In October 1942, the University Librarian George H Bushnell, amused the University Celtic Society with a ghost story which, according to the society minutes, was ‘enjoyed by all, the room being quiet enough to hear a mouse squeak.’ A few years later, in 1945, Bushnell published these stories as ‘A handful of Ghosts’, his only ..read more

Bringing in collections Incoming university collections are routinely checked for dirt, mould and insect activity before being cleaned, rehoused and shelved in the stores. Not all collection items come from suitable storage environments and this essential work ensures that dirt and harmful insect pests are not inadvertently brought into the collections. This was particularly the ..read more

 This year is the 250th anniversary of Phillis Wheatley’s work Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, the first volume published by an African American woman in English. Despite racial prejudice, Phillis’s book was a significant testament to the genius of her poetry. Her works were a proof of her own understanding of her ..read more

A blog post by Elizabeth Hayslett, volunteer in University Collections. The history of the University of St Andrews spans over 600 years, and St Andrews University Collections holds and cares for much of the university’s legacy, from the foundation charters to professors’ papers. This year, I got the opportunity to contribute to the preservation of ..read more

On the 8th July 2023, the University Libraries and Museums hosted an exhibit for the Fifth International Congress of the John Gower Society. We displayed 16 manuscript and printed items relating to the papers being delivered at the conference. The lively conversations held in Martyrs Kirk Research Library on that sunny Saturday were a true ..read more

Digitisation in libraries, archives, and museums is an important way of providing wider access to collections than would be possible in person. In recent years, understandably, the demand for online access increased as travel became restricted, and researchers looked for digital surrogates. However, the process of digitisation of historical collections is delicate, labour-intensive, and expensive ..read more

Scottish History PhD candidate Kate McGregor has been has been working for the past year as a Research Assistant on a project investigating notaries and their networks in late medieval St Andrews, supported by generous funding from the St Andrews Local History Foundation, administered by the Burnwynd Trust. In this her second blog post on ..read more

Scottish History PhD candidate Kate McGregor has been has been working for the past year as a Research Assistant on a project investigating notaries and their networks in late medieval St Andrews, supported by generous funding from the St Andrews Local History Foundation, administered by The Burnwynd Trust. Here are some of the highlights from ..read more

When I received the notification that I had been chosen as the winner of the 2023 J. D. Forbes Prize, I was thrilled. Not for me, but for my collection of Tennysonian Arthuriana. I was thrilled that my collection of books and artwork associated with the Arthurian poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson resonated with the ..read more

Can’t find the book you want in the library? You can request it through the more books service. Many students and members of staff have found this service useful. Take a look at the Main Library blog to read more about it. In this blog, we look at the history of requesting books in the ..read more