News and blogs
Find out the latest news and updates from the Library.
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Coronavirus: latest Library information
31 Mar 2020
All Library sites are currently closed and will remain closed until further notice. We don’t know how long our buildings will be closed, but we’ll update this news article when we have new information. Service availability Find out ...
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Medieval treasures available online
30 Mar 2020
Whilst we’re unable to physically access our collections during this period of unprecedented self-isolation, work on our digital collections continues unabated. A new digital collection, containing key works of Middle English literature, has...
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John Rylands Library closure
19 Mar 2020
As part of The University of Manchester’s response to coronavirus, The John Rylands Library is currently closed and will remain closed until further notice. All exhibitions, events and schools workshops are cancelled. We don’t know ...
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Careers drop-in sessions in Main Library
5 Mar 2020
The Careers team will be on hand to answer any careers questions that you have. Students from all years and degree subjects are welcome to drop-in and have a chat. The sessions will be taking place on: 25 February 2020, 10am-12pm 04 March ...
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Parts of The John Rylands Library closed on 8 and 9 February
3 Feb 2020
On Saturday, 8 and Sunday, 9 February, the first floor of The John Rylands Library will be closed to the public. Please bear this in mind if you’re planning to visit. Our current exhibition, Seeing the Invisible, and the Rylands Gallery will...
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Celebrate Love Data Week with the Library
3 Feb 2020
Love Data Week is an annual social media event that raises awareness of topics related to research data management, sharing, preservation, reuse as well as Library-based research data services. This year it runs from 10 - 14 February and events ...
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National Student Survey (NSS) 2020 now open
3 Feb 2020
About the survey The National Student Survey is open from now until 30 April 2020. The NSS allows you to say both what you liked and what you think could be improved about your University experience. Complete the survey Prize draw and ...
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Manchester Digital Collections launch
28 Jan 2020
The new image viewer allows enhanced viewing and manipulation of ultra-high quality images, with a parallel display of text, audio and video content: View Manchester Digital Collections Research opportunities Manchester Digital Collections ...
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#UoMLibraryLife Competition
22 Jan 2020
To celebrate the end of Semester 1 exams we’re giving you the chance to win an Amazon Fire 7 tablet and £40 worth of Amazon vouchers in our #UoMLibraryLife Instagram competition. How to enter: Share an original photo or video on ...
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Palladium: Providing Access to Large Literary Archives in a Digital Medium
18 Dec 2019
The University of Manchester Library has been awarded funding by Arts Council England to tackle the huge challenges involved in managing and making accessible modern literary archives in digital formats. Access to email archives is fraught with ...
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Merry Christmas from the Library
16 Dec 2019
When you get back, we’ll be ready to support your revision with extra study spaces, extended opening hours, helpful workshops and surprise treats to help you do your best in your January exams. From 6 January, the Main Library will be open ...
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Landmark digitisation of works related to poet and humanist Petrarch available online
10 Dec 2019
For the last three years, colleagues from The University of Manchester, University of Leeds and University of Oxford have been working together on a project researching the commentary tradition of the poetic works of the Italian Renaissance figure ...
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Library books not subject to recall over Christmas
3 Dec 2019
Between 6 December 2019 and 12 January 2020, no Library items will be subject to being recalled by other Library users. If you urgently require a book during this period, and all copies of that item are out on loan, please speak to a ...
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Expert insight allows digital cataloguing of 1,300 years of Latin manuscripts
19 Nov 2019
You may not realise that some of our Special Collections remain a mystery to us. Constant work is undertaken to explore and catalogue our own collections. For instance, Dr Joanne Edge has, since August 2018, been improving and digitising the Latin...
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New online portal means Postgraduates can pay Library fines online
8 Nov 2019
We’re launching a new online portal which will allow Postgraduate students and staff to pay their Library fines more easily online. At present, only Undergraduate students are able to conveniently pay Library fines online. However, from the ...
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The John Rylands Library Special Collections Reading Room reopens
7 Nov 2019
Following months of improvement works, our newly refurbished Special Collections Reading Room has now reopened. The renovated Reading Room, on the fourth floor of The John Rylands Library, features a fully redesigned workspace, improved ...
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Explore your online identity with Digital Society
4 Nov 2019
Develop your digital communications skills and explore the online world with Digital Society, the UCIL course unit run by the Library. Studying entirely online, you’ll learn invaluable practical skills to shape your digital identity. Digital...
