Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru The National Library of Aberystwyth

THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES NDEWSLETTER ALSPREING 2010 INSSUE 11

Say ! Portraits of the Welsh

Between 1 February and 9 April 2010 the Library’s Gregynog Gallery will be full of portraits of - past and present. It will be a very special opportunity to see some of the most iconic faces from the National Library’s fascinating collection.

The Library is home to the largest collection of Welsh Meet the reader portraits in the world and includes tens of thousands of images in a wide range of media, from photographs A Library for the world to drawings, engravings and framed works of art. The Cambrian: Digitising a magazine for Welsh Americans In the words of our national anthem, the exhibition is full of portraits of ‘bards and singers and people of Thank You Gwendraeth, Hello renown’. Among them are portraits of famous Wrexham sportsmen and women including the world champion boxer from Newbridge in Gwent, Joe Calzaghe; the The Library re-opens on Saturday’s rugby players, Barry John and Ieuan Evans and the Meet the staff Olympic athlete, Tanni Grey-Thompson. 200,000 records now live! There is also a collection of early Vanity Fair cartoons; Animation in Pont Yates! a portrait of one-eyed Christmas Evans the Welsh Nonconformist minister; Griff Rhys Jones, and Popeth ar Ffilm! Everything on well-known television presenter and singer, Mary Film! Hopkin. Wales’s contribution to the political world is also recognised with portraits of David Lloyd George, , Gwynfor Evans and . D R W M season highlight Gig: 9Bach March 28, 2010 Contemporary Welsh Folk Music ‘The band is special both because of 0

0 the challenge exquisite, clear vocals 8 and the highly original 2

3 arrangements,’ Guardian 2009 6

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Andrew Green, the Librarian said, ‘We’re very excited

k to be able to exhibit so many of our interesting and u . important portraits. For those who are unable to come g r

o to Aberystwyth or who would like to enjoy seeing . c more pictures, then a specially designed website of g l l

. Welsh portraits will be live on the Library’s site during w 2010.’ w

w ISSN 1744-6759 4 January 2010 - 4 March 2011 4 January - 26 November Exhibitions Step by Step - Tracing your family tree in Welsh authors the National Library Exhibition to celebrate the life and works of Opening hours: Monday to Friday, An exhibition which focuses on the rich Brenda Chamberlain and Caradog Prichard. 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. resources that are housed at the Library that The second in a series of exhibitions on Admission is free. can help you search for your family history. Wales's leading writers.

Over 190,000 Welsh wills online - free to read Meet the readers The Library has good news for family historians, social historians…. and the inquisitive! Name: Over 190,000 Welsh wills (approximately 800,000 pages) have been digitised and are now Roger Scott Lewis available on the Library's website. Work: Wills which were proved in the Welsh ecclesiastical courts before the introduction of Civil Family Historian Probate on 11 January 1858 have long been deposited at the National Library of Wales. Where are you from? Amongst the collection available online is the will of Twm Sion Cati alias, Thomas Johnes I come from Toronto in Canada Fountaine Gate, Caron, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of his death. Is your family’s What brings you to the National Library? will there? I am researching into the history of my family who are originally from Rhayader, Composting saves money! Powys. As part of the National Library's commitment to the Green Dragon Standard, one of the When was the first time you visit the targets of environmental improvements in the Library this year was the reduction of food Library? waste from Pen Dinas Caf é. The majority of the waste is now treated in the ‘Rocket’ I have been coming to the Library annually composter and spread on flowerbeds around the Library’s gardens. for about 20 years. I usually visit once a year and am here for about a month at a time. In 2008, 6.2 tonnes of Pen Dinas waste was taken to landfill, 517 kg a month on average. Having retired, the research is by now a However, the average has now decreased to 267 kg per month (i.e. approximately full-time job! 3.2 tonnes per year). This has been achieved with a new ‘Rocket’ composter and also by How useful is the National Library? controlling the size of the portion of food given. The Library has been of great help to me in doing my research work. Things have This is almost less than half the waste in 2008 and the Library, by spending less on landfill, changed over recent years with new saves money. computer systems, new reading rooms, etc. - but all this makes it easier for me to be able to access the parish records. A Library for the world

