Warburg Institute: library saved from Nazis awaits its fate

[Originally posted on the Centre for Material Texts bog]

The Times Higher Education Supplement reports that the Warburg Institute library is under threat again, as the University of London heads off to court to contest the terms of a deed of trust made in 1944.

Anyone who has worked in the library, based in the Institute’s building in Woburn Square, will know how special it is. With vast amounts of material, much of it available nowhere else in the UK, and instantly accessible on open shelves, it’s a goldmine for scholar working on the history of European art and literature.

The Warburg apparently runs a £500,000 annual deficit–which is presumably small change for an institution of the size of the University of London. Let’s hope that the administrators can be made to see sense.

Australasian Rare Books Summer School 2015

The 10th anniversary Australasian Rare Books Summer School will be held 26-30 January 2015 in Wellington, New Zealand. The event is hosted by Victoria University of Wellington and the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand.

Three exciting courses are on offer, each of which runs for five full days:

History of Cartography/Maps
Tutor: Julie-Sweetkind Singer, Stanford University, USA

Geographic Information Systems for Digital Humanities
Tutor: Ian Gregory, Lancaster University, UK

Artistic Printing
Tutors: Marty Vreede, Quay School of the Arts, Whanganui and Sydney Shep, Wai-te-ata Press, Victoria University of Wellington

Follow the links above for full course descriptions and instructor bios.

The cost of each course is NZD $800 + gst per person. Places are strictly limited.

For more details about RBSS 2015 visit: http://wtap.vuw.ac.nz/wordpress/digital-history/events/rare-books-summer-school/

If you would like to attend, please use the Expression of Interest on-line form, and a member of the RBSS team will contact you with more information.

Hope to see you there!