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Have your say for a chance to win £100 in Amazon vouchers
4 Nov 2019
The Library’s online student survey is live from today, Monday, 4 November and runs until Sunday, 8 December 2019. It’s a chance for you to have your say and tell us about your experience of the Library. Your feedback is ...
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New exhibition, Seeing the Invisible, launches at The John Rylands Library
30 Oct 2019
The Syriac Galen Palimpsest, a unique, ancient and globally important medical manuscript, will be publicly exhibited in the UK for the first time in Seeing the Invisible, the new exhibition at The John Rylands Library. The exhibition, which runs ...
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New way to order research resources from the Library
30 Oct 2019
Need resources for your studies or your research that the Library doesn’t hold? Use our Order a Book and Order an Article services, and we’ll get them for you. Order a Book is free; Order an Article incurs a £2 administration ...
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Mancsy hanky joins Peterloo Special Collections
29 Oct 2019
Since its inception, The John Rylands Library has been intended as a gift to the people of Manchester. It is with some sense of pride, therefore, that we were chosen as part of people’s artist Mancsy’s “finders keepers” ...
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The John Rylands Library loans four items to Princeton University exhibition
29 Oct 2019
The John Rylands Library has loaned four items from its Special Collections to a Princeton University exhibition about early European printing. The exhibition examines the first two decades of European printing after Gutenberg’s invention of...
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Expand your digital and technical skills with DigiLab
16 Oct 2019
With its aim to democratise technology, the Library’s DigiLab initiative will have a two-week residency on Blue Ground in Main Library for the first two weeks of November. 11am – 4pm, Monday to Friday 4 – 15 November Blue...
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Library diversifies collection with addition of new databases documenting the Black experience
16 Oct 2019
Students and researchers now have access to two major databases of primary resources documenting the Black experience in Britain, the United States and the African diaspora after they were purchased by the Library in collaboration with academic ...
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Get involved with Open Access Week
11 Oct 2019
Open Access Week takes place from Monday, 21 to Sunday, 27 October. It is an annual, global event aimed at raising awareness of Open Access among the academic community. The Library is committed to making Open Access as easy as possible for ...
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Library launches new ‘Neighbours’ campaign
8 Oct 2019
The Library has launched a new campaign aimed at helping to promote a friendly and supportive Library community, because everybody needs good neighbours! By helping each other, with support from Library staff, we hope that you will be encouraged ...
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Get expert advice and training from the Library
4 Oct 2019
If you need help with advanced searching and systematic reviews, business data, copyright and referencing, or maths and statistics, access Specialist Library Support. Specialist Library Support includes an extensive range of online resources, ...
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New exhibition to be installed in The Rylands Gallery
2 Oct 2019
The Rylands Gallery will be temporarily closed between Monday, 14 October 2019 and Thursday, 17 October 2019 while we install our new exhibition. The rest of the building will be open as usual. The St John fragment will be on display again ...
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New dedicated area for maps in Main Library
30 Sep 2019
The map room on Purple Ground in the Main Library is being trialled as the latest Special Collections Reading Room, to allow better study of the Library’s extensive map collections. Whilst the space has always housed maps, it is the first ...
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Welcome to the Library
16 Sep 2019
Welcome to all new and returning students. We’re looking forward to meeting you! At the Library, we’re here to support you with your studies, so you can reach your full potential. Over the next three weeks, we’ll show you how to ...
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Sector-leading new Research Metrics service from the Library
12 Sep 2019
The Library’s innovative new Research Metrics Reports service launched this week. The sector-leading new service provides Manchester staff with a greater understanding of their research outputs in a variety of contexts. Based on data ...
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Pick up a free textbook for your subject from the Library
6 Sep 2019
Save some pennies and save the planet. At the Library’s Textbook Rescue giveaway event, you’ll find quality, used textbooks from all subject areas, available to collect free of charge. Since 2013, our Textbook Rescue scheme has found ...
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Library highlights for 2018-2019
15 Jul 2019
As the academic year draws to a close and preparations are being made for graduation ceremonies, we look back at how we have made a difference. Here are just a few of the Library’s highlights. We began collaborating with the University of...
