Members of the Library team recently took a trip to the impressive Accrington Library to collect a collection of books, periodicals and manuscripts that will form a key part of the future Special Collections of the University of Bolton Library.
The Lancashire Authors Association is an association devoted to the study of Lancashire literature, history, traditions and dialect. The group was founded in 1909 and has developed a collection of over 2000 items of literature, periodicals and prose. The collection includes works by Edwin Waugh, Elizabeth Gaskell and Samuel Laycock among others.
The University recently came to an agreement with the Association to house their collection and work together to promote the study of the literature, history and dialect of Lancashire.
So - on a bright and clear December morning - library staff picked up a trusty University van and headed to Accrington for the big move. We were greatly aided by the hard work and preparation of Lancashire Libraries staff - the collection was boxed and ready to go. Two quick trips later, and the 153 boxes containing the LAA collection were in Bolton - ready for the next steps in the collection's 100 year development.
Next we'll need to unpack and label the collection. Lancashire Libraries are kindly sharing their electronic records with us, so we'll need to integrate those records with our systems and make the collection searchable via Discover.
Long term we have plans to house the LAA Collection in a new Special Collections area of the Peter Marsh Library - alongside the Quilters Guild Collection and some other new developments - watch this space for details! We also want to investigate the digitisation of items from the collection in future,
The acquisition of the LAA Collection will provide new opportunities for teaching, research and community outreach - we're extremely excited about the future for this unique collection celebrating Lancashire's history, dialect and culture. A huge thanks to all the members of the Lancashire Authors Association, to Lancashire Libraries and to members of the University's School of the Arts - including Bob Snape and Paul Salveson - for their invaluable role in this exciting development for the Library.
0 Comments.