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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Final remarks from @tanyakirk.bsky.social for the end of #RBSCG26 and #rbscg2026. Thanks to speakers, committee members, chairs, sponsors, and audience members! And that's a wrap on the conference! Thank you all!

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And now joining Steven for the panel discussion are Bob MacLean (University of Glasgow), Jane Gallagher (University of Leeds), Tim Pye (National Trust).

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Our last paper of the conference will be Muhammad Tehmash Khan (Aga Khan University) and Doa Sarmad Khan (Aitchison College Lahore, Pakistan) Reconnecting Displaced Institutional Archives to Place in the Post-Digital University #RBSCG2026 #rbscg26

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Third paper of our morning session: Christian Algar (British Library) Heritage and Communities: Does History (Really) Belong to Everyone? #RBSCG26 #rbscg2026

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Next up is Olivia Gecseg (The National Archives, UK): Locating the Manchester Designs Registry, 1907-c.1980s A Local Office, a National Archive and a Global Industry

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

First paper today: Alex Kither (SOAS, University of London) and Kaja Marczewska (UCL) on "Chinese Collections, Colonial Contexts, and Institutional Change Between UCL and SOAS". #RBSCG26 #rbscg2026

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

We have a couple of committee vacancies coming out soon - talk to a committee member and keep an eye out for our adverts! #RBSCG26 #rbscg2026

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Do you have a cataloguing conundrum? Do you have an interesting item that you've come across in your collection? Get in touch and we can chat about including that in a forthcoming newsletter! #RBSCG26 #rbscg2026

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The Bibliographic Standards Committee has forthcoming cataloguing events - keep an eye out for the adverts! #RBSCG26 #rbscg2026

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

We've had a number of day events, with cataloguing events being our most popular. We love sharing expertise amongst ourselves! Please get in touch if you have any event or visit ideas! #RBSCG26 #rbscg2026

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Our treasurer has assured us that our finances are healthy so we can continue providing events and conferences! Woohoo!

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Morning, all! Katherine, your friendly newsletter co-editor, managing the social media for the last day of #RBSCG2026! Starting soon with a committee update.

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Kiri Ross-Jones @kirirj.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Fab few days at the #RBSCG conference. Inspiring talks, amazing (OLD) manuscripts and lovely colleagues! Was a bit worried about being an imposter, but would highly recommend to archivists. It took place in the room where I did my finals, and even that didn't put me off! @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social

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Ellen Werner @ellenwerner.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Thank you so much for having me! Any excuse to show the chicken Bible...

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Katie Birkwood @girlinthe.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This is a great video, shown at #RBSCG26

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Melinda Haunton @melindahaunton.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

And isn't this the question we all need to tackle...

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I’ve completely messed up the nesting of the thread here so please do dig through the replies to see where it goes 🙌

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Good morning and welcome to day 2 of #RBSCG26 It’s @bobmaclean.bsky.social inexpertly taking the reins of the socials account today. I’ll do my best to share some of the lovely details of some of our papers today (wish me luck)

Picture of opening slide in large hall. Reads: A sense of place: CILIP Rare Books & Special Collections Conference #RBSCG2026 9-11 September 2026

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Buckinghamshire Archives @bucksarchives.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Many of our documents have decorative marbling on the covers, which we're showing off today! This is a close up of a 17th century parish register from Chesham.

A close-up image of a marbled front cover of a document. It shows lots of blue, yellow, and black splodges, running together in a fluid, marble-like pattern.

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

We are delighted to be able to offer two bursary places for #RBSCG26. This year they are sponsored by the RBSCG and are: • One full bursary: free place at the conference; accommodation; up to £150 for travel. • One local bursary: free place at the conference (no accommodation / travel costs).

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Suffolk Archives @suffolkarchives.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Have you heard of Lilian Redstone? She was one of the first women to make history her profession and helped establish the first county record offices in Suffolk, shaping how the county's history is kept and shared today. We're honouring her life and work with a range of events orlo.uk/1LVxg

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

#RBSCG26 Registrations are OPEN! This year's conference, on the theme 'A Sense of Place: Collections and Communities in Context', will take place at St John's College, Cambridge, 9th-11th September 2026. View the programme and book a place via our website: www.cilip.org.uk/members/grou...