In recent months the Library has The Cambrian: Digitising a welcomed visitors from all over magazine for Welsh Americans the world including a Canadian There’s good news for all those interested film crew, visitors from Australia, in the Welsh Diaspora in the United States America, , , Stuttgart, with the digitisation of The Cambrian . , Saudi Arabia, Patagonia, Kronberg im Taunus, , During the years 1880 to 1919, The Bordeaux and Brittany. Some of Cambrian was one of the most popular the most colourful visitors were magazines read by Welsh-Americans. On its a delegation of the Sami from pages are biographies, historical articles Norway who were in Wales to and notices chronicling the history of the learn more about the promotion Welsh in America. This magazine has been of the Welsh language and digitised as part of the Wales-Ohio Project working in a bilingual at the National Library of Wales and a new institution. bilingual website allows users to search and read almost 19,000 of its pages. To arrange a group visit call 01970 532 801 or e-mail [email protected] ohiocambrian.llgc.org.uk

Reader surgeries These one-to-one sessions are intended to assist readers who require guidance on where to search and how to make the most of the Library’s collections and services. The surgeries are held all day on Wednesday; a 30-minute session can be booked on the following topics: Online catalogues and electronic resources surgery: 01970 632 538 Family history surgery: 01970 632 821 Maps and photograph surgery: 01970 632 829 Alternatively you can book a place on any of the above surgeries by emailing: [email protected] February 1 - April 9 May 14 - August 27 4 October 2010 - 25 March 2011 Say Cheese! Portraits of the Welsh Curwen Press Travel A unique opportunity to see portraits of Fine art with Welsh connections by An exhibition on the history of travel in Wales’s leading individuals- portraits, world-class artists. Wales. photographs and sculptures.

David Hurn main guest speaker at f f

Lens Festival a

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'One of the best events' – that’s how the

world-famous Magnum photographer David e

Hurn, described the 2009 Lens festival. h

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Lens, Festival of Welsh Documentary e

