Libraries working together: a Scottish perspective

1995 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-16
Author(s):  
Ann Matheson

Cooperation between libraries is time-consuming, but is both ‘worthwhile and essential. Scottish research libraries commenced active cooperation in 1977: the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries now has 15 active members. More recently, libraries in Scotland have been encouraged to work together following the creation of the Scottish Library and Information Council. The National Library has a key role to play, but in partnership with other libraries rather than invariably taking the lead. Cooperation between Scottish art libraries can be traced back to the 1950s and to the development, under the auspices of the National Library, of a union catalogue of art books in Edinburgh. This project is being extended and it will eventually become a national database. The group of libraries responsible for the project has taken on a wider role and an expanded membership as the Scottish Visual Arts Group, one of several subject groups under the umbrella of the Scottish Confederation of University & Research Libraries. The Group will work closely with the Scottish Library and Information Council, and with ARLIS/UK & Ireland in the wider framework of the United Kingdom. (This article is the revised text of a paper presented to the ARLIS/UK & Ireland 25th Anniversary Conference in London, 7th-10th April 1994).

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 946-995
Author(s):  
David Kneale

This article reappraises the experience of the civilian crews aboard Manx personnel vessels engaged in Operation Dynamo, and the contested aftermath. More than 20,000 troops were retrieved by nine ships of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, three of which were sunk in and off Dunkirk. There is more than enough material for a heroic narrative to emerge, yet a sense of scandal seems to cling to these particular civilian crews. Various political, social and cultural forces foster distinctly separate narratives between the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. However, empirical research in Manx and UK archives, including access to a hitherto closed file, reveals a different story: that the official Admiralty narrative of Operation Dynamo was intentionally weaponized against the Manx civilian crews for political reasons. This was achieved through the creation of reports that were false, misleading or unsupported by evidence, the provocation of the Isle of Man’s Lieutenant Governor into acts of reprisal, and through the work of an unseen editorial hand in Admiralty archives. The influence of this hostile narrative, which continues to be reinforced, has obscured the contributions of the true civilians of Dunkirk.


2019 ◽  
pp. 137-147
Author(s):  
Ivan Parvev

The proposed analysis evaluates Russian and British policies during the Great Eastern Crisis (1875-78), with bilateral relations being placed in the context of the global hostility between England and Russia lasting from 1815 onwards. In the period between the end of the Crimean War (1853-56) and early 1870s there were serious changes in the balance of power in Europe, which was related to the creation of the German Empire in 1871. The possibility of Russian-German geopolitical union however was a bad global scenario for the United Kingdom. Because of this, English policy during the Great Eastern Crisis was not that strongly opposed to the Russia one, and did not support the Ottoman Empire at all costs. This made it possible to establish political compromise between London and St. Petersburg, which eventually became the basis of the Congress of Berlin in 1878.


Author(s):  
Uta A. Balbier

This book provides a transnational history of Billy Graham’s revival work in the 1950s, zooming in on his revival meetings in London (1954), Berlin (1954/1960), and New York (1957). It shows how Graham’s international ministry took shape in the context of transatlantic debates about the place and future of religion in public life after the experiences of war and at the onset of the Cold War, and through a constant exchange of people, ideas, and practices. It explores the transnational nature of debates about the religious underpinnings of the “Free World” and sheds new light on the contested relationship between business, consumerism, and religion. In the context of Graham’s revival meetings, ordinary Christians, theologians, ministers, and church leaders in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom discussed, experienced, and came to terms with religious modernization and secular anxieties, Cold War culture, and the rise of consumerism. The transnational connectedness of their political, economic, and spiritual hopes and fears brings a narrative to life that complicates our understanding of the different secularization paths the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany embarked on in the 1950s. During Graham’s altar call in Europe, the contours of a transatlantic revival become visible, even if in the long run it was unable to develop a dynamism that could have sustained this moment in these different national and religious contexts.