static.klipy.com

Bright Yellow 'Open for Business' Sign

ALT: Bright Yellow 'Open for Business' Sign

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

We are delighted that Karen Attar's conference paper from our 2024 conference has now been published in extended form in the Art Libraries Journal, 50(4), Oct. 2025: doi.org/10.1017/alj..... We're sure that #RBSCG26 papers will be of just such high calibre, so don't snooze on booking your place!

doi.org

A library is not an art gallery: curating art in a university library nonetheless | Art Libraries Journal | Cambridge Core

A library is not an art gallery: curating art in a university library nonetheless - Volume 50 Issue 4

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

static.klipy.com

Bright Yellow 'Open for Business' Sign

ALT: Bright Yellow 'Open for Business' Sign

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Green's Books at @worcestercathedral.bsky.social library: 📚 Understanding Bookbindings Course 🗓️ Mon 22 & Tues 23 June 2026 | 10am-4pm 📝 Focus: the structural features of bookbindings, their development over time, and the reasons they degrade. 💰 £360 www.worcestercathedral.org.uk/whats-on/und...

worcestercathedral.org.uk

Understanding Bookbindings Course | Worcester Cathedral

An immersive two-day seminar for librarians, archivists, volunteers, and anyone working with collections of historic bindings. Join us in Worcester Cathedral's Medieval Library and Archive to underst...

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Zanna Van Loon @zannavanloon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

THIS is your sign to come and do #bookhistory research in Antwerp in the outstanding collections of Museum Plantin-Moretus and the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library. Apply here for the Nottebohm Fellowship by Oct 1: sl1nk.com/i61nfmk 💙📚 📜 Come and join us... It’s pretty great here! 😉

Library with rare books on shelves in leather and parchment. Copright: LUCID

View of the exterior of the museum. Copyright: LUCID

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Today we're looking at this 18th-century copy of a technical treatise on the painting of miniatures, in print from 1673. Includes information on the reduction of images and mixes of pigments for landscapes, flowers, faces, drapery, and jewels. (UPenn Ms. Codex 1645) 🔗: bit.ly/4tMVt57

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Chetham's Library @chethamslibrary.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

New blog alert! 📣 'Thomas de la Warre’s Trans-Atlantic Manuscript.' This remarkable story traces one of medieval Manchester’s earliest books from its origins with Thomas de la Warre to its home today at the The Huntington Library. 🔗Read more on our blog: library.chethams.com/blog/thomas-...

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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Good morning to everyone, but especially to all the bees, for today is their special day! 🐝 This engraved frontispiece by Thomas Loveday is from ‘Melisselogia: Or, the Female Monarchy…’, a book about bees by John Thorley, published in 1744. 📷 Reserve 595.799 THO #WorldBeeDay #BeeDay #RareBooks

Frontispiece featuring three engravings of bees and a leafy border. Captioned 'Frontispiece' and 'T Loveday'.

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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com

Panel 1
Caption: 2025, Middlemarch Is voted the best novel of all time and wins the right to represent earth at the IGCLC* finals.
Image: The cover of George Eliot's 'Middlemarch'
*Intergalactic literary Champions league

Panel 2
Caption: 2028, A young Editor from Penguin Classics climbs Aboard Artemis VII for the thirty-year journey to host planet, Kepler-22b. She carries a first Edition of the book in a lead-lined briefcase.
Image: Astronaut boarding enormous spaceship.

Panel 3
Caption: 2089, She returns with news that earth placed a very respectable third, and that she bought rights to the two winning novels.
Images: The capsule returns to earth and splashes down in the sea. The astronaut emerges and waves to the rescue helicopter.

Panel 4
Caption: 2092, The alien books are translated and published to critical acclaim and modest sales.
Image: Two books. 'Magnesium Sunset' by Zylob Pyrxx and 'Orbital Amnesia' by Unaha Closp
More caption: Middlemarch is a runaway success in gas-form on Proxima Centauri b.
Final image: An alien happily reading a small cloud.

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Correction: This is our Spring Newsletter, not our Summer issue! London's beautiful weather this week got me a bit ahead of myself☀️Don't worry - you lucky people have another whole issue to look forward to in Summer proper!

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Our Summer #Newsletter is live and packed full of goodies! Talk of AI & Libraries is not slowing down, so we've made it the focus for this issue, including a project to develop an ethics-based approach to using AI for metadata generation. Read the full issue here: cdn.ymaws.com/www.cilip.or...

cdn.ymaws.com

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Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 17/03/2026

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!🇮🇪 According tradition, St Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. The symbol became linked with his teaching and remains central to modern celebrations. ☘️ Shelfmarks: MS. Tanner 17, fol. 031r MS. Douce 80, fol. 196r MS. Douce 256, fol. 013r

Composite image of a historical manuscript page divided into three sections: Left, an illustration of St Patrick in red robes holding a staff, labeled "S. Patrick." Top right, a scene depicting an angel with colorful wings interacting with a harp. Bottom right, a detailed illustration of clover. The style is medieval.