Photography, was held on 20 November 2009, e and had David Hurn as its main speaker. David Thank You Gwendraeth, M gained his reputation with his reportage of the Hello Wrexham Geraint Davies 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and is known to Porter/Security many in Wales for his book Land of My Father . The Library left its home in The late Philip Jones Griffiths is amongst the Aberystwyth and moved to other famous speakers who have spoken at Carmarthenshire during the autumn! Where did you work before joining the Lens in the past. Library? Although the Library has held annual Keith Morris, the photographer from I worked at a factory making children’s one-day events outside Aberystwyth Aberystwyth, Russell Roberts of Newport clothes in Machynlleth. before, this year offered an exciting University and Dr Paul Bevan and Jane Henley, Where do you live? new development. The Gwendraeth two staff members of staff were the other Valley was selected to hold the first speakers at this years Festival. I live in Machynlleth and therefore travel ever two month-long Outreach Event. approximately 18 miles, or 30 minutes to The Library is home to 800,000 photographs Aberystwyth every day. As part of its remit to make people from the early days of photography until to from all walks of life aware of the today. Many thousands of photographs from How long have you worked at the Library’s collections and works, staff the collection can be seen on the Library’s Library? cooperated with local individuals, website, but it also takes advantage of other I started working at the Library seven years clubs and societies to prepare an websites to share it’s collections with the ago. exciting schedule of events that were world. For some time it has been uploading What do you enjoy the most about your held during October and November. hundreds of photographs to Flickr Commons – job? They included a film and talk with the visit www.flickr.com/photos/llgc and have a Welsh women’s association - look. My work is very varied and I enjoy that. I'll Merched y Wawr, a family history be vacuuming, meeting people at the main evening with the company of the door, and checking their bags before they Welsh actor and singer Emyr Wyn, come in and collect recycling materials from and a screening of the silent film The staff offices. No day is the same! It's nice to Life Story of David Lloyd George to meet interesting people when they visit the live accompaniment of Neil Brand. Drwm and use the reading rooms. Over 1,250 people from the Gwendraeth Valley came into direct on us contact with the Library over this w llo period and its estimated that a Fo further 1,500 saw the exhibition on the history of the Valley held at Pontyberem Hall for almost a month during this period. The Library is grateful for the willing cooperation of Menter Cwm Gwendraeth, the National Botanical Garden of Wales and Carmarthen County Council on The Library re-opens on Saturday’s this new groundbreaking series of Good news! The Library is reopening its doors to the public in May 2010. This will be a great events. opportunity to come and read, see an exhibition, take a look at the shop and enjoy a cup of The Library intends to visit the tea in Pen Dinas. Wrexham area in 2010 - check out the National Library’s website The nature of the service in the reading rooms will be very different when they reopen so www.llgc.org.uk for more details in remember, keep an eye open for announcements in the press, or contact the Library in the Spring to the near future. ask for the details. Visit us! Opening hours Guided tours Black and White Evening The National Library of Wales 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. Free guided tours are held at welcomes readers and visitors alike. Monday to Friday 11.00 a.m. every Monday morning, On Friday 20 November Iola Baines and Trystan Jones of the Why not call in? Have a cup of tea 10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. departing from the Library shop. at Pendinas Café and browse the on selected public holidays. Please check the Library website Screen and Sound Archive Library shop. www.llgc.org.uk for details or travelled to Dinas Powys near phone 01970 632 548 to book your to host a film show in the place on our behind-the-scenes Parish Hall. tour. This was a ‘Black and White’ evening to raise money for Ysgol 200,000 records now live! Feithrin Dinas Powys (Welsh-medium pre-school group), and 'school' October 2009, 200,000 records from the Screen and was also the theme of the film Sound Archive were transferred to the live database. selected from Archive – David . This means that television and radio broadcasts that The film (directed by Paul Dickson) were recorded by the Archive from the early 80s up was produced in 1951 for the to 2007 are now available to the public. Festival of Britain, and the main character - the David in the title - Animation in Pont Yates! Popeth ar Ffilm! Everything on Film! is D. R. Griffiths; Dafydd Rhys or ‘Amanwy '- a miner, school During the first week of October 2009,- as part of Over the summer months, the series Popeth ar caretaker, a poet of considerable the Library’s outreach programme, an animation Ffilm was broadcast on S4C. During this series, the fame and brother of Jim Griffiths, workshop was held for children in Years 5 and 6 of director and presenter Ifor ap Glyn of Cwmni Da the first Secretary of State for Ysgol Gwynfryn, Pont Yates in the Gwendraeth production company, visited six locations across Wales. Valley in Carmarthenshire. The workshop was Wales:- Felin-fach Brynsiencyn, , The school featured in the film, organised by the National Screen and Sound Llangollen, Senghennydd, the Ll yˆn Peninsula and was the Amman Valley Grammar Archive with a grant from Film Agency Wales to Eifionydd. School, and the highlight of the host the workshop, and used the animation 'Black and White Night' for the company from Cardiff, Cinetig, to create the film. Wherever he went, footage from the collections of the Screen and Sound Archive of that area was staff of the Archive was realising shown, and then, working with local individuals that many of the school’s former The theme of the film and workshop was the they shot a new short film. The goal each time was pupils were present in the hall, railway in celebration of the centenary of opening and many of them were extras in of the railway at Pont Yates. The pupils produced to weave some of the themes of the original film into contemporary story. David as young children! One their own film, Y Trên Dirgel i Gwynfryn (The came to show a scrapbook of Mystery Train to Gwynfryn), depicting the railway's The films shown were part of the Screen and 1951, that included the signature history through the eyes of the pupils, and their Sound Archive collection, while the new films of Paul Dickson, the director, on hopes that the line will re-open in the future. created are available on the Popeth ar Ffilm one page, and a poem by Amanwy website www.s4c.co.uk/popetharffilm and his signature on another page The film was shown for the first time in Pontyberem on 12 November to a very appreciative This has been a great opportunity to co-operate This was certainly a night to audience. The film is now part of the collection of with Cwmni Da to ensure that the archive’s films remember! the Screen and Sound Archive, and they hope that are a subject of discussion and an inspiration to the film will be shown, and enjoyed by audiences create new films. across Wales for years to come. Library facts • During the 1950s the Library employed some 60 members of staff. In 2010, 300 people are employed by the Library.

• The Library receives on average 2,000 new acquisitions a week for its collections. They include books, magazines, newspapers, personal archives, photographs and paintings and much more. The collections arrive at the Library directly from the individuals or societies or, in the case of much of the published work, by specially Photo: Black and White evening. See article. Photo by Gerald Cobbe. contracted vans from the publishing houses in .