Author(s):  
W. Elliot Bulmer

This chapter talks about Sir Ivor Jennings, who observed in the context of decolonization in the 1950s that one must first decide who are the people before one can decide how the people are to govern themselves. It proposes a constitutional renewal project that must recognize the United Kingdom as a complex 'Union state' made up of distinct nations. It also describes the United Kingdom as a messy amalgam of two kingdoms, a principality, and a dismembered province that were forged together by civil wars, bribery, and dynastic wrangling. The chapter looks at the geographical, cultural, historical, and demographic complexity of the polity being constituted that will determine much of its constitutional architecture even when fairly standard Westminster Model constitutionalism is applied. It illustrates India and Bangladesh, two countries whose constitutions are thoroughly Westminster influenced but show different design because of the demands of context.


1994 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-21
Author(s):  
Louise Tucker

Although in the past it has been possible for students of librarianship in Britain to select some specialist options pertaining to art librarianship, this is no longer the case: training for librarianship is generalist in its scope. Intending art librarians have in some cases chosen to study for an arts degree and then to undertake postgraduate training in librarianship, while more recently the proliferation of modular studies has multiplied opportunities for combining different subjects. Art librarianship is learned by working in an art library; in addition, ARLIS/ UK & Ireland provides short courses, workshops, and study visits, as well as an annual conference. Proposals for a national Visual Arts Library and Information Plan (VALIP) may lead to further development of a strategy for the training of art librarians.


Modern Italy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-279
Author(s):  
Nicola Cacciatore

Italian anti-fascists started to emigrate from the moment that Mussolini seized power. These émigrés, or fuorusciti, tried to organise themselves to put an end to Mussolini’s regime, but found themselves confronting a number of unexpected difficulties in their host countries. Among them, Giustiza e Libertà (GL) was one of the most active organisations. One of the problems they had to face was the issue of how best to deal with their hosts without compromising their integrity as Italians, and as patriots. The case of Paolo Vittorelli (Raffaele Battino), who is the subject of this article, presents a clear case study of this issue and shows how close collaboration between Italian anti-fascists and western democracies (in this case, the United Kingdom) was hindered by ideological problems. The study of such episodes helps us to shed light not only on the mentality of the GL émigrés, but also on the way the Italian Resistance would later approach the issue of working together with the Allies during the Italian campaign of 1943–1945.


Author(s):  
Barbara Bültmann

This article calls for the creation of a national digitization strategy in the United Kingdom. It summarizes the author's research into the current state of digitization in the UK with reference to present strategy, direction and funding. The application of a defined strategy is contentious and the author considers arguments on both sides of the debate. The author argues however that digitization has ‘come of age’ and that it is essential that integration and harmonization of methods are considered by UK stakeholders in order to maximize future potential. The author proceeds to suggest what future steps are necessary to achieve this goal.


2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 623
Author(s):  
Judith Broady-Preston

In an historic referendum held June 23, 2016, to determine whether the United Kingdom (U.K.) should leave or remain as members of the European Union (EU), the British people voted 52% in favor of the U.K. withdrawing from its membership in the EU. As a plebiscite, arguably the result has validity as the proportion of those eligible to vote was high at 72%, with more than 30 million voters in total.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-87
Author(s):  
Stephanie Medden

This article describes how Latin American advocacy and activist groups operating in the United Kingdom engage in identity work through their collaboration with one another, the creation of discourses around cultural identity and the division of activist labour. By examining how the members of these groups plan their strategies, collaborate and use digital platforms to perform and construct identity, mobilize support and partner with ally groups, the author sheds light on some ways in which identity movements facing the threat of geopolitical shifts, such as Brexit, participate in identity work under precarious conditions. This article demonstrates how a bifurcation of activist labour represents two different but concurrent approaches to identity work for Latin American activists in post-Brexit Britain. It argues that such precarity challenges the primacy of Latinidad as a strategic resource for activists and, instead, encourages alternative forms of solidarity.


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