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June 2022
Happy June! If you haven't yet participated, we need YOU to help the ATBL grow by taking our 10-minute Strategic Development survey! (Click the poster below to participate!)
Our thanks to everyone who was able to join us for our first "Tea with the British Library" event in May. Participants were able to see works of Geoffrey Chaucer up close and personal, guided by Julian Harrison, British Library curator, and fielded excellent questions Julian's way in real-time. We are pleased to open registration for our second "Tea with the British Library" event, "Afternoon Tea with the British Library," on July 13, 2022, at 12 PM EDT. British Library curator Peter Toth will present on the Library's Greek Papyri, and a digitization project for which the ATBL provided significant support. To attend these "Teas," you must be a current supporter of the ATBL; if you haven't already done so, please join us via this hyperlink at whatever level you feel comfortable!
We have also launched an exciting new fundraising campaign with the British Library. Show your support and gratitude for the work of the British Library and its unparalleled collections by adopting your favorite book, sponsoring a seat or dedicating a desk in the British Library reading room of your choice! Follow this hyperlink here to participate in this campaign online and see below for more information.
This month's newsletter marks the last before we take a bit of a summer pause to regroup and plan ahead for next year's programming and events. However, we always love to hear from you, so please do feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns in the meantime!
For those of you who have participated in some of our programming this year, keep an eye on your inboxes for a follow-up survey. We would love to receive feedback on what you liked, didn't like, or want to see more of on the ATBL's programming calendar.
I wish everyone a joyful start to the summer.
Sincerely,
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Elizabeth Berkowitz, MA, PhD
Executive Director
The American Trust for the British Library
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'Your country needs you' advertisement in London Opinion, Vol. XLII No.546, 5 September 1914. Newspaper Library 1903-1954 LON LD92A NPL. | |
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The ATBL is excited to announce that we are moving forward with a website redesign, scheduled to take place this summer. In order to best support this direction for the organization, we want to hear from YOU! Whether you are a current ATBL Supporter, former ATBL Supporter, ATBL-adjacent individual, or person who found themselves on this newsletter list and aren't sure why you are here (but like it all the same!), we want YOUR feedback!
Click on the photo or the hyperlink here to take a short, 10-minute survey that will help us plan the ATBL's next steps!
With our sincere thanks to ATBL Advisory Council member Christian Dupont for his partnership on this survey, to our generous initial reviewers, and to the ATBL Advisory Council for their work and feedback on this project.
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Adopt a Book, Sponsor a Seat, or Dedicate a Desk! | |
Support the British Library and Honor your Favorite Book, or the Special People
in your Life!
Make a lasting connection by adopting a book, sponsoring a seat, or dedicating a desk in one of the British Library Reading Rooms. Mark a special occasion, give a unique present or make a memory. Whichever you choose, you’ll be supporting vital work, sharing and securing the Library's collection for future generations.
Click here to learn more about this special opportunity, and click here or the image to participate in this campaign online!
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British Library Events of Interest | |
In Person and Virtual:
Gold in History
Thursday, June 9, 2022
19:00–20:30 UK time
(2 PM EDT)
Professor of Global History Peter Frankopan presents a world view of the power and resonance of gold throughout history and across cultures. In conversation with Dr. Sushma Jansari of the British Museum, he considers gold at the center of many cultures, some of our greatest art and as a standard of money and wealth; as well as the obsession behind devastating wars, conquest, and exploitation.
This event accompanies the Library's new exhibition Gold: 50 Spectacular Manuscripts from around the World (May 20 – October 2, 2022).
Click on the lecture title or image above to register.
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In Person:
Thursday, July 21, 2022
19:15 UK time
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Explore the histories and cultures of Two-Spirit people
This FREE event takes place at the British Library.
After European colonizers invaded Indian Country, centuries of violence and systematic persecution followed, imperiling the existence of people who today call themselves Two-Spirits. But what is meant by the term Two-Spirit? Is the term Indigenous? And how does the term Two-Spirit help us understand the importance of gender and sexuality in Native American kinship communities of the past, present, and future?
In this talk, historian Gregory Smithers explores these questions to reveal how Two-Spirit people are reclaiming their place in the circle of Native communities.
To register and for more information, click on the image above.
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Stories from the Collections | |
Gold! Learn More about the British Library's
Stunning New Exhibition
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Take a shine to some of the most notable objects on view in this illuminating new exhibition! Read a recent post from the British Library's Medieval Manuscripts blog.
Click on the image to learn more.
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The Woman who Gave Birth to. . . Rabbits??
In a story featured prominently in the Library's Breaking the News exhibition, this blog post recalls a remarkable bit of "fake news" from the 18th-century: the tale of a woman who supposedly gave birth to rabbits, and the medical professionals (and public!) who believed her!
Click the image to learn more.
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Professor Dame Carol Black Reappointed Chair of the British Library
Dame Carol, longtime friend of the ATBL, has been reappointed for a second term, commencing September 1, 2022, as British Library Chair.
Click the image to read more about Dame Carol and news of the reappointment.
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Gold: 50 Spectacular Manuscripts from Around the World opened on May 20th
This exhibition brings together fifty of the most dazzling and luxurious golden objects in the Library's collection, some of which are on public display for the first time.
Showcasing books, scrolls, and documents from twenty countries, Gold reveals how this precious metal has captured the imagination of scribes, artists, and patrons throughout history and across cultures and faiths.
Click the image to read more.
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The Nursery Alice, containing twenty colored enlargements from John Tenniel’s illustrations to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, with text adapted to nursery readers by Lewis Carroll, 1890. Cup. 410.g.74. | |
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British Library Curator
Peter Toth
presents on the Library's Greek Papyri
July 13, 2022
12:00 PM EDT
via Zoom
This event is exclusive to current ATBL Supporters.
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Did you miss an ATBL virtual program earlier this year? Find our recent program recordings below—and view more ATBL videos on our Vimeo page. | |
Pocket Cathedrals: William Morris and the Influence of the Kelmscott Press
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The 11th Breslauer Lecture with Dr. Anne-Marie Eze
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The Denig Devotional Manuscript: Part II, Exploration
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Related Organization Events | | |
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In-Person and Virtual:
Lambeth Palace Library Through Five Centuries
The Book Club of California
co-hosted and co-presented by the Bibliographical Society of America
Monday, July 11, 2022
6-7:15 PM PST
This virtual and in-person event features Giles Mandelbrote, librarian and archivist of Lambeth Palace Library, discussing the history of the seventeenth-century library just across the Thames from the British Library.
Click the image for more information and to register.
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Samuel Alken, Bathing Machines, Brighthelmstone, 1790. Ktop XLII. Learn more about these "Bathing Machines" by clicking here! | |
All images copyright of the British Library unless otherwise noted. | | | | |