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Improving the water supply in Main Library
5 Jul 2019
The Main Library will be closed all day on Saturday, 13 July while essential maintenance works are carried out on the building’s water supply. This work has been scheduled in direct response to your feedback and will hopefully lead to ...
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The Library’s starring role in Open Days on 21 and 22 June
20 Jun 2019
Fresh approach The Library is one of the most important and regularly used facilities for most students throughout their years with us, meaning our role in the Open Day must give a true flavour of the learning support, access to resources and ...
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Improvements at The John Rylands Library Special Collections Reading Room get the green light
13 Jun 2019
Planning permission has been granted for the refurbishment of the Special Collections Reading Room on the fourth floor of The John Rylands Library this summer. The Reading Room will be closed entirely on Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 July. However, from ...
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Donate your old textbooks with Textbook Rescue
5 Jun 2019
With exam season over, it’s time to relax and enjoy a well-earned summer break. Leave your studies behind you and, with them, your old, unwanted textbooks. If you’re still holding on to old textbooks that you no longer need, now is the...
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Library introduces paperless reservations
23 May 2019
The Library has recently moved over to a more modern, sustainable model for reserved book collections. We will no longer be using multi-coloured paper rolls to mark books that have been reserved, this will contribute to the reduction of our carbon...
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Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust supports Armenian exhibition
20 May 2019
A new exhibition explores one of the world's oldest civilisations and its connections to north west England. Aratta, at Manchester’s Central Library until 16 June 2019, takes a look at the lives of some of the Armenian diaspora who have been...
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Students can now borrow books for the whole year
15 May 2019
From today, all items (except High Demand) will be automatically renewed until 12 June 2020. Going forward, the standard loan period for University of Manchester students will be for the whole academic year, rather than a single semester as was ...
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Revision Support Zone and Stephen Joseph Studio open up for Exam Extra
13 May 2019
More support and space is now available as Exam Extra reaches its two week milestone.The campaign is the Library’s package of extra hours, extra space and extra support during the revision period. In addition to MLE’s sessions and the ...
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Library staff member highly commended at University awards
7 May 2019
The Library’s Data Specialist, Phil Reed, was highly commended at the University’s Volunteer of the Year Awards as staff, students and alumni came together to recognise extraordinary volunteering contributions across a diverse range of ...
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New ‘request from shelf’ service makes getting books easier than ever
2 May 2019
We’re currently trialling a new service in the Main Library, where we’ll retrieve the book you want for you, and put it in the Collectme room on Blue Ground. You can request items via Library Search that are currently available on the ...
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Chris Pressler discusses the complex world of scientific publishing on BBC Radio Four
1 May 2019
'The Great Science Publishing Scandal' looks at how people access the thousands of articles published each year that form the official record of science: The Great Science Publishing Scandal - BBC Four How the Library is affected by the ...
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A book of ours: Manchester’s “homeless” engage with our manuscripts
25 Apr 2019
The Library is currently working with the arts organisation arthur+martha to facilitate the making of an illuminated manuscript at the Booth Centre and other support centres for people with experiences of homelessness. Called the “book of ...
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Library Student Team recognised by prestigious University awards
18 Apr 2019
The Library Student Team has been highly commended by the Distinguished Achievement Awards judging panel, chaired by the Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, Patrick Hackett, in the Large Team Category. Library Learning Development ...
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Finding a book made easier with new ‘Locate this book’ feature
17 Apr 2019
The ‘Locate this book’ feature makes it easier for users to find their books in the Main Library. Interactive map When a user clicks on a Library Search result, if that book is housed in Main Library, the location information now ...
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Continued improvement works in Main Library
15 Apr 2019
Blue 2 and Purple 4 floors in the Main Library remain closed while power sockets are installed. This work is taking longer than planned, but we’re working hard to reopen these areas as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience in the...
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Research and communities specialist appointed director of Manchester race archive
12 Apr 2019
Dr Safina Islam has been appointed head of the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre and Education Trust (AIUC). Part of The University of Manchester, AIUC is an open access archive and library on race, identity and communities. It is ...
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New Rylands Gallery exhibition now open
11 Apr 2019
Our Rylands Gallery has reopened following some improvements and the installation of a new exhibition to explore protest, challenge and change. The new exhibition, in line with the themes of our Peterloo exhibition, is a celebration of revolution ...