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

We have two lonely titles, desperately waiting to find the one who will sweep them off their feet, take them home and lovingly craft a review for the RBSCG Newsletter. Could it be you they're looking for? Let us play matchmaker; get in touch with Jane & Katherine (details below) today 💞

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Just a few days left (until Friday!) to tell us about AI usage in your #heritagesector organisation! Contact Katherine & Jane (email addresses below) to express interest in writing for our Newsletter.

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

The next @ies-sas.bsky.social #HistoryofLibraries seminar is tomorrow, Tuesday 3rd March: The National Lending Library for Science and Technology and its collection of Russian scientific literature in Cold War Britain Free to attend; book now at sas.sym-online.com/registration...

sas.sym-online.com

IES Booking Form Master Template - Form

Please do not reload the page as you will lose your place in the queue.

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Laura Cleaver @laurajcleaver.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

One for the National Year of Reading: here’s Chaucer selling books for W. H. Smith in 1923. #BookHistory

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Want to boost your #CPD for the year? Why not review a book for our #Newsletter? Currently awaiting reviews are: - Library Catalogues as Data: Research, Practice and Usage - The Routledge Companion to Libraries, Archives, and the Digital Humanities Get in touch (details below) if interested!

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Get in touch to tell us how your heritage sector organisation is already using, or would like to use, AI. We’re seeking contributions of 300-500 words. Express interest to our Newsletter Editors, Katherine (k.a.krick@gmail.com) and Jane (j.m.gallagher@leeds.ac.uk) by 6th March.

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Seeking contributions for our next #Newsletter on: 💻 AI in the Heritage Sector 🏛️ Already using AI in your organisation, or wanting to start? Tell us about it in 300-500 words! Submit your contributions to Katherine and Jane (k.a.krick@gmail.com & j.m.gallagher@leeds.ac.uk) by Friday 6th March.

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Thinking to yourself 'Valentine's has passed and I've missed my chance to propose'? THINK AGAIN! Get down on one knee (at your computer), write a speech (400 words) and tell us you love a sense of place in libraries and spec coll. We can't guarantee a yes, but doesn't that make it more exciting?

media.tenor.com

a woman in a dress is standing next to a man on a runway

ALT: a woman in a dress is standing next to a man on a runway

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Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies @sims-mss.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

For #CoffeeWithACodex on February 26, curator @leoba.bsky.social will bring out a selection of manuscripts from Ethiopia, including a prayer book, an illustrated protective roll, and a liturgical book. (The mss are 19th c but still #medievalsky) Register here: bit.ly/3MAE2oE

bit.ly

Coffee with a Codex: Ethiopian Manuscripts

An informal lunch or coffee time to meet virtually with Kislak curators and talk about one of the manuscripts from Penn's collections. Each week we'll feature a different...

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

media.tenor.com

a woman in a dress is standing next to a man on a runway

ALT: a woman in a dress is standing next to a man on a runway

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Oxford Bibliographical Society @obs1922.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

OBS / Lincoln College research associate position! We invite early career / grad scholars to apply to our new 2-week research associate position @lincoln.ox.ac.uk. Any interesting projects that will benefit from 2 weeks at Lincoln -- £500, accommodation and meals. Deadline 27th March

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CILIP Rare Books and Special Collections Group @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

We are VERY excited to open the 📮call for papers📮 for #RBSCG26, which takes as its theme: ✨A Sense of Place: Collections and communities in context✨ and will explore the influence of place on collections and collections on places.

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The Bibliographical Society @bibsoc.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

On Friday 13 March, an in-person training day in digital methods for bibliographical study has been arranged by the Institute of English Studies and the Bibliographical Society, in association with the John Rylands Research Institute at the University of Manchester who will host the event.

eventbrite.co.uk

Bibliographical Society Digital Skills Training: IES

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Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

What an absolute treasure the @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social special collections are! One email to @andreahart.bsky.social and I can look at not one, but TWO copies of Des Murs' "Iconographie d'oiseaux" to see variations in hand coloured lithographs 🥰 So important for collections based research!

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